Serena and John flew in from Georgia with no locations picked, a Yungblud concert in the middle of the trip, and one lovely instruction: make it fun.

Their first message said it all:

“Open to all locations” and “we want someone who lives there to help guide” is exactly the brief we love. On our video call we got a feel for them, and Serena had a gorgeous gothic streak running through everything. So we suggested something a little different: a full day of photos in Edinburgh first, then their ceremony a few days later at Slains Castle, the dramatic clifftop ruin on the Aberdeenshire coast that helped inspire Dracula. A city day to explore, and a just-for-them ceremony in a wild, romantic ruin to follow.

Two days, two dresses, and a sunrise call made the night before

They got ready at The Witchery, all gothic glamour and exactly Serena’s world, and that’s where we did their getting-ready photos and helped them write their vows. Serena wore a different dress for each day, leaning right into the drama.

A few days before the ceremony, we made a proper day of Edinburgh: Holyrood Park, down through Dean Village and the Water of Leith, and along the Royal Mile. The city was overcast, all moody and atmospheric, which suited Serena’s gothic vibe down to the ground.

Now, the flexibility bit. The forecast for the Slains day looked much brighter than Edinburgh had been, so the evening before, we made the call to shift the ceremony to sunrise and catch the best of that coastal light. That’s the kind of decision you can only make when you know the place and you’re willing to move with the weather. We’re always flexible like that.

And we performed the ceremony and the handfasting ourselves, the same people who’d helped them plan it, standing with them on the clifftop as the sun came up.

“They told us to make it fun and to guide them. So we did both, right down to moving the ceremony to sunrise the night before.”

From the Old Town one day to a clifftop ruin at dawn a few days later, two dresses, their own vows and a handfasting we led ourselves, it was exactly what they asked for: a just-for-them elopement, planned start to finish, that was nothing but fun.

Drawn to something a bit gothic and dramatic? Here’s eloping at Slains Castle with us.