An Isle of Skye Elopement Planned in Just One Month, with a Floral Dress by Flora & Lane

Some weddings take years to plan, others fall into place almost overnight. Miranda and Zach’s did the latter. What began as a trip to Scotland became a once-in-a-lifetime elopement on the Isle of Skye, planned in just one month with both planning assistance and photography provided by the wonderful Oli & Steph.

The couple, their photographers and celebrant, hiked deep into the Quiraing for their ceremony, surrounded by natural elements and the most spectacular views of the rugged and windswept Scottish landscape. There ceremony was just two people completely at ease with one another, exchanging vows in one of the most extraordinary and breathtakingly stunning landscapes in the world.

Miranda wore a floral gown by Flora & Lane that arrived from Canada just in time, and Zach carried his Métis sash, a cultural piece that honours his heritage and roots.

This is a stunning example of how special an elopement can be – when a couple choose to commit to one another and celebrate their love, only in the company of their celebrant, and if they choose, their photographers too. Enjoy.

The Location

We eloped at Quiraing on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. We chose to visit Scotland as an extension for our trip (our “early honeymoon” we deemed it). We were trying to find the time and excuse to make the trip from Edinburgh up to the Isle of Skye, and I even had the thought months before of getting married in Skye, but I couldn’t justify it in my mind.

I shared my thoughts on this with my aunt in a joking manner only to be met with, “you need to, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” and I immediately called Zach on my drive home. He was as enthusiastic as I was, and the very next day we found Oli and Steph, located on the Isle of Skye. It was meant to be.

Skye is such a beautiful, otherworldly destination. It was on our bucket list to visit, and to be able to say we were married there is just icing on the dream cake. There’s so much to do and see, so much history and epic landscapes. It’s worth dedicating a week to Skye, if not longer.

Due to the fact that we didn’t have much time to curate our wedding, were very grateful that we were able to find a suit for Zach in a colour he likes, and that my dream dress was able to ship to Canada in time. Before deciding to elope, we were sitting on the idea of having our ceremony outside at Zach’s family cottage.

We both love the look and feeling of being in backwoods country in Canada, and every picture we saw of Skye gave us that same feeling. It was very easy to put all the planning and trust into Oli and Steph`s hands. We understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and agreed to any hiking idea or photo location either photographer suggested. We saw their work and knew that anything they touch is magic.

The Groom

Funnily enough, it was more difficult finding Zach his wedding day wardrobe compared to me. We spent a couple days visiting shops and looking for inspiration online, trying to find Zach something that would fit into the Highlands landscape but also be something he could wear repeatedly.

Zach loves that his tan jacket is so versatile, but his forest green pants and the matching attire are definitely his favourite part. Everything fit in so beautifully with the mountains of Skye. For Zach, the pop of green in his outfit was evocative for his love of Lord of the Rings, and for me, the green brought out the depths of the brown in his hair and eyes.

Zach purchased his suit in our hometown at Tip Top Tailors. The representative there made sure to spend as much time with us as we needed. He pulled multiple suit colours and styles for Zach to try, and found ties and pocket squares that would match the colour of the suit as well as my dress.

He gave as much information as we needed for the items that Zach had to order in, and made sure to order items that would come in time before we left. Zach’s suit fits him well and held up through a 8-hour hike. The representative for Tip Top went above and beyond, we’re so thankful for him.

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was officiated by celebrant, Ashton Easter.

We had three poems read during our ceremony – one was read by our celebrant and the other two were voiced over by our celebrant in our wedding video. They included ‘Stardust’, by Lang Leav, ‘Edith by J.R.R. Tolkien‘ and the other was ‘Lighthouse’, by Nayyirah Waheed. Zach had known of this poem for years and had always found beauty in it.

We are committed to being a resilient team, while also being mindful of our individualities, so when looking for a couple of poems for a voice over for our wedding film, Zach remembered the beauty and strength this one held.

For my voiced over poem, I really wanted to find one that captured my sentiment of Zach feeling like ‘home’ to me. In my vows, I told Zach that he is forever my Polaris, my guiding light and lighthouse, so when I found Nayyirah Waheed’s piece, I knew it was the one.

We had found Lang Leav’s poem while trying to find our individual poems, and we both fell in love with it and knew it needed to be included somehow. That’s how we decided to have two voiced over poems and one during our ceremony, especially knowing that we didn’t want our vows included in the audio of our wedding video.

