A Scottish Highland elopement in a woodland glen

If watching Outlander has left you longing for a romantic Scottish wedding of your own, then today’s outdoor Highland elopement is sure to inspire. Hannah and Andrew travelled over from the USA to make their vows in front of their parents in a hand fasting ceremony in Sutherland Glen, near Oban, then headed to atmospheric Glen Coe for photos. We love that they picked the location for their (non legally binding) ceremony just the day before and embraced the Scottish elements on the day.

Love at first sight or gradual attraction?

My husband and I met our senior year of college after he came to work on a school project with my roommate. I never believed in “love at first sight,” but as soon as he walked into the room, I was immediately drawn to him. I started to realise he felt the same way, when he continued to come over to the apartment to “study” with my roommate – which if you knew him, he NEVER studied!!

My attraction grew stronger when he asked me out on an official date. He was not coy about it, but was rather direct and simply said, “I want to take you on a date.” There was no dancing around the matter, and I knew I was dealing with someone who knew what he wanted, and wasn’t going to waste his, or my, time.

Our first date was to a Prohibition Era bar with the entrance behind a trashcan in a back alley, and a password required before entering. The entire bar and restaurant was only lit by candlelight. I think it was safe to say I fell in love with him right then and there. And the rest is history.

What inspired your wedding plans?

Simplicity. I always knew I wanted a destination wedding, and thankfully my job as a flight attendant allowed that to be a possibility at a lesser cost. Once we decided that we would elope with just our parents in attendance, we focused on the UK as a wedding destination.

One personal touch we had for our wedding was a traditional handfasting ceremony. My parents found a tartan website and created a handfasting ribbon with both of our clan tartans on each side. When tied together, our families became one – essentially “tying the knot.” It was a beautiful addition to the ceremony and a great physical representation of our wedding we were able to take home with us.

Our “flowers” were absolutely stunning. Clearly, our wedding was not traditional, and our flowers were no different. We didn’t do flowers, but rather bouquets and boutonnière of greenery. The Thistle and the Rose perfected the arrangements to a “T”. I sent my mom a greenery arrangement I found on Pinterest and simply said, “Something like this”. When I say it was picturesque, every detail of the arrangement matched my Pinterest photo. I was ecstatic with my bouquet.

Why Scotland?

When picking our location, we wanted to pick somewhere that both of our parents have never been, especially if they were going to be making the trip across the pond. We wanted it to be worth their while. We ultimately picked Scotland because Andrew’s family heritage is of Scottish descent, and we thought it would be special to be able to track his ancestors back to where it all began.

Outlander, may or may not, have also played an encouraging role in deciding on locale. I’ll let you be the judge of that!

Our ceremony was held at Sutherland’s Grove in Oban. We went about choosing our ceremony “venue” in a non-traditional way to say the least. My family and I stayed at Barcaldine Castle, run by Abbie-may Baxter and her husband, just a 10 minute drive from Sutherland’s Grove. Our experience at Barcaldine Castle was absolute magic. Abbie-May and her husband made our entire week stress free. I would recommend staying at the castle, even if a wedding is not on the schedule!

We did not have an exact wedding location before arriving into Scotland, just with the knowledge of wanting an outdoor ceremony, if the weather behaved. Abbie-may, who also played (non-legally binding) officiant/celebrant for our wedding, kept talking about the beauty of Sutherland’s Grove and how it was a must to have our ceremony there.

The day before our wedding, our families went to venture to Sutherland’s Grove to see if the forest greenery and the rushing stream lived up the beauty Abbie-may elegantly described. It did not disappoint. The fall leaves had beautifully blanketed the hiking trail that led up to a large tree stump – the perfect location for an eager couple to exchange their vows. At that moment, the day before our wedding, we decided to meet at 1pm the following day and declared Sutherland’s Grove as our ceremony site.

How did you celebrate afterwards?

