Why Edinburgh is one of the best places to travel for your elopement?

I might be biased, but after living in Edinburgh for over 4 years, I've explored what it has to offer. I've witnessed and captured many beautifully authentic elopements with couples in love coming from all over the world.

Hello, I'm Anastasia, a professional photographer based in this magical place called Edinburgh.

Elopements are one of my favourite things to capture. They have so much freedom and and authenticity that is sooo captivating!

When you have a big wedding, it's a lot about your guests and the celebration. There's a structure and a lot of things to arrange.

Don’t get me wrong, I love big weddings, there’s so much beauty in them. That's about feeling the love of all your friends and family and celebrating together this important milestone.

But if you're a couple that wants to celebrate your love with just the two of you or with a few close people, I'd say come to Edinburgh! This city offers a mixture of history, architecture with a magical vibe, natural sites within the city, places to visit, experiences to do, celebrants who can come wherever you'd like to tie the knot, and a lot of beautiful spots to take stunning photos (with your photographer 😉).

If you want to feel like you're in a movie with a "Harry Potter" and "Outlander" vibe, then Edinburgh should definitely be on your list!

I want to share an experience that I prepared for a lovely couple who came from France after their big celebration. It was about having time just for the two of them and have an elopement experience in our beautiful Edinburgh.

(By the way, that’s an amazing alternative way to have both worlds – have a wedding with your family and friends and then "elope" too. It will be worth it, I promise.)

So, let's meet Alain and Fatima (such a gorgeous couple, right?). They decided to come to Edinburgh to have an elopement experience after having a wedding celebration at home with family and friends.

They contacted me to capture these once-in-a-lifetime moments (which I'm incredibly grateful for!) Though they didn’t want to have just a photoshoot; they wanted to experience and explore the city through my vision and have these moments captured at the same time.

We had an introductory call and just instantly clicked (the most amazing feeling for a photographer!). I always ask how the couple wants to feel on the day of the elopement, what pace to have, what vibe, and what they want to experience. And I looooved the vision that Alain and Fatima had! I helped to create a plan and a route for the day.

They wanted a 6-hour experience to be able to see a lot of sights together, create beautiful photos, and just be relaxed and enjoy their time without rush. They rented a car, and I took them to the most iconic Edinburgh places with stops for some good coffee and food. We chatted away, and I loved hearing everything about their love story (how unique each love story usually is).

We explored so many famously gorgeous spots together, such as: Princess Gardens and the famous Ross Fountain, The Vennel viewpoint, Grassmarket, colourful Victoria Street, Royal Mile and one stunning close, New College with its beautiful architecture, The Dean village, St Margaret's Loch, and St. Anthony's Chapel Ruins!

It's been such a special day to show them all these beautiful places, capture their love, and in general prepare this experience for them!

As an outcome, we've got so many gorgeous photos. And it was incredibly beautiful to witness their excitement of exploring new sights and even more so to see how they were expressing their love toward each other (that was just

melting my heart)!

The sweetest thing though, was how many warm and kind words I received from them! We took a selfie at the end of the day, and they said they would put it on their fridge, and THEY DID!

I honestly just teared up when they shared our selfie on their fridge. If you're planning your elopement in Edinburgh (or honestly any place), make sure that you pick suppliers that you click with. Don't plan too many things for this day, leave some room for a bit of rest, and plan everything according to what you'd like to feel and experience on the day. But if you want a bit more magic in the air during your special day, just come to Edinburgh!