Elopement Photographer Scotland

Scotland Engagement/Pre Wedding Shoot Locations

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Nature inspired, emotional photography for Scotland – Debbie Thornton Photography

Couples shoots are one of my absolute favourite things to do as a Scotland Wedding Photographer At shoots with me we are essentially just going for a wander somewhere in the wilderness and I take shots of you together before you become Mr & Mrs, Mrs & Mrs or Mr & Mr.

Scotland is a total dream for couples shoots, weddings and elopements because there’s so many beautiful locations whether you are in the City, the coast, the Highlands or Islands, it’s all good and you’ll see a wee range of places here.

The engagement shoot is a beautiful thing and I highly recommended it if you are nervous about having your photo taken, by doing this type of shoot it takes away the awkwardness you might feel from your photographer just turning up on your wedding day or any stress you might feel thinking about the camera being there at your wedding. At the shoot you’ll see how your photographer works putting you at ease, it’s a photographer’s job to get the best from you so if you love their work then trust you’ll be in good hands and just be yourselves. I like to take a laid back, calm approach to all my shoots and I capture so many beautiful wee moments.

I would recommend having an engagement shoot if you can have one with your photographer. I have a few engagement shoot options that can be booked separately as a gift for a couple or added as part of a wedding package.

In this post I wanted to share some of the engagement shoots I’ve photographed to give you an idea of some of the amazing locations here in Scotland.

Here’s a wee look at some of the places:

Glencoe

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Outer Hebrides – Isle of North Uist

Troon

Inveraray – Dun Na Cuaiche

Culzean Castle

West Kilbride – The Waterside

Glen Dubh

Inner Hebrides – Isle of Kerrera

Oban

If it rains on your shoot day the sky can be so atmospheric and it makes for great photos so I would recommend just going for it. The photos of Lawrie & Ally in the Isle of Kerrera and of Amber and Dave in Oban, both those days were really wet but look at the couples all happy and not giving a two hoots about it!

The places I’ve shared here are also great Scotland wedding and elopement photography locations.

If you would like help planning your engagement, wedding or elopement in Scotland then feel free to get in touch: www.debbiethortntonphotography.co.uk

WEST Brewery Wedding – Glasgow

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For all enquiries: debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“Debbie was the photographer for our wedding at the WEST brewery in Glasgow. Debbie was fantastic in every way. She made us feel at ease before the wedding when we first met her. On the actual day Debbie made sure to capture the fun and spirit of the day. The colours and quality of the photos are incredible and we will treasure the photos forever. We wouldn’t hesitate on recommending Debbie to any other couples who want beautiful, natural photos of their special day.”

Claire & Alex, The West Brewery, Glasgow.

This was one unbelievably brilliant wedding, it was stunning, the people were so much fun and there was just right amount of madness!

Claire & Alex first met while studying at Cambridge. They bonded over the song Angels by Robbie Williams one night after a few drinks (they were belting out that song one night together as told during the speeches by bridesmaid Jessica) and the rest is history.

They held their wedding in The West Brewery in Glasgow as they felt it was a good representation of them both mixing their cultures from Scotland and Germany… plus they love Beer!

The ceremony was beautiful, Claire & Alex had a mix of traditions from handfasting and a whisky filled Quaich from Scotland then to represent Alex’s German heritage they both had to drink from a Numberg Bridal Cup and Baumstamm sägen (log sawing), everyone went outside to watch Claire and Alex saw a big log to show they will always work together in their marriage. It was brilliant fun!

Later after their meal and speeches, Alex’s sister Julie had organised some wedding games as this is the tradition in Germany and they were absolutely hilarious!

After the games everyone danced the night away at the ceilidh.

It was a perfect day.

Claire & Alex had a great team of wedding suppliers:

Venue – West Brewery

Humanist – Susan IHC Humanist Celebrant

Hair & Make up – The Blushed Bride

Flowers – Fleur and Blume

Cakes – The Little Cake Parlour Glasgow

Band – Stirling Celildh Band

Loch Melfort Hotel Wedding – Arduaine

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For all enquiries: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“What incredible photos…You are very talented! Such a lovely way to capture the day. Thank you so much.”

