For those of you who had the Pleasure of Travelling to the Scottish Highlands know how magical and special this Place is. One of my favourite Places on Earth! And that is exactly where I got married this Year!
Initially we didn’t think of GlenCoe, we just knew we did not want a big Wedding since we do not enjoy large Group Events for Ourselves. The Situation with the Global Pandemic also meant that many of my Friends and Family would probably not be able to attend – or would not want to travel abroad. So we were very Happy after we made the decision to have a Private Ceremony, just Ourselves for Ourselves.
During the research of how we could do it, we came across this wonderful location in GlenCoe, The KingsHouse Hotel that used to be a Hostel for Backpackers before it was partially torn down and rebuild as a Hotel. During my many many visits in GlenCoe, I had always passed it but never stopped. What a mistake!
We booked our room with the most Iconic view to Buachaille Mòr and started contacting the Authorities regarding the Paperwork, booked Neil as our Photographer, Gary as our Celebrant, Laura as my Stylist, Barbara to do her magic work on my Flowers and Sandra for our small Wedding Cake. All of this took a while, Conversations, Video calls and many Decisions that we needed to make but in the end we trusted those Professionals on their Expertise and Experience and they all did such a wonderful job.
One of the biggest Challenges was to keep quiet. Besides one of my friends and my son nobody knew about this Event, other than us going on Holiday in the Highlands.
We were confronted with another unpredictable Challenge: The Scottish Weather. We had planned an Outdoor Wedding and in October you could find Snow in the Highlands or Rain, or both or Sunshine, or all of it in one day! So our Wedding outfits had to be adjustable. Due to the territory we would need to wear Walking Shoes in General and Andrew decided for a Tweed Waistcoat and a Tweed Jacket going perfectly with his new McKinnon Hunting Tartan.
Now as for my Dress – I found this wonderful and lovely Vintage Studio in London Heavenly Vintage Brides and Helena who runs it with her passion for these Treasures. She was so kind to send me some Dresses to choose from and the first I had seen on her online Shop turned out to be the perfect fit. It did not need adjusting at all!
I “only” needed some sort of cardigan to go with it. After a long long search, I decided to knit it myself – only 4 Weeks before the Wedding! I am an experienced knitter and had some Yarn at home that I had bought a while ago for another Project but it just turned out to be the perfect one for my Wedding Cardigan!
Another and maybe the most important item for the Wedding were our Wedding Bands. As a Fan of the Scottish Designer Sheila Fleet whose Jewellery is made on the Orkney Islands, she was our “go to”. Andrew had decided that he did not want to wear a Yellow Gold Wedding Ring and we found the perfect solution. We opted for the Omagh Ring which you can get in many different variations. “This collection in silver and gold was inspired by an Ogham inscription on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl stone, dating from the Early Middle Ages, and found at Buckquoy in Birsay, Orkney, in 1970. The inscription in Ogham is believed to read ‘a blessing on the soul”.
After some exchanges due to sizing, we got these awesome Wedding Bands in good time before our Big Day.
With full hearts and a very full car we made our Way to GlenCoe two Days before the Wedding. The Drive was relaxing if a little worrying due to some noises coming from the front of the car. Since it had been in the Garage just before the Journey, we were hoping for the best (it later turned out we had a broken Spring!). The Hotel was really nice and our Room rather large. The Views were the best though, unbeatably beautiful.
We picked up our Wedding Schedule in Fort William the Following Day and very quickly it was the 12th of October, our Wedding Day.
After a Hiccup with a late Breakfast and a late Stylist, everything went smoothly and the Ceremony started with a Delay of only 15 Minutes (although Andrew claims he waited Forever 🙂 ). We were so lucky with the Weather as it was perfect for an October Wedding. Only a little Rain at our last stop at the Three Sisters which you can not see in the Wedding Pictures themselves. Neither do you see all the Leaves and Dirt that got caught in the Train of my Dress. But you get a View of the Shoes I was wearing on the Day !
Gary did a fantastic Job at the Ceremony. He made it so personal and brought such an atmosphere to the Place.
We had chosen a Handfasting with a McKinnon Tartan Scarf and a Scarf that belonged to my late Father.
We also chose to drink from a Quaich which we had found on our Travel to Granton on Spey earlier in the Year. Our Drink was a Gin Tonic that we both had tried and really liked on one of our first Dates at a Gin Festival. We actually had to go an buy and mix it ourselves since we forgot the ready made one at Home 🙂
The Exchanging of the Vows was the Part I loved the most. We were left alone to do so in Private and it was the most lovely and beautiful time of the Day. This memory will stick with me Forever. And Yes, some Tears were shed – or in Andrew’s words: There was a cold Wind! 🙂
The last Part of the Ceremony was the Exchange of our Rings. Luckily no one dropped them and they fitted perfectly!
After the exchanging of our Rings we were soon legally Married and got cheered by the Hotel Guests. The only thing left was signing the Documents and enjoying our Wedding Cake. Neil and his Father David, who is also his driver, were so kind as to step in as Witnesses so we had the legal side covered.
The Relaxing part was now upon us – Changing location for more Wedding pictures. We let Neil decide where to go and he chose very well, as you can See for yourselves.
Our locations were: The Wee White House, The GlenCoe Lochan Trails and the Three Sisters. We had thought about going to the Ralston Cairn but due to the very low Clouds, Neil decided against it. (We went some days later when the Weather had changed to Sunshine and blue sky!)
The Three Sisters
The making off the Wedding pictures – Bride an Groom in Motion
We had SO much fun at our Wedding, luckily Neil captured those moments!
Some random collection of pictures:
The Hotel provided us with a great Dinner on our Wedding night which we had in the Hotel’s Restaurant and so this Day ended just perfect. It was better than we could ever have imagined!
Dropping off the Wedding Schedule with the Witnesses signatures was our last task before we went on Honeymoon in GlenCoe for a few more Days and to the Isle of Skye afterwards.
Here are impressions from this wonderful Honeymoon.
Thank you to everyone who sent us lovely cards, words or presents to mark this wonderful occasion. We feel blessed in so many ways!
We are looking forward to married life and all the memories we will continue to make together.
Especially Vegan 
Oh my word! Such a magical time you had! What a beautifully written blog and some stunning pictures! I totally lived through your day with you and shed a few sentimental tears too. You both look stunning, sooo content, in love and happy. Beautiful outfits, cake and venue.
Wishing you many many years of happiness together. ❤️
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