Monachyle Mhor Wedding Photographer | Wild Trossachs Elopement

I’d photographed Nick’s groomsman’s wedding in London a few years before this, so when Nick got in touch about his own wedding at Monachyle Mhor, it felt like catching up with an old friend. The venue couldn’t have been more different from London, though — a pink 18th-century farmhouse on the edge of Loch Voil, surrounded by 2,000 acres of working hill farm in the Trossachs.

The morning started in the hotel’s rooms, all exposed stone and roaring fires and windows looking straight out at the mountains. The ceremony was at Balquhidder Parish Church, about fifteen minutes through the glen — a place where Christianity arrived over 1,200 years ago and where Rob Roy is buried. Soft light through the windows, ancient stone walls, peaks over 3,000 feet outside. It’s a special place.

Afterwards we headed back to the loch for portraits. There’s a weathered wooden walkway that stretches out over the water, and in the golden hour light it looked incredible. But the best bit was scrambling out to a tiny moss-covered island in the middle of the loch — slippery rocks, completely surrounded by water and mountains. Nick and Catherine stood there in total stillness and it was one of those moments you just quietly photograph and feel lucky to witness.

The reception was in Monachyle Mhor’s big barn — rustic beams, contemporary art on the walls, and apparently Europe’s biggest disco ball hanging from the ceiling. The food was brilliant, all estate-grown and foraged, served with that easy Highland hospitality the place is known for. Nick and Catherine had their first dance under the disco ball, and then Nick jumped behind the decks and DJ’d the rest of the night himself. It was perfect.

Monachyle Mhor is one of those venues that just works. Wild and remote but comfortable and welcoming, with staff who live on-site and treat every wedding like family. If you’re thinking about getting married somewhere in the Trossachs, it’s hard to beat.