“One of the most beautiful places on Earth” – An Isle of Skye elopement

After falling in love online, Alex and Ben spent months crossing the Atlantic, back and forth, to be together. Inspired by the idea of a road trip to “one of the most beautiful places on Earth”, they eloped to The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. And it was every bit as incredible as you’d imagine…

How did you two meet?

We met online! We Facetimed each other non-stop until we met in person. We spent the next months flying back and forth to each other until Alex moved to the UK in June of 2020.

What inspired your wedding plans?

Because Alex is American and Ben is British, we came to the issue of not being able to get our families in one place. We decided to elope, just the two of us, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Ella Herbert, our elopement planner, was very helpful, patient and informative and we would have had no clue how to do this without her!

Were there any challenges along the way?

Like most couples who had 2020 wedding dates, we had to push ours back as well. Luckily, it was just the two of us so we didn’t have to worry about communicating that with guests.

We love your outfits! Tell us more…

I got my dress from The White Room in Nashville, TN. The colour of my dress was “off white/crystal” and the fabric was crepe odyssey. This was the second dress I tried on and it was nothing like what I had been looking at online. It was classic and simple, yet modern at the same time. It was also very comfortable and had some stretch to it so I knew I would be able to get up the hills easily. My accessories were a solid gold heart necklace from GLDN, white boots from Matisse and a dainty gold bracelet from CARAT London.

Ben wore a textured gray suit from Slaters with a black polka dot tie, white shirt and black belt. He coupled it with black Chelsea boots and Mont Blanc cuff links.

The highland sheep provided their own attire!

How did you choose your photographer?

We found Weirdie Grizzly (Laszlo) through our elopement planner, Ella Mai. His photography really stood out to us – it was dramatic and moody, but there is a softness about his photos.

We love our photos more than words can describe. I just get the feelings I had on the day all over again when I look at them. He captured the beautiful scenery as well as the raw emotion that we had throughout the day. He absolutely exceeded our expectations.

Anyone else you’d like to give a special shout out to?

We didn’t really have “suppliers” but the hotel we were staying at was incredible! The Flodigarry staff are so accommodating, friendly and inviting. They even made a special trip for us to be able to have fresh oysters at dinner on our wedding night.

Gary Smith, our celebrant, was lovely and full of energy.

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

Yes, we did!

Any advice?


Seriously consider eloping – because you will make the most out of each other which is the most important thing, as it is your day. You can always have a party for your family and friends later.

We believe that brides and grooms miss out on some intimate moments when they have a large wedding. It is so special just to wake up, relax and take your time with the day.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Minimoon for us. We drove 12 hours from the South of England to the Isle of Skye and decided to take our time on the way back down. We spent two days on Skye, two days in Fort William, and two days in Lochearnhead. We spent the week exploring Scotland and eating the best seafood we have ever had. We are going to save the beachy honeymoon for when we can SAFELY go somewhere warm!

What’s the one truly unforgettable thing about your wedding day?

We both said that the one moment we will always remember was reading our letters to each other before we started getting ready for the ceremony. Words cannot describe the emotions we were both feeling, as well at the breathtaking view we had.

Oh my heart! We love a long distance love story here at WFIL. Anyone else longing for a road trip elopement with their love? x