IT’S ONE of the most memorable days of your life, but to ensure those memories stay vivid most people have a picture or two.
And while that tends to be a photograph or two of the wedding party, a Scottish hotel has been offering something totally unique: it’s employed the services of an artist to capture the memories of the big day.
Said to be one of Scotland’s most romantic hotels, InterContinental Edinburgh The George, marked Valentine’s Day by partnering with The Edinburgh Sketcher to celebrate the love couples have for the place they said “I Do”.
Last month, it launched The Latent Love campaign, for couples who married at the hotel. They were asked share their fondest memories and pictures of their wedding day via social media. In exchange, winners would get a once-in-a-lifetime memento recreating their favourite wedding picture from the Edinburgh-based artist from their day.
More than 70 couples submitted their best moments at The George, which has welcomed loved-up couples since 1881.
Since then, the hotel has hosted more than 4,000 weddings, poured over 2 million glasses of reception drinks and served an estimated 600,000 wedding breakfasts.
Ten winners will now receive a specially commissioned sketch from Mark Kirkham, the artist behind The Edinburgh Sketcher.
Among them were Simon and Jamie Le Grice, originally from Reading and Edinburgh.
“The moment the first course of dinner was served, jaws dropped at the way the waiting staff circled the table before laying the plates all at once. People loved the theatre of it,” Simon says.
Their advice for couples embarking on marriage is to “Plan for a lifetime together, not just the wedding day (however special the day may be)”.
Mark Kirkman, The Edinburgh Sketcher, says he loved this idea and immediately wanted to be a part of recreating special memories.
“The George is a favourite of mine, and it was a delight to create artwork from past weddings, seeing how the place and fashions changed over the years,” he says.
And while the hotel has been looking back for Valentine’s Day, it is also looking forward, offering romantic getaways that include dinner, a Scottish breakfast, and, on arrival, a bottle of Champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries.
For details, visit: https://edinburgh.intercontinental.com/offers/
