Eloping in Glencoe, Whatever the Weather.
Within just a few days this April we had two incredible elopements in the glorious mountains of Glencoe. The second elopement was on a wonderfully sunny and warm day by Glencoe Lochan, exactly as you’d hope for in the springtime. The first one, however, was far more dramatic.
Tom and Adele’s Glencoe elopement was on the very day that Storm Kathleen hit the UK. Fortunately Tom and Adele were very outdoorsy people and they were very used to being out in the wind and rain. As keen kayakers they were going to have their ceremony outside in Glen Etive whatever the weather and had already chosen their perfect spot, right by the rocky edge of the river Etive itself. Apparently, in the kayaking community, the Etive is a particularly great place to paddle although, to us, it looked absolutely terrifying that day.
The rocks they had chosen as a ceremony location were swamped by the higher-than-usual river so we found another close by to perch on. We are not exaggerating when we say that it was very difficult to actually stand still with the gusts of strangely warm gale-force winds howling up the valley. Paula struggling to hold onto her ceremony notes and Trevor trying to take photographs without being blown into the river. It wasn’t raining during the ceremony (thankfully) but the spray was blowing up and off of the river itself. It made for some very challenging conditions but we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
After signing the paperwork in a handy campervan belonging to one of their friends we decided to head to the nearby woodlands at An Torr for the traditional quaich ceremony and, of course, a few more photographs next to the river.
In spite of the weather it was such a brilliant Glencoe elopement to be a part of and we will remember it for a long while. I don’t think anyone wants bad weather on their wedding day but if it’s a bit stormier than you’d hoped for all is not lost. We have years of experience of working in the Western Highlands of Scotland and know loads of great locations where you can shelter away from the worst of the weather whilst still enjoying being outside. Because we work together often we are also able to shift the timings of the ceremony to try and catch a brighter spell of weather. At Kay and Ryan’s wedding a few years ago we actually moved their wedding an entirely new day but that’s a whole other story!
Tom and Adele have written their own blog about their wedding and you might like to have a read through to hear about the wedding from their side of things https://delkayaks.co.uk/2024/04/28/our-wet-and-wild-kayaking-wedding-eloping-to-scotland/
Tom and Adele’s Glencoe / Glen Etive wedding has also been featured on the amazing Your Scottish Wedding blog too and you can have a read through here https://yourscottishwedding.co.uk/an-adventurous-spring-elopement-at-romantic-river-etive-glencoe/
