Teacher Charlotte and Engineer Zak’s wedding took place on a soft, summer’s day in August, within the ancient stone walls of Kilmartin Castle – a 16th-century gem tucked into the heart of Argyll. With its antique French furnishings and deep-rooted sense of history, the castle set the tone for a day that felt timeless, thoughtful and quietly powerful.
The couple share a deep love of the past, of folklore and historical tales, so it’s no surprise that their wedding was shaped by story. From the candlelit glasshouse to a handfasting ceremony rich in symbolism, every detail was steeped in personal meaning. Charlotte wore a romantic, Pre-Raphaelite inspired gown by the talented Ailsa Munro – a perfect match for the windswept drama of the Scottish landscape and the rich textures of the castle.
Captured beautifully by The Caryls, this wedding was not just an intimate celebration, but a heartfelt expression of identity, creativity and love.
Venue & Location
The location of Kilmartin Glen is an area rich in Neolithic history, including stone circles which appealed to us. We had our first holiday in the Isle of Skye, so Scotland is very special to us. We also share a love of history, so we wanted to end the evening with a storyteller telling ghost stories and old Norse myths. My love of historical romance novels and films, also fed into the vision for our day, too.
I knew that I wanted peach flowers, so my mum and I spent months drying shop bought flowers ourselves in order to use in my wedding arch, we prepared mini bouquets to thread through chicken wire to create the arch. We made the arch on the morning of the wedding.
A Few Favourite Vendors
Explore our Wedding Directory, discover amazing talent & support brilliant wedding businesses.
The Dress
Ailsa Munru
I knew I wanted a romantic Pre-Raphaelite style wedding dress and one day as I was browsing instagram I saw a bride in a dress I thought was beautiful and very unique. I saw that it had been made by Ailsa Munro. On Ailsa’s website I could see that she designs and makes beautiful, historically inspired and romantic dresses for brides.
I was particularly drawn to the Lowenna dress. In a turn of luck I saw that Ailsa was selling a sample Lowenna dress on her Etsy account at an amazing price and I took a risk and bought it! The only size I was given was the bust size -which was the same as mine. I remember my mum told me not to buy it as I hadn’t tried it on. But I had a strong feeling that she was meant to be my dress. When Lowenna arrived, I nervously tried her on and she was a perfect fit and I fell in love with her. It was definitely meant to be.
Growing up I have always loved period films and dramas. I have a huge interest in period dress, and I knew I wanted a dress that could make me feel as though I’d stepped back in time.
I loved the corseted waist and the beautiful dot tulle over the nude lining. It was so comfortable to wear whilst climbing up Dunadd Fort for our wedding photos! It even had pockets! During our hikes to beautiful locations with our photographers, my dress did get very muddy and I even had a couple of slugs clinging to it. My lovely mum washed it clean in the castle kitchen sink the morning after.
My lovely dress maker Ailsa recommended To A Mountain Daisy for my full dried flower crown. I made the decision to wear a veil only a week or so before the wedding as I ordered it on a whim from Esty from PelicanRoseBride. I knew I was wearing a flower crown so I wanted the veil to sit below my crown. I was told it gave off a Maid Marion vibe. Again, as soon as I tried on the veil, I thought it was the perfect addition to the dress.
My shoes were from Caboclo Brasil, a leather shoe company in Barcelona. The style is named Bahia.
I was also wearing my trusty Dubarry full length boots for the photo hike.
My perfume was my trusty favourite, Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille. I bought a Victorian metal bag from eBay which was just big enough to hold a lipstick and Zak gave me an antique heart shaped garnet necklace to wear in my wedding day, it was perfect.
My bridesmaid dresses were from Linennaive.
The Ceremony
My stepdad Shaun and my son Finnian walked me down the aisle. Our piper played the Skye Boat Song as I walked down the aisle (he then kindly played it again for me after the ceremony, as I didn’t take it in the first time!).
Zak and his Best Man wore kilts from MacGregor & MacDuff in the Carmichael tartan. His Grandma was a Carmichael and it felt very fitting to be wearing it. We hired our boys kilts from Macgregor and Macduff – so did the rest of the wedding party.
Zak purchased the Sgian Dubh’s for both of his brothers from Flett Forge. He loves this designer’s authentic style and use of natural materials. He also went on a deep dive into Etsy and found a few bits for the wedding including his own Sgian Dubh made from 4000 year old bog oak from near Culloden.
We chose to have a traditional Scottish handfasting ceremony, as well as exchanging rings. Then Zak, I and the children all drank from the Quaich (which symbolises togetherness and a shared future).
My ring was from Etsy Eden Garden Jewelry. My ring has ivy leaves and a black diamond. Zak’s ring is based on a stone circle in Orkney the ring of Brodgar. It was designed by Teresa Shearer for Aurora Orkney Jewellery.
We adored The Caryls work on their instagram page and we knew that we wanted the incredible experience of being photographed by them in beautiful places on our wedding day.
We met online as two single parents and quickly realised we shared many interests and hobbies. Zak proposed in December 2021 at a special place that we have visited many times together, Avebury in England. We were looking at a beautiful sunset over the prehistoric Silbury Hill when he took out the champagne he had been keeping chilled in his backpack!
The Reception
Zak and I went hunting for antiques in local shops. I bought a beautiful silver bowl, stoneware vases, ikea candles, vintage brass candle holders, green and peach velvet ribbons, antique keys. We used these items to decorate the castle and glass house along with the dried flowers.
As we were getting married in Scotland in summer, we wanted our guests to be prepared! So we provided our guests with bags including personalised letters, rain mac, shortbread, homemade gin and tonics, and, of course… midge spray!
Our order of the day was designed by my friend and work colleague Liz Felstead, we printed it locally in Leighton Buzzard.
We went to the neighbouring Kilmartin Inn for a relaxed wedding meal. Then a lovely local company, Lucy’s, provided the most amazing meat and fish platters for the evening. Kate from Northern Lights Cakery.
Our cake was absolutely stunning, I wanted a night sky design and it was truly beautiful. The filling was chocolate and English rose Victoria sandwich.
We chose Lucy from Upon A Mountain Daisy for the bridal and bridesmaid bouquet, flower crowns and buttonholes. I love the subtle colour of peach and pink roses and they were a main feature in the bouquets and crowns. My bouquet had a very whimsical feel with flowers cascading and a peach silk ribbon.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Zak: Don’t go for a three hour walk on the morning of your wedding otherwise you’ll find yourself pushed for time getting ready! I decided to go for a 3 hour walk with the men beforehand, to help me relax. But I was late back, so the getting ready was a bit of a rush. But when the piper started, and I knew Charlotte was coming, I just felt very calm.
Seeing her for the first time was my favourite part. She looked amazing! (I was also relieved that she didn’t have wings on. She kept joking and saying that she would be wearing wings!)
Charlotte: “Take a risk if you love something and don’t be afraid to try things that are out of the ordinary!
Save Your Favourite Content
Register for a Love My Dress account to start saving and curating all your favourite Love My Dress content to access at anytime from your own personal dashboard. You can save all your favourite real weddings and wedding inspiration, your preferred suppliers and venues in our directory, coveted shop items and ceremony readings (we’ve a huge selection to browse through!)
More Weddings Photographed by The Caryls
We adore The Caryls and recommend them most highly if you are looking for exceptionally beautiful, atmospheric and romantic elopement photography. We are proud to have published some super beautiful weddings captured by The Caryls, here are some of them…
