Winton Castle Wedding | Carla + James | Scotland Wedding Photographer | Edinburgh Wedding Photographer
Winton Castle Wedding | Carla + James | Scotland Wedding Photographer | Edinburgh Wedding Photographer
Carla and James decided to get married near where James grew up in Scotland, which brought them to having their romantic wedding day at the stunning Winton Castle, located just outside of Edinburgh. The grounds are magical. When we arrived in the morning, we were greeted with an epic gate house that was surrounded by the misty fog. We decided to put the drone up to see the castle from overhead and I love the calm and quiet presence that fog makes you feel. It was a beautiful start to Carla and James’ wedding day. Once I photographed a bit of the lovely landscaping, I went straight upstairs inside of Winton Castle to the bridal suite, where Carla was having her makeup done by the talented Lyn Mckenzie Makeup. Truly, it’s always so nice to meet lovely wedding vendors on wedding days. I spent the morning documenting the bride, her sweet child, the family, the bridal party and all of the wedding details, like the florals by Save the Date Collective, in the natural window light of Winton Castle. Truly was a lovely morning of all of the bridesmaids toasting champagne, laughing together and loving on Carla as she was about to become a wife!
Winton Castle has many beautifully designed rooms with historic featured, vibrant interiors and vintage furniture. So it’s easy for any bride to choose a room within Winton Castle to vow to spend the rest of their lives together in. The ceremony was full of many scottish tradtions from the hand tying to drinking whisky out of their monogrammed Quaich. The ceremony was followed by a bit of alone time for the couple, then a few family photos by the fireplace while everyone was well into the appetizers and drinks floating around. After the family photos we did a confetti and group shot out front of Winton Castle. The Castle manager had a ladder ready to go, which I think was very thoughtful and the kind of organization mindset that I love on a wedding day. Then the three of us went for a more quiet stroll through the gardens surrounding Winton Castle. I like to let the couple walk either ahead or behind me for a while and I capture them from a distance, so they have some more alone time to chat and just be with each other before heading back inside to spend the evening with their loved ones.
Once we got back inside, the lovely main dining hall in Winton Castle, was all set up for a beautiful dinner reception. The wine and catering was all from Winton Castle, and everything was incredible, from the actual taste to the artistic plating of the food, which I really appreciated. After dinner there were many speeches, toasts, sparklers, cigars and everyone was able to lounge in all of the rooms of the castle with their teas and coffee. Eventually, the main dining hall was cleared of the reception tables and the set up by DJ Edinburgh was ready to go, as he went room to room inviting everyone to the dance floor! The night was endless dancing, partying and a really memorable time! Truly, Winton Castle was the perfect wedding venue for this lovely wedding day. x
Scotland Castle Wedding Venue - Winton Castle (a romantic castle venue near Edinburgh, Scotland) | Wedding Florist - Save the Date Collective | Scotland Wedding Makeup Artist - Lyn Mckenzie Makeup | Wedding Dress - Cotswold Frock Shop Bridal Gallery | Scotland Wedding DJ - DJ Edinburgh, Jim Henderson | Scotland Wedding Filmmaker - Amarone Wedding Films
A Romantic Country House Wedding in Scotland | Lunga House | Diana + Scott | Scottish Wedding Venue | Scotland Wedding Photographer
A Romantic Country House Wedding in Scotland | Lunga House | Diana + Scott | Scottish WEdding Venue | Scotland Wedding Photographer
Overlooking the water, on the west coast of Scotland, you will find the lovely Lunga House. This incredibly beautiful country house is located on Lunga Estate, just a short drive from Craobh Haven in the heart of Argyll. With Diana being from North America and Scott from Scotland, it was the perfect wedding venue to house both travelers visiting from abroad as well as the locals who maybe haven’t ventured to every inch of Scotland yet. Even my husband, who was born and raised in Scotland, this wedding day was his first time visiting this area specifically, even though he’s driven on the nearest main road and never stopped off to explore. The Scottish nature scenes are stunning in this area (as are most in Scotland), but all of this to say, definitely worth looking into this historic venue if you’re still searching for a coastal, country house wedding venue in Scotland.
Diana started her day with her bridesmaids getting ready in the upstairs bridal suite of the Lunga House, with beautiful views of the ocean from the three large windows in the room. I started my day as I usually do, by getting there a bit early, roaming around the venue to search for the perfect corners and patches of light. I would then head to find beautiful textures of the venue to photograph any details laid out for me, after going to say good morning to the bride to be and her bridal party.
