A Rainy Clachtoll Wedding Full of Warmth

Many of my ceremonies take place in familiar spots across the North-West Highlands, but some locations have a way of becoming more than just a backdrop, and Clachtoll is very much one of those places, especially for Karen & Harry.

When we first started talking about their plans, it was immediately clear that this wasn’t simply a beautiful setting they had chosen, but somewhere woven into their lives over many years of holidays, friendships, and returning again and again to the same stretch of coastline and the same community that gathers there year after year.

Clachtoll has a way of doing that. It draws people in, keeps them coming back, and over time becomes part of your story, so it felt only natural that this was where they would choose to get married.

Of course, choosing a place like this also means taking it as it comes, and as we approached the ceremony it became very clear that the weather had other ideas.

We wanted to get married at our special place in the north west highlands and do it our way, and we’d had a local recommendation for Monika and we are so glad we had. From the moment we contacted her she was beyond helpful, guiding and advising us through every detail, telling our story and giving us the most beautiful ceremony that we could have wished for. The content was very personal, powerful and emotional for us, culminating in the hand fasting and holding our piece of rose quartz.
We shall never forget and be forever grateful how special she made our big day

Karen & Harry

The rain set in, and then settled, and then became something we simply had to accept. Waiting it out wasn’t an option, so, very much in the spirit of the place, we carried on regardless.Armed with umbrellas, a good sense of humour, and for part of the ceremony a wonderfully sturdy parasol (a first for me, but certainly not the last), we gathered on the shore and began. And in many ways, the weather only added to the feeling of the day.

Because Karen & Harry’s story isn’t about perfect conditions. It began in an unexpected and slightly unconventional way, and unfolded slowly over time into a relationship full of warmth, humour and an easy sense of companionship, shaped by shared adventures, many returns to Clachtoll, and life alongside Charlie the parrot, who is very much part of it all.

And alongside that lightness, there is also a depth to their relationship, built on real life, on showing up for each other when it matters most, and on a quiet kind of selflessness that says far more than words ever could. That sense of steady, grounded love carried through the ceremony, echoed in the idea that love is not something dramatic or fleeting, but something constant, something you tend and return to, especially when things are less than perfect. Standing there in the rain, that felt particularly fitting.

The ceremony itself was relaxed and full of personality, with contributions from family, including a beautiful reading by Harry’s daughter, and plenty of moments of humour woven throughout.

The handfasting brought in elements that tied them directly to this place, alongside details that reflected them as a couple, and their vows, spoken simply and sincerely, focused on partnership, encouragement and facing whatever comes next side by side.

Even the rings carried a connection to Clachtoll, grounding the ceremony once again in a place that has meant so much to them over the years.

By the time we reached the declaration, with rain still falling and everyone gathered close, it felt less like anything had been disrupted and more like the day had unfolded exactly as it was meant to.

Afterwards, celebrations continued in the Salmon Bothy with warmth, laughter and a lot of cheering, and that lovely shift from ceremony into celebration that always feels especially well earned on days like this.

And then, one of those small but memorable moments for me. A couple of guests came over to say they had been here the previous year and had watched another ceremony I conducted from a little distance, and I remembered them straight away, standing just outside the circle back then, quietly taking it all in before joining in the applause at the end.

This time, they were right there at the heart of it, part of the circle, cheering Karen & Harry on. A quiet reminder of how these places, and these moments, have a way of bringing people back and drawing them in. A wedding that didn’t wait for perfect weather, but embraced the day exactly as it arrived. And in doing so, felt completely, unmistakably like Karen & Harry.