Outlander wedding locations in Scotland, and which ones you can actually marry at

We get a lot of emails that start with a list of filming locations. Lallybroch, Leoch, the church where Jamie and Claire got married. It’s a good list. The trouble is that some of those places will marry you, some will only let you take photographs, and one of them is a prison.

So here’s the honest version, from two people who live here, photograph Outlander couples every year and have watched the show more times than we’d admit in front of clients.

Midhope Castle, which you’ll know as Lallybroch

The big one. Midhope is the tower house that plays the Fraser family home, sitting on the Hopetoun estate about half an hour from Edinburgh. The archway and the courtyard are exactly as you remember them, and yes, you can get married in that courtyard.

It’s a private estate, so you can’t just turn up with a celebrant and a ring. Ceremonies need permission and booking in advance. We’re approved by the estate to photograph elopements and small weddings there, and we sort that side of it. A celebrant can marry you legally under the arch, or you can do the legal bit at home and have a symbolic ceremony here instead.

Sarah and Liam got engaged at Midhope, then came back and had a legal Celtic handfasting under that arch, with Sarah in teal tartan and a tiara. Their story is here. Hannah and Carl came up from England to renew their vows there, which we’ve written up as their Lallybroch vow renewal.

With us: Everything about the castle, the permissions and how the day works is in our Midhope Castle guide. Dates and prices are on the Midhope Castle elopements page.

Bakehouse Close, Edinburgh, otherwise known as Carfax

This is the close off the Canongate that stands in for Jamie’s print shop. It’s a public close in the Old Town, so you can’t hold a ceremony there, but it’s brilliant for photographs on the same day as a Midhope or Edinburgh elopement.

Hannah and Carl got ready at The Witchery, renewed their vows at Midhope, then came back into the city with us to stand where Jamie’s shop was. For fans that’s not a photo stop. It’s the bit they talk about afterwards.

Doune Castle, or Castle Leoch

Doune plays Castle Leoch, Colum MacKenzie’s home, and it’s about an hour from Edinburgh. It’s looked after by Historic Environment Scotland, so anything inside the castle itself goes through them rather than us. Their sites stay open to visitors during weddings, so it’s worth knowing that before you picture an empty great hall.

There’s another way to do it. Kai and Kristi wanted a castle for their 25th anniversary, and we held their ceremony in the grounds of Old Newton of Doune, a house right beside the castle, with Leoch standing behind them. Their vow renewal at Doune shows how it looks.

Glencorse Old Kirk, where Jamie and Claire got married

The little church south of Edinburgh where the wedding episode was filmed. It sits in the grounds of Glencorse House, and they do hire it out for weddings. It’s a wedding venue with its own way of doing things, so you’d book it with them directly. Fans ask us about it all the time, so it’s worth an enquiry if it’s the church or nothing.

Glencoe, from the opening credits

Glencoe is the landscape in the opening titles of every episode, which is why so many Outlander couples want it. Unlike most of this list, you don’t need a venue. Scottish law lets a celebrant marry you outdoors, so you can say your vows in the glen with the mountains behind you.

It’s also where we lived for years, so we know where to stand and when. Have a look at our Glencoe elopement page. Avoid July, August and early September unless you like midges.

The ones we’d visit rather than marry at

Culross in Fife plays Cranesmuir, Geillis Duncan’s village, and the cobbled streets are lovely for a wander. Falkland plays 1940s Inverness, where Claire and Frank are on their second honeymoon in the first episode. Blackness Castle is Fort William, which is where Black Jack Randall flogs Jamie. And Linlithgow Palace is Wentworth Prison.

We’d put all of those on the honeymoon rather than the wedding. Nobody needs a first kiss at Wentworth.

Making the ceremony feel like the show

The location does a lot of the work, but the ceremony can do the rest. A handfasting, where your hands are bound with a cord or a strip of your tartan, is the one most fans ask for. Sharing a dram from a quaich is another. Sarah and Liam asked for their ceremony to lean into their Scottish ancestry, and their celebrant built it round that.

With us: Our own ceremony is included and non-legal, and we write it with you. If you want to be legally married on the day, we’ll find out which celebrants are free and introduce you. We can also be your two witnesses.

Building a trip round it

Most of the Outlander spots sit within an hour or so of Edinburgh, which makes the city a good base. Midhope, Bakehouse Close, Blackness, Linlithgow and Glencorse Old Kirk are all close by. Doune is on the way north if you’re heading to Glencoe after. Our 7 and 10 night itinerary shows how we’d fit the wedding and the honeymoon together.

Jodie & Matt

Outlander fan with a castle in mind? Check your date, then get in touch and tell us which bit of the show you want to stand in. Or go straight to pricing.