Wild hearts and white sands

We’re heading to the Outer Hebrides today, with a styled wedding shoot that highlights the rugged beauty of North Uist. While other Scottish islands such as Skye may be better known and easier to access, those who make the trip to the Western Isles are rewarded with breathtaking landscapes and remote stretches of white sand beaches and turquoise seas. Perfect if you love the idea of eloping away from it all! We caught up with Shelle and Nads of Wild Soul Photography to find out more.

What inspired this shoot?

North Uist is very close to Shelle’s heart, as she grew up there and has a very strong emotional connection to the island, so we chose that as our location and the ideas grew from there.

We wanted our photos to convey the natural, rugged beauty of the island but to also highlight North Uist as an elopement and wedding location, as other Scottish Islands (such as Skye and Harris) seem to get all the love! It was important to us for the shoot to be authentic, showing North Uist and its colours, wild weather, etc., in its true form.

Initially, we were approached by Jennifer from the Bridal Courtyard to collaborate on a styled bridal shoot with her and MacGregor and MacDuff. As Wild Soul is a new business, we were keen to showcase our style, brand and personalities!

We knew early on that we wanted to incorporate a flower crown (who wouldn’t?!) and were keen to match it to the wild landscape. We found Lucy and Rebecca from To A Mountain Daisy on Instragram. They were hugely accommodating and provided us with a bespoke, dried flower crown and corsage and also a beautiful custom buttonhole for our groom.

We had been following Frenchie from Neverland Nails for sometime on social media (we love her style!!) and were really keen to work with her and use one of her customised vegan leather jackets. She told us about Lisa from Floral Renegade, so we got in touch with her too and she provided a stunning faux bouquet! These lady bosses were a total inspiration to us as new female business owners and we hope to work with them again!

Any surprises on the day?

The weather! The wind was really strong and the rain was coming in horizontally but we didn’t let that stop us! Our models were amazing and braved the wild weather – if anything, it added to the atmosphere of the shoot and was certainly a true representation of island life!

What do you love most about North Uist?

For us, the thing we love most about North Uist is the utter calm we feel when stepping off that ferry! The pace of life is much slower and everyone takes the time to interact with each other (very unlike city life!). It is such a relaxing place to be – the white sandy beaches and turquoise seas are totally breathtaking and you feel like you are in another world. Us Wild Soul ladies are also avid seafood lovers, so it ticks all the boxes!!

Any insider tips for couples thinking of eloping to or visiting North Uist?

Any couples thinking of eloping to North Uist will be absolutely spoiled for choice on location – the beaches provide a stunning backdrop to your ceremony but there is also Eabhal – the biggest hill on the island (which we climbed with our menfolk and doggos), which would make for a more dramatic ceremony location and is perhaps best suited to experienced walkers.

Do remember some midge repellent and watch out for ticks! There are some amazing local producers of food and drink, namely North Uist Distillery who make award winning Downpour Gin and loads of suppliers to satisfy your seafood fix, for example, the Hebridean Smokehouse and Namara! We can’t get enough of Uist and hope some of you will venture to the islands on your next trip!

Island hopping sounds like a perfect way to start married life to us! Where would you love to explore? x