An Outdoor Micro Wedding At Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe

Jonny and Michael were married by the shore of Loch Awe in September, with 15th century Kilchurn Castle as the scenic backdrop. After their outdoor Humanist ceremony, they celebrated with an intimate reception at the renowned Ben Cruachan Inn.

Their micro wedding was packed with love, laughter and heartfelt messages from friends and family, who were very much with them in spirit. And Jonny and Michael even dusted off their sewing machine and made their own tartan bunting, table decorations and ring pouches, from the same tartan as their kilts. We love the way they made the day completely their own!

How did you two meet?

We met serendipitously back in April 2016 in Newcastle. Michael was visiting for the weekend from Glasgow; partly for a work conference on the Friday but also to celebrate with his friend Naomi after becoming pharmacist prescribers. What started out as a drink in BrewDog on the Thursday night ended up in meeting up for coffee after Michael’s conference and then Jonny and his friend Jade joining Michael and Naomi on the Friday night at the bowling alley and for drinks afterwards.

Jonny also managed to weasel his way into their Sunday plans to visit Tynemouth market by swiftly ditching his coffee date with his Mam and sister-in-law and offering to drive Michael and Naomi and act as a (quite unknowledgeable) tour guide. Naomi got their planned train home on the Sunday afternoon but Michael changed his for a later train to stay and have dinner with Jonny.

Two weeks later, Jonny was up in Glasgow to visit, which started a long distance back and forth between Newcastle and Glasgow. The rest is history.

We’d love to hear your engagement story!

Around three-and-a-half years after meeting, we planned to bag our 4th and 5th Munros by climbing Ben Cruachan and Stob Daimh.

Little did Jonny know that Michael’s surprise at the top wasn’t just a McGhee’s empire biscuit (our favourite treat), but also a homemade engagement ring made of string. Jonny said yes!

This part of the country became so special to us and we knew it was where we wanted to get married.

What inspired your wedding plans?

We wanted an intimate wedding with our immediate family and to show off Scotland in all its beauty with an outdoor ceremony. We decided on a rustic theme which complemented the beautiful surroundings. The sewing machine was dusted off and we made our own tartan bunting, table decorations and even made our own ring pouches from the same tartan as our kilts.

The wedding brought together families from Newcastle and Glasgow, and this was made special by using Irn Bru and Newcastle Brown ale bottles filled with lights as decorations.

Not forgetting what was possibly the most important part of the day…. instead of a traditional wedding cake we went for a tower of empire biscuits which were generously donated to us by McGhee’s Bakery after finding out about our story.

We spent a lovely weekend with our nearest and dearest, which was so special after spending so much time apart in 2020.

Tell us about your venue…

Scotland is so beautiful that we never considered anywhere else. After getting engaged at the top of Ben Cruachan, Michael’s parent’s bought us a hotel stay at the Ben Cruachan Inn as an engagement present. This sparked the idea that this would be the perfect venue for our wedding.

The Inn had the perfect mix of rustic and modern design and is well known for its amazing food and drink. The staff were so accommodating during the whole process and when we left we felt like we were saying goodbye to friends.

We love your outfits! Tell us more…

Jonny – I wore an Arran Mist kilt and plaid with Arran Navy Tweed jacket and waistcoat. This was the first kilt I had bought when I first moved up to Scotland, and Arran was where we spent our first anniversary together, so it is very special to me. I also wore a pocket watch from MacGregor & MacDuff which was a present from Michael on the morning of our wedding.

Michael – I wore the Scotland Forever kilt and plaid with Arran Navy Tweed jacket and waistcoat. We wanted to showcase lots of tartans at our wedding, so everyone wore a different one. I loved the colours of Scotland Forever and it matched perfectly with Jonny’s Arran Mist.

Our kiltboots from Tartanista were perfect for our outdoor ceremony.

Your photos tell the story of the day so beautifully! 

We found out about Suzanne (Kalisterscope Photography) through a mutual friend and we were delighted when she was free to capture our special day. Her Instagram showed us that she had the style we were looking for and her bubbly personality made the day extra special.

We loved that Suzanne had flexible package options which suited our day perfectly. She made everyone feel so relaxed when she was capturing all of the special moments.

What was your first dance song?

We didn’t have a first dance as it was such an intimate reception, however we did make all our own playlists with songs that were special to us.

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

We had too many Excel documents NOT to stick to budget.

Any advice?


Have the wedding that you both want, not the wedding that traditions dictate you should have.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

We had originally planned to have our honeymoon in Mauritius, however we have now re-arranged plans and will be staying in one of our favourite spots up north, The Lazy Duck.

Michael took Jonny there for his birthday when they first met and it has held a special place in our hearts ever since. It’s a beautiful and cosy eco cabin near Aviemore, the perfect place to unplug and relax by the wood fire.

What’s the one moment you’ll always remember?

Since it was an intimate wedding we only had our immediate family. Michael surprised Jonny with video messages from family and friends that couldn’t be there on the day during his speech. Michael’s sister also surprised the two of us with even more video messages from all our family and friends.

It was so lovely to have such thoughtful messages from people and although they couldn’t be there in person it was nice to feel that they were still part of our special day.

So much love for Jonny and Michael’s wedding story. And that empire biscuit cake tower is inspired! x