We didn’t have a stereotypical reception. We did, however, have a delicious family dinner at The Pierhouse Hotel and Seafood Restaurant in Port Appin. We were delighted with an abundance of fresh seafood that danced on our tastebuds. The location itself sat right on the water, where we viewed the glittering sunset as we cheered to a magical end to our wedding day.

We love your dress! Tell us more…

My dress was by Justin Alexander and was ivory, off-the-shoulder, with a subtle mermaid silhouette, all lace material with a see through back with buttons down the centre. I chose this particular style because I wanted a comfortable material that I would be able to move around in, but that is also a timeless look. Lace is absolutely gorgeous for any season, and it adds such a romantic touch to your special day.

Mary Elizabeth’s Bridal was the only bridal shop I went to, and my chosen dress was the second one I tried on that day. I had no intention on buying a wedding dress during our visit, but when you know, you know.

Continuing with the non-traditional route, I wore combat boots as my wedding shoes! I wanted to be comfortable, and knew that we could be dealing with weather, so I wanted to make sure my feet wouldn’t get wet! Wearing my combat boots really showed my laid-back personality, and I was so happy I went that shoe route! My friends and family got a kick out of my “wedding shoes.” I joke with my husband when I wear my boots I say, “Who else can wear their wedding shoes outside of their wedding day?”

My absolute favorite wedding accessory I had was my Oma’s veil topper. It meant so much to me to wear it on my wedding day, because it was the same veil topper she wore when she married my Opa over 60 years ago. They are still married to this day, and I couldn’t think of a better “Something Old” to have on my new journey as a wife.

The only other accessories I had were gold dangle earrings with a CZ diamond dangle drop that I purchased from Etsy. They were simple, yet elegant, and really complemented my wedding/engagement rings.

What did Andrew wear?

My husband wanted a custom suit that wouldn’t break the budget, rather than renting a suit. His job requires him to wear a suit, so we figured purchasing a custom suit would be beneficial for the wedding, and post wedding necessities. Indochino is an affordable custom suit store and really tailored to all of our needs when making the perfect husband-to-be-attire.

With our $500 purchase, it included a custom tailored suit jacket/pants, a collared shirt, pocket square, tie, pocket customisation, pant lining customisation, suit jacket interior customisation, as well as personalised embroidery. It was truly a one-stop shop, but did not feel like cheap material. Once we ordered our suit, it arrived within a week. We were absolutely pleased with the overall result.

Your photos and highlight film are so atmospheric!

Carole-Ann at Harper Scott Photo was everything I could have dreamed of and more. I began my search for wedding photographers early on in the wedding process. Once we designated our location, I knew I wanted a documentary style photographer.

My husband and I are not ones for posed photos, so we wanted someone that was going to capture the real us. I really loved the darker hues of our photos. It beautifully captured the forest greens of our ceremony location, and the dark moods of the pouring rain for our couple pictures in Glen Coe. I constantly find myself looking back at our photos in absolute awe.

One of my absolute musts for my wedding day was capturing it via video. I have always loved wedding videos, and especially since we only had our parents as part of our wedding, we wanted a video to share with our family and friends back home – to make them feel a part of our special day.

Carole-Ann made the entire experience amazing and if I could ship her over to the United States, I would!

Any advice?


Make your wedding day all about you two and everything you want it to be. If you want to elope, elope. If you want a 500 person wedding, invite 500 people. Just remember, that after the day is done, it’s not about a party, but a promise you made to one another. A wedding day is just a celebration, and it’s just like they say, it flies by!

What’s the one thing you’ll never forget about your wedding day?

Taking our couple’s pictures in Glen Coe during the pouring rain could not have been more memorable. My makeup was running down my face, and my husband was drenched from head to toe, but it was an absolute blast! It really captured our relationship – that we really know how to “dance in the rain.” I could not have been happier in that moment.

Love this story – thanks for sharing your day with us Hannah and Andrew! A welcome reminder that if all the visa-related bureaucracy is making you lose your will to elope, then having a non-legally binding ceremony (and doing the official bit at home) is a great alternative. Especially if you want to be spontaneous on the day. As we always say, the rules are – there are no rules. Do it your way! x