Edinburgh Elopement : Anna & Danny
Did someone say we should have more neighbourhood elopements in Edinburgh? Yes, I did. Want to elope in Scotland without climbing any mountains? Looking to elope in Edinburgh but not into the tartan and bagpipes traditions? Looking for something a little more off the beaten track than fighting your way through the throng of tourists in the city centre on your ceremony day?
Want to see the real heart of Edinburgh? The Elopement Society can sort you out with that. Here’s a little illicit Leith neighbourhood elopement for Anna and Danny.
These two are beautiful folks, childhood sweethearts who’ve travelled and grown together. They chose to elope in secret and they came to Leith to do it which fills my heart with so much joy and pride I could burst. It was pishing doon (that means heavy rain in local vernacular for any international readers) all day but these two didn’t care at all.
“Cheers, Solen, for designing, photographing, and witnessing our wonderful elopement!
Fun little fact: during my hair trial, Monica asked me why we chose Edinburgh to get married, and my answer without hesitation: that’s where Solen is.
When we decided to elope, I spent a good few weeks foraging the internet for inspiration, unsure if we’d go somewhere exotic or closer to home. I came across castles and beaches, highlands and barns, but none of them felt like us. Then I found The Elopement Society and everything just clicked. Your work, your vibe, and of course your blatant disregard of traditional wedding rules.
You are a delight to work with, coming up with the perfect suggestions for venue, celebrant, and suppliers - practically reading my mind. It was a piece of cake designing our wedding day with you, and you were an absolute pleasure to have around (creeping around between the plants).
During the ceremony, we completely forgot you were there. Before and after, you made us feel at ease and you brought a fun spontaneity to our day; a little tour of Leith, a visit to Quality Yard (Prince kind of looks like Liza Minnelli), a little bit of breaking and entering, and a cup of coffee along the way.
And not to forget the end results: your photos are stunning and a perfect reflection of our day! You pictured us truly how we are and how we felt in the moment. Absolutely brilliant, you are amazing! x”
This type of celebration is exactly what I envisioned when I set up The Elopement Society during lockdown. I wanted to go against the grain and support as many local creatives as possible, to encourage couples to do things in a way that represented their story instead of feeling obliged to stick to outdated traditions.
A wedding can be anything you want it to be. In Scotland you can marry anywhere at any time of day so long as you have handed in the paperwork and say a couple of legal vows with a licensed officiant.
All the suppliers Anna and Danny worked with are based within less than a mile of each other, use local suppliers were possible themselves and are all independent small businesses - ceremony venue, little family-run boutique hotel, cake, hair and make up and my photography all based between Montgomery Street and The Shore in Leith.
Leith is a 10 minute walk into the city centre, with views from Leith Walk (the main street right through the middle of the area) of Calton Hill and the famous Acropolis down to The Shore and across the Firth of Forth to Fife. It’s the home of the infamous Irvine Welsh novel, Trainspotting. The community of Leith is the most diverse in Edinburgh. The streets around Leith have many small gallery spaces, studios, every kind of boozer a drinker could wish for from wine bars to old school pubs, amazing bakeries, coffee shops, book stores, record shops and music venues so it’s the perfect part of town to get a proper idea of the heart and soul of the city instead of just seeing the tourism sheen of the city centre.
The brief was to somehow tip the cap to the couple’s time living in Berlin through using spaces that had a bit of edge and an industrial feel. When I think of Berlin I think of all the amazing street art in the East of the city and folks indulging in a wee road beer. I think of all the derelict spaces that have been commandeered by creatives who live and work in them.
Edinburgh hasn’t got many spaces that suit, all our old warehouses renovated into unaffordable housing but Leith has a few options. However, making sure we got a space that also didn’t feel like a hugely empty brought us to our pals at the very lush renovation of an old bank building, Away Industries. I’ve got the honour of being the first photographer to use the space as a location for editorial and brand commissions (working with the creative team at Aetla) and also now the first to bring them a wedding. Katy and Matthew have done some painstaking work to highlight the period features, the remaining bank elements like the amazing old vault, along with showing off the beautiful textures of the wooden flooring, plaster walls, old fireplace, pillars and cornicing. I’m a sucker for a scabby wall, I love the textural elements of this space. It has a modern Berlin feel to it to me, that mix of new and old that they always seem to always do so well.
It’s a real treat to work with neighbours on days like this, they feel extra special I think for couples who are from out of town, it means you get to meet our pals and know you are welcome guests in safe hands. So if you are looking for a real experience of Edinburgh when you travel here to elope and want to work with the best local independent creatives you know where to come.