James & Katie wanted to have a wee wedding on the West Coast as James’s family is from the area. Katie searched the internet and discovered Arduaine Gardens and the Loch Melfort was the perfect location for the couple. The couple discovered that the Loch Melfort hotel was where James’s family had their honeymoon but they no clue about this until after they booked and also it’s the exact same area where James would holiday as a child…it was obviously meant to be.

Their wedding was beautiful! It was really relaxed and over looking the sea.

James & Katie travelled up from Leeds with their immediate family to have their Humanist ceremony by the lovely Shona Sharp (Highly Recommend!). Their ceremony included two Highland traditions with a Handfasting and sharing a Quaich they also had their nephew as their ring bearer which was lovely.

I love a wee relaxed wedding by the sea and this was perfect!

Lovely to work with Katie & James’s wedding suppliers:

Hair – K.l.M Hair

Flowers – by Katie the bride

Venue – Loch Melfort Hotel and Restaurant

Humanist – Shona Sharp Humanist Celebrant

www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Port Appin & Isle of Lismore Elopement

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For all enquires: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“…Our wedding was a small elopement and we wanted a personal natural style of photographs. Debbie, right away made us feel very comfortable. Despite the weather taking a turn for the worse, she managed to bring the best out of us and the scenery and even got us a trip on the local small passenger ferry leading to fun and unexpected photographs. Her photography captured just what we hoped for and more in those special moments she saw that you don’t get from a set pose. Her service throughout from start to final follow up was excellent and we are delighted with our photographs. Debbie’s photography is excellent and we would highly recommend her. Thanks Debbie for adding to our amazing day”

When Rosie & Ian first contacted me they said they were looking for natural photos of their highland elopement ‘We’d like someone who’d be able to capture our happiness in an informal way…. We love Port Appin and the scenery there and hoping the weather is kind.’ The weather being kind hmmm I mean Billy Connolly says ‘There’s two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter’ Rosie and Ian were eloping in March.

It’s always a joy for me to hear how couples first met, especially if there’s a bit of a love story. Rosie & Ian were friends in school then they went away lived life and lost touch for years…until 8 years ago when Ian moved back to their home town and they found each other again through Facebook. Now they were having a real elopement, they didn’t tell anyone and ran away to the Highlands for the ceremony just the two of them. I LOVE ELOPEMENTS exactly for this reason, it’s so romantic!

So the weather, eh, on the day of their elopement there was torrential rain but they ended up not caring at all and for me as their photographer this was amazing as it meant they were game for a wee bit of an adventure in the rain.

Rosie & Ian held their ceremony in The Pierhouse at Port Appin which is a great wee venue for small weddings, they asked two of the staff to be their witnesses. It was a lovely ceremony (as always) by Argyll Registrar Fiona Dickie. The couple had a handfasting ceremony, which is a tradition in the Highlands where the the couple’s hands are tied with two pieces of tartan to form a knot and this where the phrase ‘tying the knot’ comes from. The handfasting symbolizes the coming together of the two clans, it’s really beautiful and always a special moment to photograph.

In front of The Pierhouse is where you catch the ferry over to the Isle of Lismore, there was no way I wasn’t getting these two on that ferry! They loved the trip over and laughed so much. Big thanks to Allan and Lyle who were working on the Lismore Passenger ferry and gave Rosie & Ian a wee shot of steering the boat. It was a really brilliant day!

I absolutely loved this elopement.

For all booking enquiries contact me via my website: http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Rosie & Ian’s amazing wedding suppliers were:

Venue – https://pierhousehotel.co.uk/

Registrar – Fiona Dickie https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/marriage

Torridon Wedding Photographer – Wee Highland Wedding.

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For all booking enquires contact me via www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“Debbie is incredible! She just seemed to get us, and get what we wanted on our wedding day. She was so calm, helpful, and attentive and put everyone at ease. We got married in our garden and we really wanted natural wedding photographs and she absolutely nailed it. The photographs are the perfect memory of a fantastic day, and I can’t thank Debbie enough. Highly recommend!”

These are the kinds of weddings that I live for as a photographer! A laid back couple, stunning location, gorgeous flowers, surrounded by nature, there’s a dog in attendance (happy for cats/other animals to be there too) and a day that focuses on the love that the couple have for each other, their family and friends. BEAU-TI-FUL!

Mairi and Scott are a wonderful couple who wanted a very low key wedding in their garden surrounded by family and friends, it was unbelievably beautiful! When the couple contacted me they said they didn’t like being the centre of attention and that they were breaking from some of the usual wedding traditions.

