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A Brave inspired Scottish castle elopement

After falling in love with Dalhousie Castle, near Edinburgh, childhood sweethearts Beth and Alex fast-tracked their engagement and began secretly making plans to elope to Scotland. Inspired by the Disney film Brave and their connections to the Ramsay clan, their romantic and enchanting runaway wedding was everything they dreamed of, and so much more.

How did you two meet and fall in love?

Alex is my childhood sweetheart. We met in high school and became “boyfriend and girlfriend” over MSN (those were the days!) on 27th September 2006 when we were two very young and innocent 13 year olds. We went to the cinema that same night to see Talledega Nights, held hands for the entire film, and the rest is history!

Separately, we couldn’t have been more different! Alex was relatively quiet, innocent, and quite grown up for his age. By age 12 he was already flying planes and knew exactly where he was going in life.

I, on the other hand, was very loud and going through my emo/goth/whatever phase and had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life (and I still don’t to this day). My hair was every colour under the sun at one point or another and my wardrobe was black, black and more black.

From the outside we probably looked like the strangest pairing and I always laugh thinking about what his parents must have thought the first time he took me home.

But when we’re together, just the two of us, we are like one person. We clicked instantly and he very quickly became everything to me. We have been through so much together, he is my best friend and I cant imagine my life without him.

Twelve years later, we live together with our fur babies Barney (cat) and Eddie (bearded dragon) – the next natural step we decided, was to get married! And honestly, everyone has said that eloping was totally us and it was about time!

What inspired your wedding plans?

The Ramsay clan, our love of Scotland and the Disney film Brave!

Besides Alex having family connections to Scotland and the Ramsay clan, it’s just always been a really special place for us.

It’s like a magnet that keeps pulling us back. We try and visit Scotland a few times a year because we just love it so much. Our favourite place is Edinburgh and we usually drive up for the Fringe festival and around Christmas for the markets and shopping.

Scotland is a beautiful country, with amazing people who are so welcoming and accepting of everyone. In the future we plan to move to Edinburgh so we can be emerged in it every day!

Tell us about your venue…

We didn’t pick the venue, the venue picked us! Although we knew we would get married one day, we weren’t actually engaged! We have never really liked the idea of having a big traditional wedding, so when we discovered that Dalhousie Castle (once the seat of the Ramsay clan) offered elopement packages, we knew it was meant to be. Over the next few days we talked about the idea of eloping jokingly. Until one night we were sat at home chatting and just decided to go for it! We looked at each other and said “Are we engaged?”

We didn’t even toy with the idea of alternative venues. The castle itself was so beautiful! From the most stunning ornate ceiling in the reception hall, the very spooky and atmospheric dungeon restaurant (where we had our wedding breakfast), to our favourite room – the library bar (where we drank lots of whiskey!).

The ceremony was held in the castle’s chapel, or “gun room” as it’s also known. I entered the chapel following the castle’s resident bagpiper, Andrew. And our wedding rings were delivered by their gorgeous barn owl, Bonnie.

There are no words to describe what it was like walking down the aisle to the sound of bagpipes towards my husband to be, with only our witnesses present. In that moment it felt like we were the only people on the planet and I could not stop smiling!

To top it all off, the castle is surrounded by acres of woodland, with a river running right down through the middle of the valley, as well as so much more to discover. We definitely did this on the day! For two full hours in fact. Which resulted in a very dirty wedding dress and some amazing pictures!

Your photos are beautiful!

When we decided we were going to elope and get married in secret (even our parents didn’t know!), there was always one person who we knew had to be the exception – our wonderfully talented sister/sister-in-law Samantha (Samantha Kay Photography).

Sam’s style is so natural and she captures the true essence of every wedding that she does. It was great seeing her in action on the day! She’s like a ninja and there’s nothing she won’t do to get the perfect shot.

Saying that though, absolutely nothing was staged or posed. Our only instruction was “pretend I’m not here”. And because that’s exactly what we did, there are so many pictures that we didn’t even know she’d taken. Every time we look through our photos it’s like reliving the day all over again – every smile, laugh and emotion. That’s what’s truly special about Sam and her style and we’ll cherish our pictures forever.

