Moving away from the traditional main officiant at their wedding by including their family & guests to guide the ceremony was one of many uniquely wonderful choices this wedding couple made for their wedding. Truly, Rachel & JJ’s wedding in the Scottish Highland’s was an amazing experience for all who participated!
So many memories from this wedding weekend! Meeting some of Rachel & JJ’s friends and family the night we arrived was the way to start the party! Having a one of a kind bar at Craigellachie Hotel, (“The best whisky hotel in all of Scotch Country” – Forbes), with shall I say a one of a kind bar manager named Calum who knew everything you could ever know about each and every Scotch on hand, (and there were many…think over 1000) was memorable even with the Scotch! That next morning I had my first experience with haggis which I was really looking forward to as it, well…is different. Unique food (in the sense of being different than the typically US cuisine) has always been a draw for me whether it’s grasshoppers in China, snake in Cambodia or my diehard favorite of beef tartar (which freaks many people out but in my mind can be a breakfast, lunch or dinner staple of life), I’m excited to try anything and the haggis did not let me down! A distillery tour at Cardhu that afternoon allowed us to see some of the surrounding landscape of Speyside, (which felt weirdly similar to the Pacific NW of America) plus the inner workings of a Scotch distillery. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel where it was either off to lay down & chill or off for a run..& chill. Some of my fondest memories outside the wedding, when I look back at the destination weddings I’ve gotten to photograph, are runs I’ve taken. I guess you could say that like the wedding day itself, you can make new friends, meet locals, and see uniquely possible photo opportunities to take brides & grooms all the while getting fit in the process. Yea, I know, I’m spoiled!!
Now, here’s a really, really cool story about JJ’s suit….JJ, has a cousin in the US who is a motivational speaker and comedian who has written several books. Salvatore, one of his cousins in Italy spent years searching for any records of relatives in the US that he had known existed. Around 2012 Salvatore came across one of the books that JJ’s cousin in the US wrote and this book had pictures of her family which included Salvatore’s grandmother. After getting into contact with JJ’s US cousin, Salvatore took a trip to the US in 2013 to meet everyone. As someone who has spent a ton of time on Ancestry creating his own family tree, I could only dream of finding living relatives over there! JJ got to meet in 2018 his Italian family on a trip to their home town in Amaroni, Italy and found out part of his family are tailors who were very honored to make his wedding suit after he presented them with the idea in 2023. Later that year, with his sister and dad, JJ flew over to Italy to choose the materials for the suit and get fitted. The best part is that the Italian family all came to the wedding and everyone got to meet them, (and I got to experience this!!). Oh, if I only knew the language…
On to the WEDDING DAY! Whew, easily the toughest part of these days are when it’s over as I really really don’t want it to be over. The fun and excitement of millions of moments I get to capture and weave into the wedding day story makes every wedding awesomely unique & never ever like any other. One of the highlights, during the reception, was DJ Graham teaching everyone the traditional Scottish Ceilidh dance, (which was a blast to watch for sure!). It’s hard not to love JJ & Rachel’s love of people and zest for life so yea, I will be forever grateful to have had this opportunity to be there for them.
Below are a few of my favorite images that briefly give you a glimpse of this wonderful days energy. Enjoy!
Byron
As it’s always a pleasure and honor to work with talented wedding/event vendors throughout the world, I would like to recommend each and every one of these wonderful people below:
Venue, Catering & Bar– Craigellachie Hotel https://craigellachiehotel.com/Keira@craigellachiehotel.co.uk
Coordinator – Keira Stewart https://craigellachiehotel.com/Keira@craigellachiehotel.co.uk
Floral – Wild Blossom https://www.wildblossom.co.uk/enquiries@wildblossom.co.uk
DJ – 5 Star Discos – Graham Moore https://5stardiscos.com/INFO@5STARDISCOS.COM
Hair & Makeup – Makeup – Lisa Hart: @lisahartmakeup (Instagram) Hair – Suzanne Mcmahon: @suzannemcmahonhairstylist (Instagram)
