Something borrowed, something blew: Why more couples are turning their big days into away days to go wild for their wedding photographs
Photographers reveal how the lockdown boom in elopements continues as Instagram generation seek epic backdrops for wedding pictures
The acclaimed photographer Sebastião Salgado once said it is as important for a photographer to have a good pair of shoes as a good camera.
The growing number of his wellshod colleagues capturing couples’ cinematic elopements in Scotland would no doubt agree.
Traversing glens and scaling mountains to create the most spectacular frames for wilderness weddings is a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
Fuelled, say experts, by social media’s passion for pictures, changing attitudes to tying the knot and a growing appreciation for Scotland’s stunning landscape has encouraged more and more couples to ditch traditional, formal line-ups and embrace wild, elemental images more likely to be seen on the silver screen than granny’s mantelpiece.
Aberdeenshire-based elopement planner and stylist, Ella Herbert of Ella Mai Elopements, believes the popularity of atmospheric photographs and films reflects a growing sense of weddings becoming more about the couple themselves than about tradition and pleasing others.
“Eloping allows couples to freely choose how they spend their day and essentially how they start their married life together, without having to answer to anyone,” she said.
“They don’t have to worry about paying for tens or hundreds of guests’ dinners, they can focus on what brings them joy, and in turn, this means they can put
‘ There is a romance in the rugged parts of Scotland
more money into things that are important to them. The question I ask all couples is, ‘what is the most important aspect of your day?’ And nearly every single couple answers with photography and/or videography.
“They want the epic depictions of their day that they are then able to share and wow friends and family with.”
The cinematic wedding and elopement photography trend in Scotland has arguably been led by Edinburgh-based photographers and film makers The Kitcheners, who, alongside other fine art photographers like the Isle of Skye’s Belle Art Photography, have become synonymous with epic wedding imagery.
“Our first enquiry for an elopement came in 2013 from a Scottish couple that decided to run away and marry in total secrecy (not even telling their teenage children) at Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye,” said photographer Dylan Kitchener of The Kitcheners.
“After capturing this, we fell in love with documenting elopement stories and decided that was the direction we would like to move in.
“Spending 100% of the time with just the couple allows you to build a closer relationship and create a more tailored experience for them.
“Having flexibility of time and no strict schedule to adhere to – as you would with a more traditional wedding – allows more creative possibilities and space to experiment with storytelling.”
He added: “Back in 2013 elopements in Scotland weren’t really a thing yet but we already knew that this was going to be something special and different.
“Then over the last 10 years or so, mass-consumption of social media like Instagram has played a massive part in making couples aware of what is possible in wedding photography.
“Instagram in particular has introduced the cinematic style of wedding photography on a worldwide scale.”
Social media expert Johnnie Blue of Glasgow digital marketing agency Adeo Group agrees that Instagram has played a huge part in changing attitudes to wedding photography and helped put Scotland on the map as a modern elopement destination.
“Nowadays, rather than looking at the classic case studies and example wedding albums, the first place most young couples look at is the photographer’s Instagram,” he said.
“And there, you’ll very rarely see the static, staged family photos that once featured in the silk wedding album.
“Couples now look for more relaxed, intimate photography that will capture a memory as well as showing the striking location of the wedding.
“The standard, old-fashioned wedding shoots have been done many times on Instagram – modern imagery stands out and is emotive to followers.”
He added: “In some ways, wedding photographers can be looked at as kind of wedding influencers.
“The way travel influencers can encourage people to go to certain places in the world, so too do cinematic elopement and wedding photographers by sharing these images, encourage couples to get married in Scotland’s epic locations.”
Scotland’s unique marriage laws which allow couples to get married almost anywhere are different to those of England’s – where marriages can only take place in civil ceremonies on registered premises.
This is another reason many choose to get married in Scotland’s spectacular landscapes says Kitchener, as well as the fact the country holds so much history and romance.
“There is a romantic element to the rugged landscape in Scotland and it’s almost as if the mountains here were waiting for love stories to be told in them.”
He added: “It’s the dramatic landscape and dark, moody weather that attracts many couples to Scotland in the first place so it’s natural that they will be looking for photography that captures this mood.”