We love your dress! Tell us more…

My dress was bohemian chic with a chiffon evasé skirt and an original Chantilly and semi-sheer guipure bodice with high neckline and 3/4 sleeves.

The relaxed but elegant style of the dress matched the location and the general feeling of the day perfectly! Just 10 days after getting engaged, I went shopping with my now sister-in-law Samantha, just to have a look, and ended up being able to try some dresses on due to a cancellation. Several dresses and a few glasses of Champagne later, Id fallen in love with the second dress I tried on! Nothing else compared to it and even though I said I wouldn’t jump into buying the first dress I found, we knew we weren’t going to find anything better!

I did my own hair and kept it au natural (except the colour).

And what about Alex’s outfit?

Out of all the kilt makers in Edinburgh, Gordon Nicholson stood out the most for us because of the care and attention they put into their kilts.

The shop itself is like Geppetto’s workshop! Everywhere you look there is something going on with beautiful sporrans lining the entire room and the most amazing little workbench in the corner where every single pleat is painstakingly sewed.

And honestly, we did not have a clue about kilts and what goes with them! But the girls in the shop were fantastic. They helped us put together Alex’s entire outfit! His kilt was made out of the blue Ramsay tartan paired with all the trimmings – suit, jacket and waistcoat, matching blue tie, Ramsay tartan flashes, Ramsay clan kilt pin and traditional ghillie brogues.

I didn’t see the full outfit together until we were at the altar and he looked incredible!

Your flower crown is gorgeous!

I actually met Kathryn of White House Flowers at Dalhousie whilst she was picking up supplies from a wedding she did the day before. After looking at her Instagram, I was set on having her as my florist!

We met up and discussed what I wanted, but all of this changed when she posted a picture of a gorgeous bouquet she had done for another wedding. I messaged her immediately “This is what I want!”

My bouquet and flower crown were made up of roses, thistles, eucalyptus and protea! Safe to say, it was a massive bouquet and weighed a tonne but it was absolutely perfect! Kathryn had clearly put so much effort into it.

As well as the flowers, she also decorated the aisle with different sized candles in vases and petals. It was simple and elegant which just gave the chapel the little spark it needed to make it feel special.

What was your first dance song?

Avril Lavigne – I Love You. We had a few songs in mind which were really lovely songs, but they didn’t feel entirely relatable. We always listened to Avril Lavigne together growing up, so when we heard this song it immediately felt right. We have always loved and accepted each other for who we truly are, both as a couple and individually, so the lyrics were perfect!

“You’re so beautiful
But that’s not why I love you
I’m not sure you know
That the reason I love you, is you
Being you, just you
Yeah the reason I love you
Is all that we’ve been through And that’s why I love you”

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Both! We minimooned straight after the wedding in a beautiful little cottage on the edge of Loch Tay. It was so peaceful! We spent our time taking in the breathtaking scenery, eating and drinking like royalty and spending our evenings relaxing in the hot tub under a crystal clear sky lit up by millions of stars!

For our honeymoon we’re jetting off to Namibia for a once in a lifetime adventure! We have hired a car to explore the whole country, staying in 8 different safari lodges over two weeks! And we have so many amazing experiences planned – hot air ballooning, safari drives and cheetah tracking, just to name a few!

Any advice?


This is YOUR day! Do whatever makes you happy. If you want to run away and get married in secret – do it! If you want a massive wedding with hundreds of guests – do it! If you want to get married surrounded by unicorns and rainbows – just do it!

What’s the one thing you’ll always remember about your day?

Everything! That’s the beauty of eloping. The day didn’t fly by in the blink of an eye and we actually got to spend the entire day together, cherishing every little moment and with the biggest smile on my face! Which surely is what your wedding day should be all about.

Anyone else in love with Beth’s hair? Thought so! So much respect for these two doing it their way. x

Suppliers

VenueDalhousie Castle, Edinburgh
Registrar – Robert Philip
PhotographerSamantha Kay Photography
FloristWhite House Flowers
Make-up artistDalhousie Castle Aqueous Spa
Wedding dress – Mimosa by Pronovias from Brides of Chester
ShoesDr Martens, Averil in Cherry Red Arcadia
Groom’s outfitGordon Nicolson Kiltmakers
Cake Heavenly Tiers
Rings Jewellery by Design, Chester