Their story…
Proud cat parents and Nessie experts, Jason and Montserrat travelled to the Scottish Highlands with thirteen of their closest family and friends for a wedding that couldn’t be further from their desert home in LA…
LA’s a cool place. Obviously, so is Scotland but what made you choose the Highlands for your wedding?
Jason’s family heritage is Scottish. His family belongs to the Gordon clan, and in 2000 he attended a big family reunion and seeing Scotland left such a big impression on him that he knew he wanted to get married there. His original plan was to propose there in June of 2020 right after both of us were due to wrap up the shows we were working on and, unfortunately, we know how things went. So after he proposed in 2021 we started looking at Scotland for the actual wedding, and the more we researched the more we realised this had to be the place.
You planned your wedding yourself. Well done. Any challenges?
Planning a wedding from the States definitely had its struggles, particularly with the time zone difference. We did it all ourselves, which is to say Jason did most of it as he is the human equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife! He put on his producer hat, made a bullet point list of what was needed and got to work. Lots of research and lots of waking up really early to do some calls.
I think everything was much easier once we found the venue. A friend recommended Castles and Cottages and, as we had the advantage of a relatively small wedding party and wanted a private and cosy ceremony, Kyllachy House was more than perfect for that.
We were just really excited to get married finally because it had been such a process for it to happen. We booked the Kyllachy House for a week, and the plan was for Jason and I to get there first on the Sunday before to set everything up. We travelled from LA to Edinburgh and planned to take the train to Inverness since it was my first time in Scotland and Jason wanted me to see the countryside, but the weather was not on our side.
What should’ve been a straightforward A to B trip became a train to Perth, waking up at 3am to keep an eye on train schedules (spoiler: they kept being cancelled). By sheer luck, we found a car service that was also travelling to Inverness and (by feeling a lot like Kevin’s mom felt when she found John Candy and his travelling polka band in Home Alone) we still, somehow. managed to get to the Kyllachy House in time for check-in.
It rained all week, but that Friday was the one day that it was bright and sunny, giving us the perfect lighting for the ceremony. It was magical. We all still talk about how magical it felt to be there, in the beautiful countryside, with our families and our best friends. And we also still talk about the feral rams that sometimes showed up in the property.
Every single person we worked with was a dream. From our first conversation, our photographer Andy Taylor immediately understood the vision we had for our photography style and was so incredibly accommodating and patient.
Our friend. Mark, hired the amazing Chef Sam Stanley for a private dinner of Scottish tapas during our stay. She and her partner were incredible. For our wedding day dinner, we had the amazing Chef Mari from DineInDulge.
The men rented their kilts from Chisholms Highland Dress, who were an absolute delight and so SO knowledgeable. Incredibly helpful even before the wedding, making sure we got the measurements right and their attention to detail was impeccable.
Planning a wedding from the States definitely had its struggles, particularly with the time zone difference. We did it all ourselves, which is to say Jason did most of it as he is the human equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife! He put on his producer hat, made a bullet point list of what was needed, and got to work. Lots of research and lots of waking up really early to do some calls.
I think everything was much easier once we found the venue. A friend recommended Castles and Cottages and, as we had the advantage of a relatively small wedding party and wanted a private and cosy ceremony, Kyllachy House was more than perfect for that.
We visited the Loch Ness Centre, which was delightful. Ended up going twice just so we could rewatch the animation they have in one of the rooms about Scottish folklore and possible folklore origins of the Loch Ness monster. Leakey’s Bookshop was also a great time, we could’ve spent all day just going through every single aisle. The Inverness Botanic Gardens were beautiful. My personal favourite was the Inshes roundabout at the Tesco. Driving on the left is quite the challenge. Driving on the left in a gigantic roundabout gave me a scare only comparable to amusement park rides.
Any advice for other couples planning their wedding in Scotland?
When planning from abroad, get your cell phone carrier’s international plan. It’ll pay for itself in two phone calls. Check your wedding venue’s preferred vendor list. Don’t be afraid to take the plunge: the kindness and helpfulness of the people of Scotland will never cease to amaze us. People were so happy to help. Communicating with the venue early is also a big tip. Trust your vendors. Hiring Andy was one of the best things we did because he so understood our vision. Research weather delays more than we did, though. And don’t forget to get out and explore. All that fresh air did wonders to ease the stress of getting married.
Venue | Kyllachy House & Estate
Photographer | Andy Taylor Photography
Florist | City Florists and Gifts
Gent’s outfits | Chisholms Highland Dress
Private Dining | Sam Stanley
Wedding Catering | Chef Mari, DineInDulge
Celebrant | Family friend, Mark Whittington