In classic elopement fashion, I believe we both finished writing our vows the night before our hike with Oli and Steph. We are both private when it comes to us, we aren’t big PDA people, posting everything we do on social media, so we actually asked to be given a moment while reading our vows.

It was surreal, standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out at the vast Scottish landscape while reminiscing about our past years together. While part of me does miss not having the vows in our wedding video, the other part of me greatly appreciates the moment between the two of us that will remain as a favourite memory.

We both wrote a lot in our vows, but the last paragraph makes both of us tear up (Zach) and weep (me) every time I read it; “I will walk with you until all the rocks on the Earth turn to sand, the glaciers return to water and the seas run dry. When it is our time, I will find you again in the next life, and you’ll know it’s me when I greet you with a warm smile and a ‘hey there buddy’.”

Zach wore his wedding band and brought his Métis sash, a cultural piece and sometimes ceremonial dress. The sash is often worn during achievements or during times to recognise membership in a Métis community.

The Métis people are a distinct Indigenous Nation in Canada, born from the unions of First Nations women and European fur traders, with a rich culture, language and history that originated in the Red River region of Manitoba. You can learn more via the Manitoba Métis Federation here.

I didn’t have an engagement ring or wedding band at the time of our elopement, so I chose to wear a ring my parents purchased for me as a child, along with my grandmother’s wedding band. A little controversial, but I did choose to wear a watch on my wrist. It’s one my aunt gifted to me, and she’s the one who encouraged us to elope.

She supported us, was our sounding board when we ran into complications, she was our cheerleader the day of, and was my witness when we signed our legal wedding papers. Wearing this watch was like having a piece of her with us that day. In a small pouch, I carried an item from each important person in my life, so they could also be a part of our day in some way. I also wore my family’s Scottish clan cape during our ceremony.

Photography

Our photographers were Oli and Steph Photography. We loved the way Oli and Steph edited their photos and videos, it felt like they perfectly captured the essence of their couples in every shoot. We also thought it was very cool and fun that they like to take their couples on such big adventures all dressed up in their wedding attire.

Oli and Steph were so extremely kind and caring. Any need or worry we had was addressed by them.

If we were apprehensive of standing too close to a cliff edge for a photo, they made sure we knew that the shot wasn’t necessary. If we were cold, they offered puffer jackets they brought, if we needed a break, they stopped and sat with us while we caught our breath.

We spent a lot of time talking with them beforehand, with them the day of and we’re still in touch to this day. At no point before, during or after have we regretted our decision to work with Oli and Steph. If any of our friends or family were thinking of eloping or having a couples session in Scotland, we would absolutely recommend Oli and Steph.

How They Met

Zach and I met on Tinder actually. I had just bought my house in my small town in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and Zach was just leaving our major city and heading back to our neighbouring province of Saskatchewan for work. If I had matched with him even 4 hours later, I would have missed his profile entirely, and we wouldn’t have connected.

We dated long-distance until Zach moved back to Manitoba (where we’re both originally from) in February 2022. We’ve been living together ever since, and it’s been the best ride. We can say we’re both truly living with our best friend. We had talked about marriage quite a bit and both agreed that we weren’t “big fancy wedding” people, and that things would most likely be non-traditional. Once that conversation was settled, I knew I couldn’t wait to be engaged and chose to propose to Zach.

He’s a big Lord of the Rings fan, and I found a New Zealand jeweller, Storm Baker Jewellers. Matt and Tracey Baker went above and beyond for me, travelling to a Lord of the Rings filming location to gather jade stone and wood to inlay into Zach’s ring. It’s one of the most sentimental pieces to us, and such a special moment to look back on.

The original plan was to wait for Zach to propose back to me (that way we both get to experience a proposal) before planning and getting married, but since we’re already doing things non traditionally, and this will be a once-in-lifetime opportunity to get married in Scotland. We had only been engaged for four months when we booked with Oli and Steph Photography. After our zoom call with Oli and Steph, we kicked our butts into high gear as we only had 1 month to get Zach’s suit and my dress.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

Zach – Plan the wedding you want! At the end of the day, this is the commitment made between you and your partner. Yes family is important, we love and value our family greatly, but don’t spend all this money trying to please others, only to be distracted or too stressed to enjoy your day fully.

Make mutual planning decisions so that each partner is as happy and fulfilled on the wedding day.

Miranda – remember to take breathers and little moments together. Zach and I made sure to have moments to admire the epic scenery, but to also have check-ins before, during and after posing for photos. Some of the most natural looking smiles came from us having little conversations or jokes with each other while posing.

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