WEDDING BLOG

From the beginning, Sydney and Joe knew they wanted their wedding to reflect the things they naturally gravitate toward as a couple: dramatic landscapes, meaningful traditions, and a celebration that felt more like a shared adventure with family and friends. 

Nearly ten years after first meeting at a party at 21, the Canadian couple brought their closest friends and family to Scotland for a wedding at Castle Lachlan inspired by fantasy novels, nature, and the people who mattered most to them.

Their story started at a party Sydney almost skipped altogether. Joe remembers thinking she was “pretty and goofy,” while Sydney remembers her friend practically dragging her out at the end of the night because she was “too busy kissing Joe to leave.” A few weeks later, Joe invited her to his nephew’s baptism, introducing her to most of his family almost immediately. Looking back now, they don’t point to one huge life-changing moment that convinced them they were meant to be together. Instead, they describe it as “a million teeny tiny moments of ‘it’s worth it.’”

What We Love About This Castle Lachlan Wedding:

• The Lord of the Rings reading during the ceremony
• Personalized guest letters paired with QR code songs
• Joe’s green tweed suit and inherited vintage Stetson
• Matching necklaces honoring their two dogs
• Watercolor-painted place settings made by Sydney
• Three desserts instead of a traditional wedding cake

Featured Vendor:
Sean Bell Photography

Wanting the Week to Feel Like Time Together, Not Just a Wedding

Since every guest traveling to Scotland was coming from Canada, Sydney and Joe wanted the trip to feel worthwhile beyond the wedding itself. Rather than planning one packed day surrounded by separate hotels and busy schedules, they built the week around staying together at Castle Lachlan, exploring the area, cooking meals together, and spending real time with the people they love. Part of the appeal was practical too. Renting a castle in Scotland ended up feeling surprisingly attainable compared to luxury wedding venues back home. 

The setting also fit the atmosphere they kept picturing from the beginning. They both love The Lord of the Rings, old architecture, giant moss-covered trees, and the kind of scenery that already feels slightly unreal before any wedding decor gets added to it.

Finding Vendors Who Understood the Mood They Were Trying to Create

Photography became one of the biggest priorities early on, especially because Sydney and Joe didn’t want the scenery to feel disconnected from the actual emotions of the day. They found Junebug vendor Sean Bell Photography and immediately connected with his darker, moodier style.

“He had this really dramatic style that paid homage to the couple but also to the landscape,” they said. “That was really important to us.” Without a planner, Sydney handled most of the logistics herself, though both Sean Bell and celebrant Annalese McDermott became huge sources of support throughout the process.

Realizing They Didn’t Need to Spend on Every Wedding Tradition

Instead of trying to stretch the budget across every possible wedding detail, Sydney and Joe kept returning to the same priorities: nature, photographs, experience, and sentimentality.

That meant spending money on the parts of the wedding they knew would still matter years later. Personal vows mattered more than elaborate decor. A meaningful ceremony mattered more than following traditions out of obligation. Creating memories with their guests mattered more than packing the timeline with activities.

The smaller details reflected that thinking too. Family history quietly appeared throughout the day without needing a big explanation attached to it.

Joe wore a vintage Stetson passed down from his great-grandfather, Grandpa Cooke, alongside a custom green tweed suit from Indochino that blended perfectly into the Scottish setting.

Sydney wore an Anthropologie gown she found during a spontaneous dress-shopping trip to Atlanta with her mom and younger brother. The sleeves were what convinced her initially, but the memories from that trip became part of the reason the dress mattered so much afterward.

They also wore matching necklaces engraved with their initials and two small paws in honor of their dogs, who stayed home in Canada. Joe’s sister even created a keepsake with photos of the dogs that he carried inside his jacket during the wedding. Sydney also carried photos of both grandmothers attached to her florals, along with a locket honoring two of her closest friends.

Choosing Traditions That Actually Meant Something to Them

The ceremony included several traditions that reflected their relationship without feeling overly formal or performative. One of the most meaningful details was the oathing stone, which they brought from their backyard garden in Canada. Gardening has long been connected to Sydney’s family memories and became a quiet way to include that part of her life in the ceremony.

They also included a Quaich ceremony using a cup Sydney had brought back from Scotland years earlier after a previous trip. Inside it, they served one of their favorite beers from a local brewery back in Edmonton.

Sydney’s younger brother read an excerpt from The Lord of the Rings during the ceremony, which became one of the emotional high points of the day. “The sun came out especially for that moment,” they said. “Or at least it felt like it.”

Their first look happened outside the entrance of Castle Lachlan, surrounded by ivy and greenery growing around the castle walls. Later, one of their favorite parts of the day ended up being riding around the Scottish countryside in Sean Bell’s camper van while taking portraits. “He’s so easy to talk to,” they shared. “Being able to sit and enjoy the countryside was such a treat.”

Replacing Speeches With Something That Felt More Personal

Sydney and Joe skipped traditional speeches altogether and replaced them with something far more personal. They wrote individual letters to every guest attending the wedding and attached QR codes linking to songs that reminded them of each person. That same energy carried into the reception details. Sydney hand-painted watercolor place settings for guests and made friendship bracelets inspired by Taylor Swift’s Lover era.

Instead of serving a wedding cake, they chose three desserts. “And they were all so so so so good,” Sydney joked.

Dinner was catered inside the dining room at Castle Lachlan, where everyone gathered together at the end of the night for a meal that felt far more like a family dinner party than a formal reception.

What stands out most about this Castle Lachlan wedding isn’t just the scenery or fantasy-inspired details. Nothing about the day felt like Sydney and Joe were trying to recreate someone else’s version of a wedding. Even the smallest choices pointed back to places, people, traditions, and memories that already mattered to them long before they ever booked a castle in Scotland.