Fairytale elopement wedding at a Scottish castle – Dalhousie

A crisp autumn day for Patricia + Diego who ran away to Dalhousie Castle for a romantic fairytale castle elopement filled with beautiful Scottish details combined with their Spanish culture.

Sharing a love of travelling together, Patricia + Diego had chosen to elope so they could marry in a magical place, just the two of them… “It was the plan from the start. We didn’t see ourselves dragging along friends and family to some faraway destination, and as we wanted our wedding to be in a “unique” place, it made sense that it was only the two of us.”

Quiet elopement mornings + a first touch

I love being outside in nature (it’s my happy place) but this elopement equally pays tribute to those special indoor moments too. Those quiet morning moments always steal my heart. It’s really special seeing the last touches of getting ready come together – watching the excitement and nerves start to creep in and feeling the anticipation thick in the air. A lot of my couples love being able to share moments together before the ceremony – whether that’s a ‘first look’ or passing gifts or another way. It’s a brilliant way to calm the nerves before the ceremony and feel connected to each other.

Patricia and Diego were keen to have a special moment together… but they also really wanted the surprise of seeing each other for the first time coming down the aisle. So instead of a ‘first look’, I gave them some ideas – including a ‘first touch’ (or at least that’s what I am calling it!) and sharing handwritten notes together. They each wrote their notes in the morning – in the height of the morning excitement. We then navigated them, blindfolded, into the library where they could pass notes and share a moment of comforting touch without ruining the surprise of seeing each other at the ceremony aisle. It was a truly beautiful moment of connection to witness.

Scottish Celtic wedding ceremony with Spanish touches

Originally from Spain, Patricia + Diego wanted to both share the beautiful local wedding customs of Scotland but with their own little twist on a couple of things.

They started by reading their vows to each other in their mother tongue, Spanish. And even though I couldn’t understand a single word of them, they were filled with pure love, joy and emotion.

After the vows, they were handfasted together – a celtic ritual where their hands were bound and a knot was tied using the ribbons What a couple uses in a handfasting to tie them together is very personal – Patricia and Diego had chosen colours which they both loved.

Taking the oathing stone they bound the last of their vows to stone – they would then make a rather perilous trip to the river after the ceremony to plunge the stone into water to seal the vows in place forever. (It was such an honour to be able to make this small token for Patricia + Diego and for them to use it in their ceremony!)

As if their ceremony wasn’t magical enough, an owl flew down to deliver their rings for the final exchange of rings and declaration of marriage.

One last act in the ceremony was the drinking from the quaich… The two-handled friendship cup, drinking from it symbolises the coming together of two families. It’s traditionally filled with whisky but Patricia + Diego chose to combine whisky with their favourite Spanish wine. One of the more unusual choices I’ve witnessed for a quaich… And judging by their reactions to drinking it, I am not sure they would recommend it for normal day to day drinking haha!

They were piped out of the ceremony room for some celebratory champagne and owl cuddling by a charming bagpiper.

Adventuring around Dalhousie Castle

As Patricia wrapped herself in their custom embroidered Tartan Blanket Co. shawl, Diego snagged the champagne and glass for a wee outdoor stroll. Dalhousie Castle – as well as being a striking building – has beautiful grounds that are worth a wander.

A glorious Autumn day but the grass was wet which made the stroll around for Patricia and her stunning dress a little adventure in itself! I couldn’t help but chuckle to see the wet trails as we ventured from grass to paths.

We needed to get down to the river for the final part of the oathing stone ritual which was quite a challenge but Diego and I made it!

Finishing up by enjoying the last of the sun at the interesting laundry tower ruin whilst drinking champagne. Blissful!

Sparklers and Dungeon Dining

To finish up the day, Patricia + Diego enjoyed some sparklers together before hurrying inside to warm up again.

We said our sad farewells as they sat down to dinner in their private nook inside the incredible dungeon restaurant.

We absolutely adored being part of Patricia + Diego’s Scottish castle elopement day. Such a magical day spent with these two fun-loving sweet souls!

Venue: Dalhousie Castle

Celebrant: Caroline Pearson Humanist

Dress: Mywony Bridal

Suit: Moss Bros

Dried florals: 7LeafShop

Bridal shoes: Dr Martens

Dreaming of your own fairytale castle elopement in Scotland? Contact me to chat about how I can capture an utterly magical day for you – and help you with planning guidance along the way!