Scottish Highlands wilderness elopement

This is a tale from one of the most remote and wild parts of Scotland. Here’s a Scottish Highlands elopement in the deepest, darkest parts of the central North. Scotland gets a lot of attention for places such as Glencoe and Isle of Skye, and more recently the North Coast 500, which is said to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world. But there are huge swathes of the country which are less well-known and don’t have quite the same spotlight on them. So when Kelly and Ed decided that they wanted to have their elopement in Alladale Wilderness Reserve based in central Sutherland, it was exciting to explore parts of the country that we don’t often get to drive through. The perfect spot for a couple looking for an eco-orientated option with unrivalled privacy.

For Kelly and Ed, their story is very similar to many other couples during Covid times who have eloped – they were originally planning a big family wedding but the pandemic caused them to review their plans. They, instead, decided to elope to Scotland, which turned out to be a little bit of a blessing in disguise. As soon as they got into the planning, they realised that this is secretly an option that their heart desired it took them a short amount of time to be able to finish their planet and then, yeah.

“Having our photos done by Raini and Dave was like having two professional photographers who also happened to be old friends (even though we had never met before). They were calm and sensitive to what we wanted and how we were feeling. We felt so comfortable and reassured by them. It was lovely having them as company as it was just the two of us eloping. Raini did a short mindfulness exercise with us on the day which helped us connect with the moment and each other. We felt like Raini and Dave blended seamlessly into our intimate elopement and were such an important part of it. They laughed and cried along with us and shared our joy and love, and we felt like we had found two long lost friends who we had known forever. 

Raini was more than just an “on the day” wedding/elopement photographer, she was so supportive and sensitive with lots of good advice on eloping. 

At first we were nervous about just the two of us at an elopement being photographed all day. It was so important to find people we felt comfortable with. We got to know Raini in the lead up to the elopement and really felt comfortable and happy around her. Raini listened to our hopes and wants and created the perfect itinerary for us weaving in some beautiful ideas and Scottish traditions she had suggested to us. Raini and Dave also travelled out of their way to explore our venue as we were not able to visit beforehand. Raini is not only an extremely talented photographer but also the organisational Goddess you need for an elopement!! 

We absolutely love our photos and our wedding film. They really capture the essence of the day so perfectly which was so important to be able to share with our friends and family as we had no guests at our elopement but still wanted to capture the special moments to share with our loved ones.  People keep telling us they are the most beautiful wedding photos they have ever seen and we have to agree that Raini and Dave are very talented!

For other couples looking for a photographer, we think being comfortable with the people you are working with and feeling a trust in them is so important. Raini and Dave were those people for us and we would recommend them to anyone wanting an elopement or couples shoot.”

– Kelly + Ed

Alladale Wilderness Reserve elopement

The reserve is 23,000 acres of private land which has been bought purposefully as a rewilding project. Scotland has suffered from huge and devastating amounts of deforestation and natural habit erosion over the last couple of hundred years – it’s almost unrecognisable. Rewilding is deeply close to my heart, which is why we have a tree planted in the Scottish Highlands for every couple we photograph. This is also really important for Kelly+Ed so it was a true privilege to photograph in such a special and intentional place.

They have animal rewilding projects (including wildcat breeding and Highland cattle) as well as nurturing fauna biodiversity + planting trees. This is what inspired Kelly + Ed to choose Alladale as it felt very much aligned with their sustainable and eco-orientated lifestyle. They wanted to be somewhere where they felt that by eloping there, and spending their money there, they would contributing to helping create a wilder Scotland. And because of its remote location, it also meant that they had this huge amount of land almost to themselves (it’s fairly inaccessible unless you’re staying at the Wilderness Reserve itself). In essence, this meant that they had two big glens as their ‘front and back garden’ for the week they stayed there.

Scottish Highlands elopement morning

Their day began with a really relaxed morning in a cute cosy cottage situated in Alladale Wilderness Reserve. After getting ready separately, they took their time to share heartfelt notes as well as gifts. It was a lovely couple of hours together and reminded us that these elopements mornings are truly special.

Exploring the first glen at Alladale

They shared their first look by a tree that they had chosen together in the days before. It was somewhere that they’d felt a little bit of a connection to as they’d explored the hilly landscapes. Afterwards, they spent a bit of time adventuring and seeing the landscape before their ceremony.

Most couples choose to have their ceremony as the first part of their day. Kelly and Ed chose an afternoon ceremony but they didn’t want to miss out on making the most of the daylight hours. (They eloped in November when the days are quite short – especially that far North!) So they rearranged things in a slightly more unconventional way to be able to explore the wilderness reserve before the ceremony. That’s the joy of eloping – you can do it any way that suits you!

Spiritual ceremony in the wilderness

The ceremony itself was conducted by Bunny Loveschock, who is a spiritual Reverend based in Scotland. It was a beautiful heartfelt ceremony with lots of Celtic rituals – including one of my favourites which is the oathing stone where you say your vows whilst holding or placing your hand on stone. And this is said to encase those vows in the stone, which is where the phrase ‘set in stone’ comes from. They also included a handfasting ritual, then dunked their stone in the river to seal their vows in the stone forever more.

Adventuring during their Alladale elopement

After the ceremony, we hopped into a 4×4 Landrover with one of the local Rangers from the Wilderness Reserve, meaning that we could access parts of the park that were not easily accessible using a normal car. We headed over to the second valley where a beautiful lunch had been laid out on a platter for Kelly and Ed inside their Badgers Hide. (Typically used for wildlife spotting.) After warming up by the log fire, we explored the second valley a little bit more before returning to the cottage – by which time it was already getting dark.

Dancing to a bagpiper in a Scottish Highlands elopement

Awaiting their return was Lesley the bagpiper from Inverness and a well-deserved dram of whisky! They shared a first dance to the sound of bagpipes. We also took the opportunity to share a little bit of a Scottish ceilidh dancing with Kelly and taught them how to dance the Gay Gordons. As dinner-time approached, we left Kelly + Ed to enjoy a romantic meal in their cottage and said our sad goodbyes!

It was such an incredible day with a couple who we now count as our friends. And it’s one that is likely to remain close to our hearts forever. And we’re so grateful for the opportunity to photograph couples in wild remote places that they can call their own. We’re honoured when couples trust us to head a little bit off the beaten path to find those quiet nooks.

Dream Team:

Celebrant: Bunny Love-Schock

Location and accommodation: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

Forals: Wild Gorse

Knitwear: Jules Hogan

If this has inspired you to have your own Scottish Highlands elopement somewhere off-the-beaten path then don’t hesitate to get in touch to start planning your day! We love finding places that feel remote and private – it’s our speciality! Drop us a note to kick some elopement ideas around.