Beautiful Springtime Elopement at Mingary Castle and Sanna Bay
Emily and Leo’s Beautiful Springtime Elopement at Mingary Castle and Sanna Bay
It’s quite normal for people to spend a long time choosing an absolutely brilliant location for their Scottish elopement, and why wouldn’t you? There are heaps of phenomenal spots to pick from and, after all, you want your photographs to look amazing. However, if you asked me, as a photographer, what is even more important than the location when it comes to photography I would always say – timing. And for Emily and Leo’s beautiful springtime elopement at Mingary Castle and Sanna Bay their timings could hardly have been better.
During a particularly nice spell of weather in April I packed up the car with my wife, little Chip, and plenty of sandwiches for the long drive, and headed way over to the most western part of mainland Scotland to meet Paula for Leo and Emily’s wedding at Mingary Castle. Paula and I (as Bog Cotton Scottish Elopements) had worked together on elopements at Mingary Castle a few times in the past. One other one that is on my website is Joel and Kate’s elopement and is well worth a look to give you an idea of how the location looks on a less sunny day (unsurprisingly, it is still AMAZING!).
Right away, from looking at the photographs in this post, you will see that the weather on this particular day was simply out of this world. It is the kind of Spring day that probably every couple dreams of for their wedding. Now, as a photographer, I also love this weather, but not in the middle of the day. The light between 12pm and 2pm in particular is unforgiving and harsh. If you’re getting married around that time then, of course, I will do my very best and I am sure you’ll love your photographs. But what if you want the very best light?..
Emily and Leo and I had a video meeting a few weeks before the date of the elopement and took my advice of a later than usual 4pm ceremony. The light at that time of the year around 4pm is already stunning, and SO much better than the contrasty light at the usual 1pm / 2pm ceremony times that folk migrate towards. From 4pm onwards the sun is getting lower in the sky and the scenery colours are beginning to warm up and soften. All of which are good things when it comes to photography.
Paula conducted the outdoor wedding ceremony right by the castle on a promontory next to the castle. Behind Emily and Leo the views across the sound of Mull, with the mighty Ben Hiant rising up behind them (home to some golden eagles apparently) were hard to beat. After a few pictures around the castle ramparts, and some otter-spotting too (I didn’t see them this time) Emily and Leo asked if we could go to nearby Sanna Bay for some photographs. They had visited the day before and fallen in love with the rolling dunes and deserted beaches. Of course, I said yes!
What a way to finish a day. Walking along the completely empty paths to the sea in one of Scotland’s remotest places to make a few photographs of Emily, Leo and their two guests at about 6pm in the evening. Emily and Leo were not wanting many posed photographs at all so we just kept things very relaxed and I focussed on including as much of the surroundings as I could into the photographs.
It occurred to me that Sanna Bay would also be a stunning place for an elopement ceremony too!