The Lunga House is perfect for any kinds of scottish weather, as you can get married outside in the garden or have your ceremony in one of their lovely, historical rooms for an intimate ceremony. The country house also has many rooms for a cocktail hour, tea hour, cake cutting space and lounge rooms with seating to break up the standing around. The Lunga House Estate has one large hall on the end of the home and that is where the reception dinner, speeches, toasts and dancing takes place. It feels intimate enough for long tables for dinner, but it’s also large enough to have live band play and have a formal ceilidh dance, like Diana and Scott had for their wedding evening. As I was walking away to the car at the end of the night, I caught a glimpse of the two of them dancing together through a window and the way they were looking at each other says it all about how they feel about one another. I truly loved how romantic this scottish wedding day was, and the Lunga House Estate truly made the perfect backdrop for these two to start the next chapter of their lives together. x
Scotland Wedding Venue - Lunga house Country Estate | Scotland Wedding Florist - The Thistle and the Rose Oban | Scotland Hair Stylist - Hair my Yasmin | Bride and Groom Rings - Molome London
Barnbougle Castle Wedding | Rosebery Venues | Rosie + Sean | Castle Wedding Venue Near Edinburgh, Scotland | Edinburgh Wedding Photographer
Barnbougle Castle Wedding | Rosebery Venues | Rosie + Sean | Castle Wedding Venue Near EdinburgH | Scotland Wedding Photographer | Edinburgh Wedding Photographer
Rosie and Sean decided to fly all the way to Scotland from America to get married at a romantic seaside castle just on the outskirts of Edinburgh, at the lovely Barnbougle Castle. Barnbougle Castle is truly a beautiful piece of history. It’s origins date back to the 13th century and is placed right in the center of the Dalmeny Estate, near South Queensferry.
Before driving over to Barnbougle Castle, Rosie started the morning of her wedding day at The Scotsman Hotel, getting ready in a bridal suite overlooking the Edinburgh city skyline. When I arrived at The Scotsman Hotel, Mercedes (the owner of the design-led wedding planning studio of Scarlett & Bell) was there ready to go with all of the details and plans to make sure their wedding day went by seamlessly, which of course it did. I always love not only working alongside talented individuals, but ones I consider encouraging friends in the industry! Ever since I moved to Edinburgh when I married my (very Scottish) husband, I’ve been grateful to be able to form a small community of like-minded friends who have the same design-led mindsets on wedding days, and of course can run a tight ship with the couple and guests feeling their most relaxed and in wedding bliss selves. Anyways, that was a long ramble, but to conclude, I highly suggest hiring Mercedes of Scarlett & Bell to help with you wedding planning in Scotland, whether you are from here or from abroad. Fina Beauty’s team was also there putting the finishing touches on Rosie at The Scotsman. Once her hair and makeup was completed, we headed over to The Royal Mile to capture a first look for her and Sean. Of course The Royal Mile can be busy, but there are plenty of quiet corners I am happy to suggest so that couples can have an intimate and personal moment away from the crowds.
Once we finished taking bridal portraits on The Royal Mile, a vintage car picked up Rosie from The Scotsman Hotel and drove her over to Barnbougle Castle just in time for the wedding ceremony. I arrived to the venue just before Rosie, alongside Matt Willoughby, who was the wedding filmmaker for the day. He is also someone I would recommend for a relaxed, friendly and unique eye to create a cinematic wedding experience for you to relieve in motion. I was able to capture all of the stunning wedding floral installations that were done by Adelaide’s Flowers just before the wedding ceremony started, which was beautifully held outside on the Barnbougle Castle terrace, overlooking Edinburgh just beyond the waterfront. After the wedding ceremony, which was full of beautiful Scottish wedding traditions, the couple walked out in front of Barnbougle Castle as the bagpiper played and confetti was thrown at them by all of their loved ones.
