Scottish Beach Elopement in Arisaig
Alex and Claire’s Scottish Beach Elopement in Arisaig
After a year of continually wiping the drizzle from my camera lenses something changed and, in just three days, I had two of the sunniest elopements of the year, if not ever! Perhaps whoever is in charge of the weather decided I’d earned a break and cut me some slack. As if the sunshine wasn’t enjoyable enough the blue skies happened to coincide perfectly with Alex and Claire’s Scottish beach elopement in Arisaig!
Bog Cotton Scottish Elopements
Although I work alongside a brilliant range of Humanist celebrants every month of the year, and in every corner of Scotland too, I decided to set up a little elopement pairing with Paula Wilkinson who is herself part of Fuze celebrants. We called it Bog Cotton Scottish Elopements after the little fuzzy-headed flower that grows abundantly in the peat bogs of this (damp) area of Scotland.
Paula is based in Arisaig and, as a celebrant, covers the western cost of the Scottish Highlands and, in particular, her home town. Although Arisaig is about 3 hours from my house I absolutely love working up there, so our pairing works a treat, and Alex and Claire’s elopement was a perfect example of the kinds of weddings we do together.
Elopement on the Beach
Arisaig is blessed with, as far as I recall, seven beautiful beaches. I’ve probably worked on most of them at one point or another, but one that I go to more often than the others is Camusdarach beach. Not the big long part but the smaller, seashell-shaped slice of heaven that faces directly west towards the islands of Rum and Eigg. Even the walk from the car park, through the coconut scented gorse and tall grasses, makes for an enjoyable part of your elopement day and need’t be rushed. In fact, one of the perks of having no guests to worry about is that you can take your time and be as relaxed as you like.
After a beautiful elopement ceremony on the white sands, during which little Isla was looked after by Paula’s mother, and second witness, Patricia, I walked slowly back to the car park making photographs along the way. It is all very relaxed (and why shouldn’t it be?) and I genuinely love days like that.
Larachmhor Gardens
By this point we were all getting a bit warm (I know, I know. Never happy…) so we drove the short distance to Larachmhor gardens the site of Lesley and David’s Bog Cotton wedding a few years ago. A very beautiful and wild arboretum just on the outskirts of Arisaig. Isla hunted for faeries while we made just a few little family portraits whilst cooling off under the ancient trees and walking alongside the stream that meanders slowly through the forest floor.
Alex and Claire’s beach elopement was, to me at least, the perfect example of a Scottish elopement. You are getting legally married in the most beautiful of places and with the bare minimum of fuss. I can do my job as a photographer without interfering and, hopefully, lend a hand along the way if needed too.
Review
Claire and Alex were kind enough to leave me a really nice review that perhaps says more about my style of working than I can ever write myself.
“We feel so lucky to have come across Trevor to capture our intimate wedding in Arisaig. I fell in love with Trevor’s photo style while looking at his previous work and decided he was the photographer for us! From our very first contact, Trevor couldn’t have been more helpful, from answering questions to giving advice, personal recommendations and even agreeing to be our witness. Fast forward to the day and Trevor exceeded all our expectations. To start with he is such a genuinely lovely man, who we got on incredibly well with which makes a massive difference when it was such a small ceremony. Trevor was so patient with our 1 year old and he made us feel completely at ease, we all had a giggle throughout the day, everything was so natural and it was just how we envisioned our day. We recently had our own photos back and just WOW – they are all incredible, we have had so many compliments about them. Trevor has this amazing talent of just being in the moment and has captured so many pictures that we didn’t even know he was taking. He captured our wedding perfectly and we honestly couldn’t have asked for anyone better! We would recommend Trevor to anyone and everyone! THANK YOU Trevor for capturing our special day with so many memories we can cherish forever! Claire Alex and Isla”
