From “When Harry Met Sally” to “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” being friends before dating is a classic Hollywood trope, so it might be fitting that actors Amber Anderson and Connor Swindell would follow the same romantic path. The pair kept in touch after meeting on the set of Autumn de Wilde’s Emma, but it was lockdown that solidified their budding relationship.
“We got together during the first lockdown,” Amber explains. “We both live alone and are relatively close to each other, so we decided to move in together. We had the chance to really support each other through it. Lockdown meant we had time with each other, which we wouldn’t have had if we were out filming. Spending time like that. Our official first date was actually three months into our relationship, and I felt like everything between us had been weirdly turned upside-down.
Connor proposed to Amber during a group trip to Botswana and managed to keep her off track. “A few months before I left, I was filming in Italy when I realized this trip was going to happen at this very moment,” Connor shared. “I put my best friend Oakley in charge of collecting and transporting the rings, which he did diligently, knowing full well that Amber would sniff out any remnants of the proposal – it was the only way to do it.”
After arriving in Botswana, the couple’s friend and tour guide Gareth suggested that Connor get down on one knee next to a beautiful 1,400-year-old baobab tree and he could lead them there. “Then it was hard work to get Amber into the Land Cruiser without anyone else and convince her to drive to a secluded spot – all without her knowing what was happening,” Connor recalled. Finally, Gareth shouted over the radio: “Guys, I’ve found some leopard prints and I’m going to see if they’ve moved. If you need the toilet, this is a safe place.” We turned the corner and there stood a beautiful baobab tree and I knew the rest was up to me.
Amber is a planner, so she got to work right away. The couple chose Bosh House in the Scottish Highlands as their wedding venue because it was close to where the bride grew up and because it was important to both of them. “I planned almost everything, but I was helped by a wonderful woman called Lindsay from a company called Wide Sky Weddings, who took care of everything for me for the last four weeks,” Amber said.
After initially choosing the first wedding dress she tried on, she almost didn’t find her dream wedding dress at all. “I was so sure I almost canceled my fitting at Vivienne Westwood,” the bride recalled. Eventually she decided to go for it, “As cheesy as it sounds, I knew it as soon as I tried it on. My favorite body parts were emphasized, the parts I didn’t like didn’t matter anymore, and I knew how to sit. It would look great whether sitting or standing. Vivienne Westwood’s whole style appeals to me and I don’t have to change anything about myself to adopt a specific bridal look.”
Amber also added elbow-length gauze gloves by Vivienne Westwood, fine jewelry by Chanel and silver shoes by Roger Vivier. “My good friends at Patou in Paris sent me a beautiful blue silk bag with ‘Amber and Connor’ embroidered on the inside and a heart,” she added. “I also wore a Cleo Peppiatt veil with mine and Connor’s zodiac sequins on it, but I forgot to wear it after the ceremony!”
The bride’s glam team flew in from London for the wedding, with makeup artist Victoria Bond creating a natural look with a cat eye and David Wadlow styling Amber’s hair with old Hollywood waves and bangs.
Connor, meanwhile, wore a suit designed by tailor Tom of Atelier Arena. “He makes me 90 percent of the clothes I wear,” the groom said. “He pulled together some fabrics, preferably ones that suited my skin color, which is usually sticky. We picked out a great navy one. He added Anderson tartan details. He’s a true master, I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done.”
Amber’s seven bridesmaids were free to choose their own outfits, with the only stipulation being that their dresses had to be in a range of colors from cobalt to navy. “One was wearing a three-piece suit, another was wearing a backless gown…everyone looked beautiful, but very much themselves,” she shared. “I didn’t want to put anyone in a place where they didn’t feel comfortable.”
The couple’s family and friends played a key role in their wedding. The ceremony was conducted by actor Alistair Petrie, who played Connor’s father in Sex Education, while Amber’s godmother gave her away. “Unfortunately, my dad wasn’t in good health so he wasn’t able to do it,” Amber shared. “She was the chosen godparent for me so it was a nice way to have her there.” Another tribute to Amber’s father was his guitar, which his friend, classical musician Sean Shibe, played as he walked her down the aisle.
Fun touches included Maddie and Marina Bay’s Reading, who together form the comedy duo Brothers and Sisters, cleaning the groom’s halo (“It’s a wonderfully humiliating moment for Connor,” laughs Amber Rhode). Meanwhile, the couple’s pet rescue dog Moose served as ring bearer and wore an Anderson tartan bandana. “The tone of the wedding was meaningful but not too serious — that’s exactly what we wanted,” says Amber.
Before the reception, the couple performed a Celtic quiche ceremony. “Originally it was associated with clan gatherings – it was a cup held in two hands, symbolizing that if both parties are holding a cup, you can’t have a sword in your hand.” “Then you pour whisky into it and drink it,” Ann Bull explained.
Many guests described the dinner from local business Lunchbox Boys as the best wedding meal they’ve ever had, which included haggis, nippes and tacos. Instead of a wedding cake, the couple opted for personalised chocolate Avenger cakes from one of their favourite restaurants, the River Cafe. The decor is folksy and colourful, with a floral brief from Wild Gorse giving a nod to 70s style. Another friend of Amber’s, Fee Greening, illustrated the invitations, table settings and menus, while Anderson tartan ribbons were tied to the chair backs.
“We also asked ‘Emma’ director Autumn to speak at the reception,” Amber shared. “It meant so much to us to have her speak — we met because of the films she made, and over the years she’s become our best friend, spiritual guardian, counselor and adoptive aunt. She means so much to us. The whole world.”
The evening concluded with a rooftop wedding hosted by Amber’s music school friends, the Haggis Chasers. The couple had their first dance to “The Orcadian Strip by the Willows,” and Amber changed into another Vivienne Westwood look, this time a tartan bustier and skirt, paired with rooftop-worthy biker boots. “I love rooftop weddings because it feels like no one can’t have a good time,” Amber said. “You don’t have to understand the dances, you just have to learn them.”
The next day, and with some grief, revellers were invited to join the newlyweds for fish and chips at a pub in Kimberley, on the North Sea. “Everyone ran and jumped off the end of the pier into the sea,” Amber said with a smile. “I think that was probably my favourite moment of the weekend.”
