Romantic clifftop elopement at Dunnottar Castle

If your idea of a romantic Scottish elopement includes a clifftop castle ruin then you can’t get much better than Dunnottar Castle. And even more romantic in those snuggly Winter/Spring months.

Shying away from planning a big wedding, Evan + Quinn chose to elope so they could spend the day focused solely on each other and their relationship. (Whilst also enjoying their shared love of travel!)

They chose to elope at Dunnottar Castle after having a particularly memorable trip to Ireland earlier in their relationship – they wanted somewhere that felt similar but a new adventure together. With a shared Celtic history, the two countries are closely linked.

Evan + Quinn eloped in March – which is a wonderful time to elope at Dunnottar Castle (and Scotland in general!) March falls on the shoulder season (it’s right on the border of Winter and Spring) which means it can be unpredictable but that’s part of the fun! I also think those shoulder seasons bring the best light conditions – especially for sunsets and sunrises. And this elopement day certainly confirmed that with one of the best sunsets we witnessed in 2022.

Eloping at Dunnottar Castle outside of summer is strongly advised – it’s a popular tourist destination, especially between May-September. And the way that the permit to elope there works, it can be quite crowded for your ceremony if you choose summer depending on location and timings available.

Getting ready for a Dunnottar Castle elopement

Evan + Quinn shared a beautiful and relaxed morning at their AirBnB in Stonehaven – a cute coastal town just a short drive from the castle. They chose to start the day as they normally would by getting ready together. It was wonderfully chilled out as they helped each other get into their outfits whilst drinking coffee together.

Photographing getting-ready preparations is one of our favourite things to do. There are many reasons why it’s so important to capture these moments including

• It’s a wonderful way to tell the full story of an elopement day – start to finish
• It adds diversity to your final gallery
• Great way to get some photos of you fully ready and at your best before facing the Scottish weather
• It gives you a chance to relax into being in front of the camera before your ceremony
• We also get to know each other before getting caught up in the whirlwind of the day, meaning you’ll feel comfier and get more natural photos

We always recommend taking 1.5-2 hours to capture your getting ready part of the day. This might sound like a long time but trust us, it will go by in the blink of an eye. We’ve never photographed a morning where a couple felt that this time was too long – it’s usually the opposite!

Emotional Dunnottar Castle elopement ceremony

If you’ve started planning a Dunnottar Castle elopement you’ll quickly realise that you need to pay to elope at Dunnottar Castle. This is equally true whether you’re in the castle or on the clifftop plateaus surrounding it.

Evan + Quinn chose to elope on the clifftop to enjoy the castle and ocean views as their backdrop. (Choosing to elope inside the castle comes with fairly strict timings and location options so we usually advise eloping on the clifftop for more flexibility).

They had a beautiful Humanist ceremony conducted by Ashton Easter which included emotional personal vows, Celtic handfasting and quaich ceremony. Find out more about these beautiful celtic wedding traditions.

We then explored the public grounds after the castle had closed and tourists had left… Leaving us to enjoy a beautiful private sunset by a dramatic clifftop castle.

Explore the grounds of Dunnottar Castle during your elopement

The beauty of eloping later in the day at Dunnottar means you can enjoy the castle area after opening hours after all the tourists have left. For being a relatively small geographical area, Dunnottar offers a surprising diversity of sights in a short distance. You can head down to the shore by the dramatic sea stacks or walk along the clifftop edges for a castle backdrop. Or wander through the long grasses to see the coastline as it stretches as far as the eye can see.

Lanterns are perfect for Scottish elopements at sunset

Dream team of Scottish elopement suppliers

Photography: Raini Rowell Photography

Planning: Ella Mai

Celebrant: Ashton Easter

Location: Dunnottar Castle

Florist: Kim Dalglish

Stationery: Wedding Artwork

Accommodation: AirBnB

Find out more about eloping at Dunnottar Castle

If a Dunnottar Castle elopement has piqued your interest for your Scottish wedding day then get in touch to chat more about what your day there could look like!