Megan & Kyle, Auchen Castle

Their story…

Megan and Kyle met on their first day at college and have been together ever since. Initially, they planned to hold their wedding in a mountain resort in New Hampshire but a fire at their venue led them to radically change their plans…

Why did you choose Scotland for your wedding?

We were hoping to honeymoon in Scotland after our US wedding and when our original plans changed, we had an idea that we could do everything in the same place. We reached out to Lisa Bauer, owner of Tartan Weddings. She was eager to help and came back with something better than we could have ever imagined. Lisa reached out to Auchen Castle and by some twist of fate, they had our original wedding date available. Not only did they have our date, but if our friends and family were willing, we could bring 50 people along with us. In 4 months, Lisa helped us plan the wedding of our dreams.  

Tell us about the people you worked with/booked.

We chose the ‘All Taken Care Of’ package from Auchen Castle. They found and booked almost all of our vendors. All we had to do was make some decisions and show up. Every vendor was truly amazing from start to finish. I can’t believe how lucky we were that they were all available on such short notice. 

Lisa recommended our celebrant, John Leo Scott, and our photographer/videographer duo, Del and JayJay. Our celebrant made us feel very comfortable from the very beginning, starting with a video call to introduce himself. From there it was a breeze. He wrote the most amazing ceremony that our guests still talk about.

Our photographers felt like part of the family and were hanging out with our guests at the end of the night. They are so talented and blended into our group seamlessly.

The staff at Auchen were incredible. They kept track of the days timeline, were available for any concern, and anticipated needs before I even had them. 

How did you find planning from a distance? Did you hire a planner to help or do it all yourself? Any challenges?

I honestly don’t believe that we could have done it without Lisa. She helped with everything from booking taxis to recommending vendors, coordinating deposits and every tiny communication in between. The only challenge we faced before the wedding day was some confusion with our Visa applications but everything ended up going smoothly.

Tell us about your big day. What were you most excited about? What was your favourite memory? What do you and your guests still talk about?

I had been to Scotland before but Kyle had not. I knew he would love it, so I was most excited about being in Scotland with our friends and watching Kyle experience it for the first time. My favourite memory was exploring the town of Moffat with our bridal party the night before the wedding and we both loved watching everyone’s faces as they arrived at Auchen Castle the morning of the wedding. Our guests still talk about the venue and the hospitality that we received while there, but most of all they still talk about the owl! Had we had our ceremony indoors, the owl would’ve delivered our wedding rings but since we got married outdoors, the owl was brought out after the ceremony for a meet and greet instead. Definitely unique. 

Other than your wedding, what else did you do whilst you were in Scotland? Any recommendations?

We did Edinburgh for 2 nights before the wedding weekend with friends and family. Met the bridal party in Moffat and stayed there for 2 nights as well. And then spent 2 days in Glasgow with my family after the wedding before catching our Rabbie’s bus for a tour of the Isle of Skye, where we spent 4 nights in Portree. While I would recommend all of that, I think an Isle of Skye tour would be our #1 recommendation. Booking the tour with Rabbie’s was the smartest thing we could have done (also recommended by Lisa). We had so much fun and would highly suggest trying to book your tour with Stuart as your driver! 

Top tips:

Without hesitation: get married in Scotland. Whether you choose to elope or have a big wedding, there is no better backdrop and you and your guests will have the time of their lives.

Venue | Auchen Castle

Photographer | Del & Jay Jay Photography

Celebrant | John Leo Scott

Planner | Lisa Bauer, Tartan Weddings

Florist | Bell’s Florist 

Hair and Makeup | Beauty Matters

Piper | Craig Irving, Gretna Green Piper