The rest of the evening was filled with drinking and delicious courses by Wild Thyme with their loved ones in the main dining hall of Barnbougle Castle, sitting outside on the terrace with coffee and Sicilian Pastry Shop cake and then dancing the night away to the live band, The Soul Establishment. It is so beautiful to see so many Americans enjoying the scottish culture and their heritage, and especially in such a romantic history castle, like Barnbougle. x
Scotland Castle Wedding Venue - Barnbougle Castle, Rosebery Venues (a lovely Scottish castle wedding venue on Dalmeny Estate, near Edinburgh, Scotland) | Design-Led Scottish Wedding Planner - Scarlett & Bell, Mercedes Somerville | Edinburgh Hotel Bridal Suite - The Scotsman Hotel | Scottish Wedding Florist - Adelaide Menzies of Adelaide’s Flowers | Luxury Bridal Makeup and Hair Stylist in Edinburgh - Fina Beauty | Edinburgh, Scotland Wedding Reception Catering - Wild Thyme | Wedding Cake - The Sicilian Pastry Shop | Edinburgh Live Wedding Band - The Soul Establishment of Established Entertainment | Scotland Wedding Filmmaker - Matt Willoughby Film assisted by Simon Hird Weddings |
Aikwood Tower | Scottish Borders Wedding | Scotland Wedding Photographer
Aikwood Tower Wedding | Scotland Wedding Photographer
Bexx + Ben, I just love these two together. I’m so glad they asked me to shoot their wedding in the Scottish Borders! We first met when they came to Edinburgh for me to capture their engagement session. We spent most our time together after that session at a local pub drinking milkshakes and just truly having the best time chatting! I was already looking forward to their wedding day just because of how fun their personalities were, but I had no idea that all of their friends and family were going to be so lovely as well. And I was not expecting, from what I had seen online, to see the beauty that was Aikwood Tower. Their venue was located in the remote countryside of the Scottish Borders and is a newly restored 16th century tower house. The day was just so full of so many Scottish traditions, her ‘mum’ was the officiant, there were loads of family styled food dishes (all Christmas Dinner themed) catered by The Pantry, and nonstop dancing into the night with a full-on group karaoke of Disco music. I couldn’t have thought of pairing all of these favorite things of mine in one wedding if I tried. The fact that Bexx and I are just so similar just made me adore this day that much more! In the end, this wedding, full of the beauty of Scotland as well as their unique and quirky taste, made this a gem of a wedding, and I’m just so glad I was able to celebrate with these two into the ‘wee’ small hours of the morning!
If you’d like to Inquire about me capturing your wedding day or see if your date is available for 2020 or 2021?
Fill out the form below and I would love to help you create something beautiful together!
Venue - Aikwood Tower | Planner + Florist - Get Knotted | Dress - Rory Andrew | Hair + Makeup - City Brides Edinburgh | Jewelry - Katie Lee’s Fine Jewelry | Cocktail Hour, Reception, Late Night Snacks, Desserts, Tuk Tuk Truck - The Pantry Edinburgh | Cake - Big Bear Bakery | Humanist Celebrant - Sandra Mclaren | DJ - Oliver Melling | Wedding Filmmaker - Shoot It Yourself |
Aikwood Tower is such a beautiful wedding venue in Scotland. Aikwood Tower is a scottish owned and operated historical wedding venue tucked away in the Scottish Borders. The great thing about a Scottish borders wedding venue, is that they will be close enough for your guests to stay the night in larger cities, such as Edinburgh or Glasgow. There are also so many beautiful, quaint little towns nearby Aikwood Tower, such as Selkirk, Melrose and St. Boswells. Aikwood Tower has a rich history as well. With this wedding venue starting out as part of the Scott family clan dating back to 1517. On their website they have a more detailed history, but one of my favorite stories was one that is a tale that Aikwood Tower was used during the Jacobite rebellion as an escape from the government after the Battle of Culloden. And the main reason I’m intrigued by this, is because I just recently started watching Outlander, and the Jacobite Rebellion and the Battle of Culloden are both very essential players in the storyline of this intriguing historical drama series. Either way, this venue has since been restored and has won many architecture awards for how lovely they have restored this historical farm and tower. When you rent this Scottish wedding venue, you are not only renting Aikwood tower for the day, but you will have the entire weekend for lodging of five bedrooms to spend time with your family visiting from out of town. Aikwood Tower is perfect for intimate weddings in Scotland. Not only is Aikwood tower a beautiful wedding venue, but it’s also very historic. A historical wedding venue is one that most couples traveling to Scotland to elope will be looking for. You have lodging on site, you have scottish history all around you, and you have the lovely team at Aikwood Tower to assist you with anything you may possibly need. I absolutely loved working with the Aikwood Tower wedding team. Aikwood tower has not only the beautiful garden surround the wedding venue, but also the scottish charm that you want in a wedding venue when you’re in Scotland. There is something to be said about new and modern wedding venues, but when you are searching for a historic Scotland wedding venue, Aikwood Tower is one of the best wedding venues in Scotland. I already can’t wait to capture another Aikwood Tower wedding! If you are still searching for a romantic and intimate wedding venue in Scoltland, Aikwood Tower is your place. I can’t say enough nice things about Aikwood Tower and the magic of Scotland that you feel when you’re on the grounds.