A Fashion-Led Borthwick Castle Wedding

Cady and Louis travelled from New York City to Borthwick Castle for a Scottish destination wedding that felt equal parts historic, fashion-led and completely personal. Set just outside Edinburgh, the castle gave their guests a proper sense of place, with ancient stone, tartan, bagpipes and a spring day that somehow delivered warm light and a beautiful golden hour.

The clothes were a story in themselves. Cady wore a vintage 1990s Vera Wang gown for the ceremony, with green Gucci heels and flowers braided into her hair, before changing into a Dior slip dress and brighter green Loeffler Randall heels for the party. Louis wore a custom grey striped suit with a Scottish fly plaid, bringing New York style into the setting without losing the character of Scotland.

From New York to a Scottish castle

Borthwick was the last of several Scottish castles Cady visited with her mum and friends while scouting venues around Edinburgh. Once they arrived, the decision was easy. The scale, history and slightly wild feeling of the place made it feel unmistakably Scottish, while still giving everyone space to settle in and spend proper time together.

That mattered because most of the guests had travelled from the United States. Cady and Louis wanted a destination wedding that felt generous rather than over-scheduled, with a smaller group of family and friends able to enjoy the castle as much as the ceremony. Louis’s grandmother Elsa made the journey too, along with a very fast two-year-old ring bearer in a kilt who treated the aisle like a sprint track.

Vintage Vera Wang, Dior and a flash of green

Cady found both of her wedding looks at Happy Isles in New York. The first was a beautifully textured 1990s Vera Wang gown with a pleated train, worn with deep green Gucci heels, her mum’s diamond leaf earrings and small flowers woven through her hair. A white blazer over her shoulders added another layer without making the look feel overly styled.

For the evening she changed into a Dior slip dress, vintage pearl earrings and bright green Loeffler Randall heels. It was looser, lighter and made for dancing. Louis’s custom grey striped suit and Scottish fly plaid worked brilliantly beside both looks. The fashion had real personality, but nothing felt like costume. It still looked like them.

A warm March day at Borthwick Castle

The ceremony was followed by cocktails and canapés with a string ensemble, then dinner, speeches, dancing and a late-night buffet. There was a bagpiper, a spirited attempt at a Scottish fling, the Hora and castle karaoke, including a rendition of Pulp’s Common People that Cady had initially decided might be a little too much for a medieval castle. Happily, her friends disagreed.

The light was extraordinary for March. Warm sun moved across the stone during the day and the evening gave us a proper golden hour outside the castle. I kept the portraits quick and relaxed so Cady and Louis could get back to their guests, mixing digital photography with the texture and looseness I love in film-inspired wedding work.

Planning by Lisa at Tartan Weddings

Lisa Bauer at Tartan Weddings was at the heart of the planning. She joined the venue search, handled the complicated work behind a wedding arranged from New York and made the whole experience feel easy for Cady and Louis. Lisa knows Scottish destination weddings inside out, but she is also brilliant at protecting the mood of a day so the couple never feels as if they are being managed.

The team behind the wedding

Venue: Borthwick Castle
Wedding planner: Lisa Bauer at Tartan Weddings
Flowers: Julie Reid at A Curious Arrangement
Makeup: Annabel Bain Bridal
Hair: Pam Docherty
Vintage bridal fashion: Happy Isles

Cady also shared more of the story behind her two vintage dresses in her Happy Isles Real Bride feature.

Planning a Borthwick Castle wedding from overseas?

If you are planning a destination wedding at Borthwick Castle, in Edinburgh or elsewhere in Scotland, and you want natural photography with a strong sense of fashion, place and atmosphere, get in touch here. I would love to hear what you are planning.