In the morning of the wedding this couple went for a wild swim along the road from their house, organised the last few things for the ceremony, got ready together in the house, chatted to their guests just before the ceremony, it was all so relaxed.

Here’s what they said about their day….

Wedding planning

“We didn’t know until a few weeks before the wedding how many guests we could have due to Covid-19 restrictions… but the nature of the wedding we’d planned meant that it didn’t matter too much. Our house was the venue and we did the catering ourselves.”

“The day was designed to be very relaxed so we could enjoy ourselves in the run up to it and also on the day.”

Mairi – “the most joyful part for me was the flowers! All our flowers came from our neighbours’ gardens, and myself and my mum, Scott’s mum, sister and our friends spent a glorious morning in the sunshine picking and arranging the flowers. It was almost meditative, and just a riot of colour and joy!”

Outfits

Scott – “I’m very proud of being Scottish and I wore my family tartan. I got my kilt for my 21st birthday there was no decision to make really!”

Mairi – “I really wanted a comfortable dress that was simple but still felt special to wear! I looked at second-hand dresses, but I found this beautiful dress on Etsy (here) and Ksenia made it to measure for me. It was affordable and exactly what I was looking for.”

Ceremony

“We didn’t want to be stressed by our wedding day, we wanted to be able to relax and enjoy it. We chose a humanist ceremony, and when we found Vivienne our celebrant we instantly knew we wanted her to conduct our ceremony, she understood us and understood what we wanted. We wrote the ceremony ourselves, so it was very personal to us and made sure that it wasn’t too long as we don’t like being the centre of attention!”

Memories

“We were so lucky with the weather! And to have our closest friends and family celebrating with us in such a relaxed way was so special, particularly post Covid. Standing back and seeing our loved ones all having a good time, laughing, meeting new people – it was incredible.”

Favourites

“We love this photo as it captures so many memories and stories in one photo – ice creams in the sunshine on our wedding day, our house, the bench Scott’s parents gave us as an engagement present, memories of painting the house in lockdown sunshine, the weather-vane, the gravel Mairi’s dad weeded for the big day, our dog’s balls on the window sill. It means so much!“

“And this photo as it captures a quiet moment of reflection and love after the ceremony.”

Looking back

“Honestly, we didn’t find it stressful at all. I think we’d do it the same again! The only worry was one we couldn’t control – the weather!”

Advice

“Try and enjoy the planning! Don’t put pressure on yourselves. Remember the day is about you and your partner, not about other people, so don’t worry about any expectations to have specific wedding traditions that you’re not keen on or comfortable with. We didn’t have speeches or cake cutting or a first dance because that wasn’t what we wanted. So go with what you want!”

Beautiful day!

Mairi and Scott had an amazing team of wedding suppliers and they highly recommend them all:

Humanist – https://viviennethecelebrant.com/weddings

Piper – https://www.pipeforyou.com/

Yurt – https://redkiteyurts.com/

Rings – https://etsy.me/386YyDm,  https://etsy.me/2MO9qLS, https://glasswingjewellery.com/

Dress – https://etsy.me/38l9yPQ

For all enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Cairngorms Elopement, Scottish Highlands

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“Debbie was perfect for our wedding and we can’t recommend her enough…. We eloped to the Cairngorms and only had five guests, so we hoped we’d get on well with our photographer – Debbie fitted in brilliantly on the day and felt like our sixth guest. She was happy to chat with everyone, help with buttonholes and always knew how to capture the day without the camera becoming the focus. We love Debbie’s eye for natural photography – our favourite shots were when we had no idea they were being taken! She was happy to lace up her boots and trample around in the forest or balance on stepping stones in the river to get the right angle – she even went the literal extra mile to capture our walk into Ballater for dinner. We love the finished photographs – Debbie had taken our thoughts and ideas and added her own style and expertise to make a perfect memory. We treasure the physical photos and Debbie made it so easy to share the digital versions with friends and family online. The short film of video clips was a brilliant addition that we’d never thought of but are so grateful to have. In short, Debbie was the perfect choice and we’d tell anyone looking for a recommendation to ask if she’s available at once!”

