Isle of Skye Adventure Elopement – Catherine and Dominic

This year I have seen a huge change in weddings amongst my clients. Over the past 18 or so years I have photographed almost exclusively bigger weddings with just one or two tiny elopements (small weddings) per year. Last year, in 2017, there was a small increase in elopements but this year saw a massive jump and half the weddings I photographed were little 2 to 10 person events. I am delighted about this change and it genuinely excites me as it means I get to travel even further around Scotland and get to work in some truly wonderful locations where you don’t have to worry about catering to the needs of 100 guests. Catherine and Dominic’s Isle of Skye adventure elopement was such a great example and I could photograph weddings such as theirs every day for the rest of my career and be very happy.

I’ve actually photographed quite a few weddings on the Isle of Skye in Scotland over the years, and loved each one of them, so I was over the moon when Catherine and Dominic asked me to photograph their wedding for them this September. Their plans changed quite a bit since their booking (planning a boat trip and then discovering that one of your dogs doesn’t like boats didn’t help) but I really didn’t mind as I’m happy to just work around my client’s plans. I took the opportunity to make a little camping trip of it and we arrived in lovely sunshine the day before the wedding to relax and spend the night at Sligachan campsite. When we awoke on the morning of the wedding the weather was quite Scottish with heavy grey clouds, high winds and a bit of horizontal rain but Catherine had already said to me that she wanted some dramatic stormy skies for her photographs so it wasn’t an issue…

I met up with the happy couple, Catherine’s parents and two of her dogs, Alsatian Iggy and Gizmo the vintage pug, who wouldn’t leave the confines of his warm blanket (I don’t blame him), at a lovely spot called Mary’s Thatched Cottages at Elgol. After Iggy had met my dog Chip, and chased him around the cottages a few times, we took a few photographs and headed to the north of the large island with a little stop along the way at the Sligachan hotel for some pictures with the very dark and dramatic Cuillin mountains behind us.

We arrived at our final destination, the Quiraing, found a parking spot and made the short hike up to an amazing flat spot that looked like it was made specifically for wedding ceremonies. The weather was not at all good, and I was glad I wore my merino wool leggings under my trousers, but it didn’t dampen our spirits and it just made it more memorable. Catherine got the dramatic skies she was looking for whilst she and Dominic were married, by the wonderful Humanist celebrant Penelope Hamilton, in what must be one of the most beautifully romantic settings imaginable for a wedding.

It is hugely frustrating for me when I work with brides who have great and exciting plans for wandering off up a hill somewhere, or heading along a beach, only to change their minds because of a fear of getting their dress dirty. I really wish more people would be like Catherine who simply picked a very pretty, and reasonably priced, dress from Monsoon Bridal and decided that she wouldn’t worry about it getting dirty and instead just focus on having a great day. That’s my kind of bride.

Thank you Catherine and Dominic for letting me share your photographs and for being such amazing people to work with! Catherine also left me a really lovely review which you can read here.

I love tiny weddings and elopements so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are planning your own Isle of Skye adventure elopement, or anywhere else in Scotland or the north of England. You can find more information about elopements here https://www.silverphotography.co.uk/elopement-photographer-in-scotland/ and see my latest adventure elopement here https://www.silverphotography.co.uk/castle-tioram-elopement-keenan-and-kirsten/

I even made a short film about the wedding. You can view that in another blog post here https://www.silverphotography.co.uk/isle-of-skye-wedding-film/