A major storm had knocked out power across much of the Scottish Highlands. Fallen trees and power lines had closed every road to the Isle of Skye, and when Lou and McKay asked for advice on making the trip, the response was fairly straightforward: “Don’t go, don’t even try.” They went anyway.

After eventually reaching Skye and enduring another night of heavy rain, they woke on the morning of their Quiraing elopement to blue skies. By ceremony time, there was only a light sprinkle of rain. It was an appropriately adventurous start to a wedding built around rugged landscapes, film photography, handmade pieces, and the freedom to say their vows with no one else listening.

What We Love About This Quiraing Elopement

• McKay’s suit made from the last remaining brown Harris Tweed they could source
• Lou’s late grandmother’s 1950s ribbons wrapped around her bouquet
• A handwritten ceremony reading finished with a wax seal tied to their travels
• Closed roads and a major storm followed by blue skies on their wedding morning
• A “mini” heart cake that accidentally fed 30+ people
• A post-ceremony road trip around Skye with Scottish snacks in the van

Featured Vendor:
The Soulbounders

Years of Adventures Made Eloping an Easy Fit

Lou and McKay first met through a mutual friend and spent about a year as friends before they started dating. Much of that friendship developed outdoors, including as rock climbing partners where, as Lou puts it, they were sometimes “quite literally trusting each other with our lives.”

That established a particular kind of teamwork long before wedding planning entered the picture. When it did, a small ceremony in a wild place made considerably more sense for them than reshaping themselves around wedding traditions.

“First off, we wanted something low-stress where we could truly focus on the commitment we were making to each other,” they shared. McKay suggested that neither of them change anything about themselves simply because they were getting married, an idea that ended up taking much of the pressure out of the process.

A First Look That Gave Them Space to Be Alone

Before heading out for their Quiraing elopement, Lou and McKay had their first look outside their cottage. McKay waited outdoors while Orsi and Laszlo initially photographed Lou watching him through the window.

Having two photographers meant the moment could be documented from both perspectives without asking the couple to repeat or stage it. “We didn’t feel staged or posed at all and they gave us our quiet moment together,” they said.

That privacy became even more important during the ceremony. Officiant Ally MacPherson incorporated their story, but for Lou and McKay, their personal vows were the part they most appreciated being able to keep to themselves. “Being able to say our vows without an audience really made them feel the most honest and uninhibited they could ever be.”

Choosing the Photography Team Helped Decide the Destination

As longtime film lovers, photography came before almost everything else in their planning. McKay also works as a film loader, so finding someone who could document the wedding across multiple film formats mattered from the beginning. Their search led them to Junebug vendors The Soulbounders. Once they found photographers Orsi and Laszlo, Scotland quickly followed.

“We found The Soulbounders and that quickly solidified Scotland for us,” the couple said. They spent roughly a year planning together, with Orsi and Laszlo providing local knowledge and resources along the way. By the time the wedding arrived, Lou and McKay could leave the logistics largely in their hands.

That decision also influenced their Quiraing elopement beyond photography. Without a traditional venue, they looked to Scotland’s October landscape for their color palette and kept the rest simple. Skye was an easy fit for two people who love rugged places, cool weather, and history. They’re also both interested in medieval history, Norse mythology, and heraldry, and were drawn to scenery that reminded them of Pride and Prejudice, House of the Dragon, and The Lord of the Rings.

Keeping the Details Handmade and Close to Their Source

Once the location and photographers were booked, Lou and McKay applied the same filter to nearly every other decision: local, handmade, or homegrown whenever possible.

Lou’s next priority was finding a local flower farmer, which led her to Meadowsweet Croft. Just before the ceremony, the couple tucked ivy into the bouquet as a small Tolkien reference. The stems were wrapped with ribbons that had belonged to Lou’s late grandmother since the 1950s.

Some of those ribbons still showed her grandmother’s handiwork. “In some of the photos you can see where her grandmother had hand-stitched two ribbons together,” they explained. “We loved that little imperfection.”

They carried that approach into the ceremony itself. Both wrote their vows on paper so there would be no phones involved, while Lou copied their reading using a traditional dip pen and inkwell. It was then enclosed with a wax seal featuring an emblem connected to previous travels they had taken together.

Finding Wedding Clothes That Weren’t About Trends

Lou found her dress on her first try: a Jenny Yoo silk crepe gown from Anthropologie with long off-the-shoulder sleeves and a slight flare. She had been looking for something modern with a medieval reference, eventually swapping a traditional veil for a custom bridal cape made by Olivia at A Stitch In Time Bridal.

McKay’s suit required considerably more detective work. He had found a particular Harris Tweed produced from start to finish in the neighboring Outer Hebrides. To qualify as Harris Tweed, the fabric is handwoven by islanders in their homes, exactly the kind of craftsmanship the couple had been looking for.

After months of searching online, McKay contacted the makers directly and discovered they had a small amount of brown tweed left. It was no longer listed online, but there was just enough for a suit. The fabric traveled from Scotland to California, where Ian at Robert Stanley Bespoke made the finished piece.

After several unsuccessful makeup trials, Lou abandoned most makeup and looked instead to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Claire Fraser in Outlander. She concentrated on skincare, practiced doing her own hair and makeup for months, and got her pixie cut refreshed two weeks before leaving. On the morning of the wedding, the remaining hair plan was simple: hope for good bed head.

The Storm Became the Ultimate Test of Their Adventure Plans

Of course, getting to that quiet ceremony required getting to Skye in the first place. The storm in the days before the wedding left much of the Highlands without power and roads blocked by fallen trees and power lines. Even after Lou and McKay managed to reach the island, the rain continued. “We quite possibly looked like the most annoying tourists on the planet that couldn’t read a weather report,” they joked.

By the night before the ceremony, nerves had understandably set in. “We had no one to turn to but each other and barely slept the night before but were reminded, we did indeed sign up for an adventure and to get married in a rugged place knowing it was most likely going to rain.”

Then morning arrived with blue skies. The weather held for most of the day, with only a little rain during the ceremony. Rather than trying to engineer perfect conditions for their Quiraing elopement, they had chosen a place where unpredictable weather was part of the deal. This time, it gave them a break exactly when they needed one.

Turning the Rest of the Wedding Day Into a Road Trip

There was no formal reception waiting afterward. Instead, Lou and McKay climbed back into The Soulbounders’ adventure van, where an assortment of the photographers’ favorite Scottish snacks was waiting, and headed off to explore more of the island and neighboring areas.

Dinner took them back to the Stein Inn, which had also become something of a recurring stop during the trip. With only two restaurants within an hour of their accommodations, the couple estimates they ate there nearly every night.

The cake supplied one last surprise. Lou and McKay thought they had ordered a small vintage-style “Just Married” heart cake from Highland Cakes. What arrived could feed more than 30 people. With an elopement party of two, there was an obvious solution: they shared it with the restaurant staff.

Letting an Elopement Stay Small

Looking back, Lou and McKay wouldn’t add more to the day. If anything, the privacy was part of what allowed them to approach their wedding the way they did, from handwritten vows to a day spent roaming around Isle of Skye rather than moving through a reception timeline.

“If you have any desire to elope, we highly recommend it.” And for anyone worried that choosing an elopement means giving up the chance to celebrate with everyone else, they point out one very practical alternative. “You can always throw a party afterwards!”