Rosie and Jon wanted a beautiful wedding with adventure and they certainly got that by eloping to Scotland. The couple held their ceremony in the Cairngorms with some of their close friends and then travelled around Scotland for a few weeks, that’s how to do it!

The joy of eloping is that your wedding is so wee there’s not too much to worry about. Rosie and Jon booked a beautiful holiday cottage in Ballater and they got married in the garden with the amazing views of the hills and the peaceful landscape, it was so beautiful.

“We got engaged in December 2019 and planned our wedding and reception for June 2021 in the Midlands. Towards the end of 2020 though, we realised that probably wouldn’t be possible with COVID. We didn’t want to delay so we decided instead to elope to Scotland with a handful of friends. At first we were sad we couldn’t have the wedding we’d planned, but gradually we realised it gave us the chance to focus on those things most important to us. We were able to get married outside in the beautiful Cairngorms and spend quality time with a handful of special people. Planning became much easier and there was little to do in the run up and on the day except to just enjoy it.”

“ After months of lockdown it was wonderful to get dressed up and celebrate, in person, with people who are so special to us.”

“…we’d tell ourselves not to sweat the little things – they’ll either work out on the day or they weren’t that important anyway. Enjoy every moment.“

“It’s impossible to pick a favourite photograph but this one stands out because it captures how lucky we were: to get married outside, in stunning Scotland, with kind friends, a warm registrar and a talented photographer (and it didn’t rain!)“

“In the build-up we thought a lot about the little details that would make the day memorable but what we remember most from the day was joy and laughter with friends.“

“We walked to the pub in our dresses and suits and finished the day in a hot tub in the garden where we got married. We’d do it all again tomorrow.“

So there you go, a stunning Cairngorms elopement. Loved it!

For booking enquires contact me at www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Alison and Andrew, Isle of Seil Wedding, Scotland.

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

‘We first met Debbie for our engagement shoot which was included in the wedding package we had picked, I was very nervous as I never enjoy having my pictures taken. Debbie put me at ease straight away and I ended up really enjoying the whole experience, and the photos were amazing and I felt so relaxed the whole time. When it came to the wedding day I had no nerves about photos, Debbie was fantastic and captured our day perfectly and we really couldn’t of asked for any more from her. She really went above and beyond for us and we loved having her with us on our big day!‘

Alison and Andrew started planning their wedding for 2021 during the first lockdown, little did they, and we all, know that things for some time would be forever changing for wedding restrictions. However they adapted their wedding plans, changing from having a large wedding to a more intimate one and it was so amazing!

‘Of course organising a wedding in the middle of a pandemic was a tad challenging at times, but other than that the only difficulty we faced was Andy trying to pick the right tweed to make his kilt jacket, I was much quicker picking my dress!!’

‘what we most remember from our day is just how happy everyone was to be together after such a long time.’

‘We found the whole wedding process both stressful and exciting.  

‘If we had to do it all over again we would just try to enjoy the whole process as everything comes together in the end.’

‘We could only have a small wedding.. but even without the restrictions we had to follow, we wouldn’t change a thing.’

‘Some of our favourite photos are of our guests hugging as the wedding was just days after the announcement that we could.’ 

‘Our wedding was full of love and laughter from beginning to end.’

‘the best advice about planning a wedding we were given and would pass on is that it’s “your day” and to do it exactly as you both want it to be.‘

For all booking enquiries: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Alison and Andrew had an amazing team of wedding suppliers:

Venue – Tigh an Truish
Celebrant – Argyll and Bute Registrars
Flowers – The Thistle & The Rose
Dress – WED2B
Wedding Hair – Kelly-louise McCluskey Hayley Edwards 
Make-up Bride Mairi MacDonald Makeup and Gemma Mckie Makeup (Bridesmaids) 
Wee Bay Teepees
Piper –Macgregor Piping

Kelly and Scott, East Coast Wedding, Scotland.

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

‘With only 5 weeks notice Debbie was more than happy to accommodate our new arrangements and travel up to Banff for our wedding. My husband and I are not the most comfortable in front of the camera. Debbie made us feel so at ease and became part of the family for the day. To say that she captured every moment would be a understatement. The photos and video montage are better than we could have ever imagined and it has really encapsulated our special family filled day. We are beyond thrilled and thankful.’

