By Karen Carruth

The trend these days in wedding circles seems to be (in the words of Madonna) to express yourself.
Hiring a blank canvas in the shape of a barn or a marquee may seem like a terrific opportunity to pull lots of creative ideas together and create a space that reflects you and your partner’s personalities. That may be easier said than done, particularly when you have to source all the materials, while continuing to organise a wedding and run a busy life.
Step forward The Little White Cow, based in central Scotland, which is run by two ex-PR and marketing experts, Kate Symington and Jean Smart.
These days you’ll find them putting all their energies, multi-tasking talents, planning know-how, problem-solving skills, detail obsession and creative wilds into helping dress and style weddings, events and gatherings.
They totally get it’s not about them. It’s about helping people tell their story, show off their personality and making them feel happy and relaxed in the space they’ve carefully chosen. 
When the reality of organising a wedding or gathering sets in, it can quickly start to feel overwhelming and that initial excitement gets lost in to-do lists, budgets and dreaded admin –  Kate and Jean understand that most of you could be juggling planning alongside working, looking after a young family or even trying to organise something miles away from where you live. 
Kate says: “The rules are changing, no longer do you have to follow the traditional, couples now want to showcase themselves, the things they love, the passions they share. Often, hotel wedding packages don’t allow that kind of freedom, however, a barn or a marquee, or whatever quirky venue they choose, can be styled to reflect their individuality.”
Kate and Jean understand that couples have the vision, but not necessarily the contacts and the creativity to pull the plan together. That’s where their extensive contact list and creative noddle kicks in; they can provide, style, organise, advise, all depending on how much help you need.
If you need florists, caterers or a bar provider, they have the names. They have a large store of props that can be pulled into action when needed.
Interestingly, with the popularity of these venues, it is often difficult to pin the one down that you want on the dates available. Kate explains that sometimes couples have to choose a venue that maybe isn’t absolutely perfect, but with a little help from The Little White Cow, some unwanted venue immovables can discreetly be styled to disappear from view.
Whether it is shabby chic, boho, rustic, atmospheric, textured layers or, as a recent wedding couple requested, a nod to Star Trek, the ladies can find, create or source exactly what you want.
Kate adds: “If you decide to work with The Little White Cow, you’ll be sharing the load, enlisting people you can trust and opening yourself up to the fun and relaxed style of a pair that love to collaborate and get seriously stuck in.” 
Contact the company and you can meet at the venue and throw around ideas, visions, mood boards. By the time the big day arrives, everyone knows exactly what is going to appear. The team turn up and get to work. The day after the wedding, they arrive again to clear the venue.
Services available: Style and prop (taking care of everything); self-style hire (pick and mix from the collection of props); venue recce and style SOS (devise a styling plan for you to carry out) or their scentscaping service (infuse your venue with long-lasting streams of delicious scents).
www.thelittlewhitecow.co.uk