Inside: A Beautiful Elopement In The Scottish Highlands The Wedding Edition

The Story

Childhood Sweethearts! We met when I was 17 and Adam was 20 and have been together for 15 years. We met at the local nightclub ‘The Grove’ and have been together ever since! We travelled the world together and then settled in London in 2016 and just over 6 years ago, Adam proposed to me on the rooftop of The Ned which was beautiful! He had a whole day planned with a surprise night stay at The Ned, our favourite Christmassy hotel. He waited until no one was around and slid onto one knee and then we had the best evening celebrating followed shortly by an ‘engagementmoon’ to Miami, Aruba and New York – it was the best month of nonstop celebrations. Adam designed a beautiful engagement ring – yellow gold with an oval diamond with halo and diamonds on the band.

Venue

After getting engaged 6 years ago, we bought a flat which needed a full renovation, then covid hit, so our wedding plans were stalled. We went through all kinds of ideas and plans for our wedding day, when suddenly it dawned on us, we didn’t even want a big wedding. We were adhering to traditions and what was ‘normal’ for a wedding, and it just wasn’t what we wanted. We realised, the day is ours to design exactly how we want it, which is private, romantic, and beautiful for the two of us. So, we decided to elope to a place very special to us – Scotland. My father was Scottish, and I lived there for around 6 years growing up. It has always held a very special place in my heart and Adam fell in love with it when we did a road trip around the highlands a few years ago.

The Fife Arms in Braemar is now one of our favourite places to go to and escape everyday life. We decided to have 4 nights in Scotland, 2 spent at the Fife Arms where we would get married, followed by 2 at Gleneagles (our other favourite hotel) and then head straight onto an epic honeymoon. The wedding day itself was perfect. We woke up together and had breakfast in bed followed by a walk and drive around the surrounding area. We then headed back to The Fife Arms where we met Emma (our photographer) and Pete (our videographer). We all went up to our room where we had champagne, sang to music and started to get ready. Adam and Pete headed to the church and then Emma got me into my dress and we followed shortly after, driven in the Fife Arms car 2 minutes down the road to St Margarets Church. We had our fabulous florist Chloe kit it out in autumnal blooms and candles to bring the orange tones of the Scottish landscape, into the church with us. It was absolutely romantic and cosy – even better than I had imagined. We had a humanist ceremony by Neil Lynch who was wonderful. It was all about us, and our relationship – we laughed and cried happy tears. Once the ceremony was over, we drove 5 minutes out of the village into the dramatic landscapes of the Cairngorms for some photos. It was freezing and windy so didn’t last very long until we were back in the car and back to the cosiness of the Fife Arms where we had drinks, and said goodbye to the EPIC Emma and Pete when we went to our private room – the Fire Room, for dinner and dancing, just the two of us for the most romantic evening, concluding the most romantic day.

Fashion

My dress and cape is from Halfpenny London. I thought it fitted in with the theme of the Fife Arms, and the wild dramatic landscapes of Scotland. I felt super special – it was something I never expected to pick but I think it worked beautifully. My shoes were high heeled glitter sandals from Jimmy Choo. Adam went classic and timeless black and white – he had his jacket made by a tailor local to us – he went for a black velvet jacket and looked gorgeous.

Jewellery

I kept it very simple to let the cape do all the talking. Adam gifted me a stunning tennis bracelet the morning of the wedding and I paired it with diamond stud earring, diamond pendant necklace, my engagement ring, wedding band – all made bespoke by our Jeweller Victor.

I also wore a sapphire and diamond ring that was given by my father to my mother over 30 years ago that was gifted to me for my 30^th birthday.

Transportation

The Fife Arms Range Rover.

Tablescape

Our flowers from the church were brought down to the ‘Fire Room’ at the Fife Arms where we had supper, to make the most beautiful tablescape with loads of candles.

Food & Drink

Adam and I had scallops, beef wellington and then sticky toffee pudding.

Entertainment

We made a wedding playlist – I walked down the aisle to ‘Cant Help Falling In Love’ by Haley Reinhart. We walked out the church to ‘Dreams’ by Gabrielle. We had too much to drink to remember what we first danced to whilst having dinner in the Fire Room.

Beauty Regime & Wellness

Did my own make up and hair. All make up products by Charlotte Tilbury. I had a bespoke facial 10 days before by Anel (Skin by Anel Lamine) in Wimbledon Village – she is a magician.

Honeymoon

We had our minimoon at the beautiful Gleneagles and then flew straight off to South Africa. We did a week between Cape Town and the Winelands and stayed at The Pod in Cape Town and then Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch. We then flew up to do safari at Saseka Tented Camp which is part of Thornybush reserve. It was incredible. We stayed in their private camp called ‘Little Saseka’ and it was stunning – the most unforgettable experience. We then flew to the Seychelles and stayed at the Six Senses on Felicite Island. It was out of this world.

Advice

If I could give any couple some advice, it would be this:

Remember it is your day and do what makes YOU happy.
Pick the traditions you want to include, and leave out those you don’t! One of my highlights is the morning I spent with Adam on our wedding day. We were SO excited!
Make a special moment together out of your wedding tasks. We did an afternoon creating a bespoke wedding scent at Floris London which was so much fun and now we have scents that remind us of our day forever. We had a lovely dinner at The Rosewood after I’d just said yes to the dress. We made a holiday out of visiting the venue.. make the little (or big) tasks into a fun experience together!