Nils and Fiona’s Arisaig Wedding.
I absolutely love an Arisaig wedding. Well over half of the weddings I’ve photographed this year have been up in the Highlands of Scotland in Glencoe, Ardnamurchan and, of course, the beautiful little village of Arisaig with its white sandy beaches and rugged coastline. Many of those weddings have actually been Scottish elopements but a few, like Nils and Fiona’s, were just a tiny bit bigger which goes to prove that going larger definitely doesn’t mean that you have to throw your plans for a fun and relaxing wedding out the window. Through these photographs of Nils and Fiona’s little Arisaig Wedding at Borrodale House, featuring dogs, plenty of cake and a yurt, I hope to show how even a medium-sized wedding can be simply perfect.
I make no apologies for the fact that there are probably too many photographs of Nils and Fiona’s beautiful dog Isla. I have always had a soft spot for whippets (or any dog really), and Isla was always hanging about in that very photogenic way that whippets are able to do so effortlessly, so it was hard to resist. Nils’ mother also bought her little dog along for the wedding, all the way from the Netherlands, and so relaxed was the wedding that he enjoyed the ceremony perched upon her knee. Fiona had even painted a dog onto her denim jacket.
The fact that Borrodale House is simply a large property means that you are free to run your day exactly as you want (here is another wedding there that I photographed there just a couple of years ago). Fiona and Nils had hired an absolutely brilliant yurt from Dragonfly Yurts and filled it with food from local supplier Bloom and Graze. The ceremony was conducted by my good friend and colleague Paula and all the wonderful flowers were by Moss Carder who I would say are local-ish, but they come from the island of South Uist which meant they had quite a journey (100% worth it though, the flowers were stunning). Apparently they also had some pizzas, after I’d gone home, from the Arisaig Bread Shed. I always seem to miss them because I have to head back home to Glasgow, and it’s a fairly long drive.
Although I missed the pizzas, due to a Dutch custom that needs to be assimilated into ours ASAP, I did get a slice of cake. Unlike here in the UK where the cake is cut just before dinner is served, or increasingly more common, just before the first dance, they cut it right after the ceremony. As a cake-lover I must say that is the best idea ever because it means that folk actually get to eat the cake when they want it rather than having to take it home in a damp napkin because they’d already eaten five times their weight in roast beef. Let’s encourage this at more weddings!
Borrodale House is a beautiful place in its own right but Fiona and Nils were keen to visit nearby Larachmhor Gardens with Isla for a few pictures away from their guests and in a different setting. The ancient woodlands are brilliant for photography and, with the bare minimum of direction from me, I think we managed to make some really nice photographs there. I even found a clump of one of my favourite plants, Gunnera, which we used for a spot of architectural interest. I actually photographed an entire wedding at Larachmhor a few years ago, but they did have special permission because the groom’s father was the caretaker of the gardens.
If you choose the right suppliers and rethink what you want your wedding to be about you can make a fantastic and uniquely memorable wedding day for yourselves. Although I am first and foremost a photographer I am more than happy to help and can offer advice on many aspects of your day. In fact, working alongside my good friend and humanist celebrant Paula we have helped dozens of couples create their perfect Scottish Highland elopements and Arisaig weddings as part of our Bog Cotton gang. If you are hoping to plan your own Arisaig wedding or Arisaig elopement please let me know and I will be more than happy to talk through your ideas with you and help you figure out the best way to integrate some wonderful wedding photography into your day to get the best results.
Read Nils and Fiona’s really kind review.
As if Fiona and Nils weren’t already the best clients, they also left me this very kind review:
A big thank you to Trevor for our recent wedding photos. From initial contact to delivering the final product Trevor has been amazing and communication has been fantastic! He helped us through the whole process and took the time to get to know us and our story before the big day, even had some handy advice for two people fairly clueless about wedding timelines. On the day, Trevor was not only very professional, but also just a joy to have around. As two fairly introverted people, he made us feel relaxed and at ease with his sense of humour and great chat! He was also super helpful throughout the day, lending a hand whenever he could. The Photos themselves are perfect, we always wanted the photographs to tell the story of the day and that’s exactly what they did. Watching them back feels like experiencing the wedding again, it’s incredible; even the more posed photos feel and look so natural. We’ve had so many compliments on the quality and style of the photos from guests and friends. Many many thanks again Trevor!
Absolutely stunning photographs! Beautiful 🙂
Thank you Bonny! Your excellent hair and makeup obviously helped 🙂