Alisha & James's Romantic Cliff Top Dunnottar Castle Elopement Wedding
Dunnottar Castle Wedding – As a wedding photographer who travels all around the breath-taking Scottish Highlands not just to photograph weddings and elopements, but also for pleasure, the ancient fortress of Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire on the east coast of Scotland, has long been on my wish list as a wedding photography location. An Iconic Scottish Castle and an Instagram favourite, with its haunting clifftop setting on a jutting protrusion, it makes for a magical and wildly romantic backdrop for exchanging wedding vows and is both a wedding and non-wedding photographer’s paradise!.
To say I was delighted when Scottish wedding planner Sara, from Weddings by Sara Jane, contacted me to ask if I was available to photograph Alisha And James’s, Dunnottar Castle wedding for two last year, would be an understatement. At just over a two-hour drive from Scotland’s biggest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh and just thirty minutes from Scotland’s third-biggest, thriving and cosmopolitan Aberdeen, Dunnottar’s wild and remote seeming Scottish Highland location is very accessible and easy to travel to.
The Wedding Day
I met lovely James and Alisha to begin their elopement wedding photography coverage on the cliff tops next to the castle, the skirl of traditional Scottish bagpipe accompanied Alisha’s approach to the setting of the vow exchange, where James was waiting. A beautiful traditional Scottish handfast ritual completed their vows as a local registrar conducted the romantic ceremony. With Alisha and James officially betrothed we then made our way to the castle itself, making the most of the ancient walls for the wedding photography, taking a quiet moment to look out to the expansive North Sea beyond the castle walls.
To complete the wedding day we then returned to Alisha and James’s hotel, Banochry Lodge on the banks of the River Dee. With its lush surrounding, I shot my final photographs then left Alisha and James to enjoy the rest of their wedding day together.
If you are feeling inspired by Alisha and James’s romantic elopement wedding in Scotland and would like to find out more about the legalities of getting married in Aberdeenshire the local registry office has the information you need. The Visit Aberdeenshire site also has loads of information about the local area and its many attractions.
Feeling Inspired?
If you love Lydia & Alan’s beautiful Shieldaig Lodge elopement you also might like to check out these other elopement weddings in the the Scottish Highlands:
Shieldaig Lodge Wedding // Redpoint Beach Elopement – Sarah & James
Clachtoll Beach Elopement // Windswept Assynt Wedding – Maxine & Fawne
Elopement Wedding Elgol // Isle of Skye – Rebecca & Murray
Scotland Elopement Photography // Isle of Skye – Nico & Crawford
How to Elope in Scotland
For Information and advice on how to elope in Scotland, please check out my guide!
Get in Touch!
If you think my photography style and approach are a fit for your wedding day, I would be delighted to hear from you, please get in touch by visiting my contact page. I would love to hear your wedding plans!