To say it’s been difficult for couples planning weddings over the past couple of years is the understatement of the century. Covid 19 has caused more than a few problems for people. However some couples, such as Kelly and Scott, have managed to roll with it and they have not let anything stop them having the most beautiful wedding!

Kelly and Scott both have large families so they had planned to have a big family filled wedding in Glasgow but when Covid happened they altered their plans to accommodate a small wedding instead, they said they would be keeping their wedding date whatever happens, they wanted to be married and that’s what it’s all about.

Kelly’s family are originally from Banff and her Grandparents still live there. The couple decided weeks before to move their small wedding from Glasgow up to Banff so that Kelly’s Grandparents could attend and it was the best decision because not only could Kelly’s family attend but the weather in Banff was amazing. What a stunning place and to be beside the sea, it was absolutely gorgeous!

‘During the planning process we were surprised how easy it was to initially plan the wedding when you have the right people there to help you along the way. Scott and I are not traditionally the ‘wedding’ type, however due to large families on both sides we planned a big wedding in Glasgow. Due to the global pandemic happening in 2020, we decided at last minute to rearrange our entire wedding and move it up north so family could attend ( as you can imagine, we were secretly thrilled as a small wedding was more up our street). As we had the best people working alongside us, the process of changing wedding plans with 1 month to go was surprisingly easy.‘

Kelly and Scott had so many special moments throughout their wedding such as Scott’s Mum Margaret’s reading at the ceremony has to be one of the best I’ve ever heard, funny, lots of love and it was completely from the heart. Also, during their ceremony Kelly’s Grannie had written a poem which she read out in Doric (Doric is a Scottish dialect spoken in the northeast of Scotland) and it was brilliant, everyone was laughing and absolutely loved it!

‘Our most vivid memory was after the ceremony when all family and friends met outside on the patio for some drinks. We were both surprised when further family and friends who were not able to attend due to COVID restrictions were hiding outside to surprise us. Debbie captured that moment beautifully and it will stay with us forever.’


Kelly’s Grandad loves his harmonica also known as his ‘Moothie’ so he played a brilliant tune for the happy couple as they were being seated for their meal and speeches. Kelly’s Dad Stephen’s speech was beautiful and very heartfelt, obviously Kelly means a lot to him being his daughter and the wedding had more special meaning to Stephen and Lynne (Kelly’s parents) as they are from Banff, so they were extremely happy that the wedding was taking place there.

‘…Scott and I were not the typical wedding folk. After going back and forth trying to come up with a wedding that would suit us and our family, our advice to couples is to do it how you want. The only way you are going to enjoy your day is if you have the wedding that you wanted all along.’

This is one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever photographed!

Kelly and Scott had an amazing team of wedding suppliers: Ceremony venue & Accommodation: The Banff Springs Hotel https://thebanffsprings.co.uk/ (highly recommend this as a wedding venue. Sarah the wedding events manager was a joy to work alongside!)

Celebrant: Lynne from Aberdeenshire Registrars

Bridal Hair: Zoe Gordon https://www.facebook.com/Zoe-Gordon-Special-Occasion-Hair-1378942375455322/

Wedding Cake: Millennial Menu https://www.facebook.com/Millennial.menu.23/

Flowers: Love For Flowers https://www.facebook.com/loveforflowers2/

Wedding Decor: 3 Tiers https://www.3tierscreative.co.uk/

For all booking enquiries you can contact me via http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Elissa and Colin. Engagement Shoot. Oban, Argyll Wedding Photographer

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http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Elissa and Colin contacted me recently to ask if I could shoot their engagement. The couple got engaged only weeks ago and wanted to mark the special occasion.

Colin proposed at Sutherlands Grove, this is a stunning woodland area by Barcaldine near Oban and this is also where the couple wanted to have their engagement shoot. I loved hearing the story of the proposal and how nervous Colin was. Elissa said she could sense something was on the go but wasn’t too sure then Colin, being nervous and quite rightly so, took them off the beaten path that he had originally planned and this resulted in adding an hour or 2 extra on to their journey to the proposal. It was worth the wait!

Engagement shoots are my favourite 🙂 This is because I get to spend the longest time with you as a couple just yourselves, it’s like an extended Bride and Groom shoot on your wedding day but without the time constraints. I love nothing more than roaming around Scottish landscapes with couples be it woodlands, mountains, beaches, cities or towns….the list is endless.

For all booking enquiries head over to http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk