(Lesley and Rupert at Kinlochard)
The short answer is yes, of course! You don't have to be on the Scottish mainland to have a legal humanist marriage - as long as the island is Scottish, that's fine. Theoretically, you could even get married on St. Kilda if you wanted to! If it was possible to arrange the practicalities anyway - it is Scotland's most remote island and very difficult to get to - you'd have to charter a boat and get special permission from The National Trust for Scotland who own it. Mind you, given that that's where I met my husband, I'd be bowled over if anyone ever asked me to conduct a marriage there!
You could of course travel to one of the many beautiful islands off the west coast for your wedding (Skye, Mull, Arran etc..) or up to the northern isles. In central Scotland, Inchmahome Island on the Lake of Menteith used to be available for weddings.
Sadly Historic Scotland, who own it, decided in late 2011 to ban weddings there. As far as I know, there would be nothing to stop you having your wedding photos taken there after your marriage of course. If it's a small-ish wedding, you could have the ceremony outside at the Lake Hotel at Port of Menteith, as the lovely Gillian and Grant did:
(Photo by Nadin Dunnigan)
There are stunning views from the hotel over the lake towards Inchmahome. And the other option is to get married at the self catering lodges (Lochend Chalets) on the shores of the lake, as Julie and Gordon did on Valentine's day a few years ago. Even with cold and misty weather, the lake was stunning (as was the bride!) (the groom wasn't bad either!):
(photo by Dave Hunt)
Other islands in central Scotland you might consider are those on Loch Lomond. There are quite a few to choose from and they each have their own unique character:
Inchmurrin is lovely and has accommodation and a restaurant. My own favourite is Inchcailloch - the views are stunning:
It doesn't have any cover though, so you have to be willing to 'go for it' as far as the weather is concerned! Much of the island is wooded so there's a bit of shelter and if you're outdoor people and don't have a lot of guests (you need to consider the logistics of getting everyone over to the island), it might just suit you perfectly.
If you like Loch Lomond but don't fancy the logistics of ferrying people over to one of the islands, there are a number of great venues on the western shores including Cameron House, The Cruin, The Lodge on the Loch, Duck Bay Marina and Culag Lochside on the east at Ross Priory or Boturich Castle. The views over Loch Lomond are often stunning:
There is also nothing to stop you getting married on Loch Lomond itself - on the Sweeney Cruises Silver Dolphin for example:
The lovely Loch Katrine is also a possibility of course and here are Iris and Gordon celebrating after their wedding ceremony on board the SS Sir Walter Scott.
There are fantastic views around many of the lochs in the Trossachs and if you want to be near the water, somewhere else to consider for your big day is Loch Ard:
This is the garden at the self catering Altskeith House set up for a lovely summer wedding.
They also have two rooms indoors suitable for the ceremony that look out onto a lovely landscaped terrace:
Loch Venachar is stunning too and these are views from the Harbour Cafe (see Venachar Lochside):
The lovey spot next to the river at The Roman Camp Hotel in Callander is also very special:
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It doesn't have any cover though, so you have to be willing to 'go for it' as far as the weather is concerned! Much of the island is wooded so there's a bit of shelter and if you're outdoor people and don't have a lot of guests (you need to consider the logistics of getting everyone over to the island), it might just suit you perfectly.
If you like Loch Lomond but don't fancy the logistics of ferrying people over to one of the islands, there are a number of great venues on the western shores including Cameron House, The Cruin, The Lodge on the Loch, Duck Bay Marina and Culag Lochside on the east at Ross Priory or Boturich Castle. The views over Loch Lomond are often stunning:
There is also nothing to stop you getting married on Loch Lomond itself - on the Sweeney Cruises Silver Dolphin for example:
The lovely Loch Katrine is also a possibility of course and here are Iris and Gordon celebrating after their wedding ceremony on board the SS Sir Walter Scott.
There are fantastic views around many of the lochs in the Trossachs and if you want to be near the water, somewhere else to consider for your big day is Loch Ard:
This is the garden at the self catering Altskeith House set up for a lovely summer wedding.
They also have two rooms indoors suitable for the ceremony that look out onto a lovely landscaped terrace:
I love Altskeith and I reckon this is one of the best views from any wedding venue in this area:
(Photo by Ashley Coombes)
You might also consider the Forest Hills Hotel or for a budget option, the newly and nicely renovated Kinlochard village hall:
(Lesley and Rupert having fun at their outdoor Kinlochard wedding)
(a not so sunny day but a lovely medieval themed wedding on the shores of the loch outside Kinlochard village hall)
Loch Venachar is stunning too and these are views from the Harbour Cafe (see Venachar Lochside):
The lovey spot next to the river at The Roman Camp Hotel in Callander is also very special:
(picture of Jilly and Scott by Stirling based professional photographers Whylers)
To return to the full page of posts, click on 'home' below or to move on to the next post, click 'older post':
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