Planning an Edinburgh, Scotland Destination Wedding
If you’re looking for a sign to ditch a big wedding and get hitched abroad,
this is it.Planning a destination wedding or elopement abroad can be overwhelming from the get-go, but I’m here to help.
If you love gloomy skies, old architecture, rolling hills, scotch, sheep, highland cows, or kilts, then Scotland might be the place for you, and it’s a fantastic place to decide to elope.
So if you’re considering Edinburgh for your destination wedding or elopement, keep reading for some tips, tricks and advice for planning your nuptials abroad!
Getting To Scotland
Edinburgh, Scotland is a popular destination for flights, which makes it relatively easy to find your way there. Lots of flights connect via London Heathrow Airport and are just a quick skip from there to Edinburgh. One of the most popular airlines that’ll get you there is British Airways which offers fantastic customer service, comfy seats, and even meals when you’ve got long flights.
The best place to start (before you pull the trigger on plane tickets) is to decide what time of year you want to visit. Scotland has a temperate maritime climate meaning that it’s often wet.
The coldest and rainiest months are January and February, and the hottest months are July and August, but you can expect it to rain almost any time of year (it rained a few of the days I was there in July).
Another good thing to note is that August is Festival Month in Edinburgh meaning it’s the busiest time of year!
Locals will say it’s absolutely worth the experience, but it’s certainly going to be more expensive, so do with that what you will.
After you’ve decided when you’d like to go, I suggest buying plane tickets at least 3-6 months in advance to avoid spending a fortune! If you’re looking for a site to track flights on, I like to use Kayak or Google Flights where you can set a price alert for the cheapest flights.
Make sure you have a valid passport before traveling!
Where To Stay
Edinburgh is a big city, but it’s relatively centralized and thankfully the transportation options are amazing.
I definitely recommend getting an Airbnb if you’re looking to stay somewhere with a group, and there are a lot of exciting neighborhoods.
Stay in areas that are close to the city.
I personally enjoyed staying in the Leith neighborhood, there were plenty of cute bars and restaurants close by, and it was still near the big tourist attractions as well.
If you’re looking for a hotel that’s nearby, I suggest the Yotel downtown Edinburgh. It’s a beautiful, trendy spot with a great bar, within walking distance from amazing restaurants, and in a perfectly centralized location. You could also suggest the Yotel to your guests if you and your partner are choosing something else for yourselves!
Restaurants + Things to Do in Edinburgh!
There are endless things to do in Edinburgh, and I truly believe there is something for everyone.
It’s a gorgeous old city with lots of sightseeing options, beautiful nature spots, and hundreds of great places to eat and drink! It’s also an extremely diverse city, so there are so many amazing different cuisines to try (on top of classic Scottish foods).
I certainly recommend spending at least a week in Edinburgh just to experience everything you can while you’re there! If you’re choosing to elope or get married in Scotland, I’d recommend an even longer stay so you can truly enjoy the whole experience without feeling rushed.
I could make this section much longer, but for now, I’ll just list a few of my favorite restaurants and things to do in Edinburgh.
My Favorite Places to Eat and Drink: Dishoom. Hands down one of the most amazing Indian food places I’ve ever eaten.
Noon. Amazing healthy lunches, smoothies, coffee and brunch cocktails (and lots of yummy vegan options for all my veg friends).
Little Fitzroy Coffee. My Airbnb host recommended this cafe to me and it’s 10/10.
Under the Stairs. An adorable place to stop for appetizers and drinks. It’s right off the Royal Mile too so it’s central to everything!
Dragonfly Cocktail Bar. Artsy, quaint bar with amazing drinks and lots of live music!
Fun Things To Do:Hike Arthur’s Seat. It’s one of my favorite places to visit in Edinburgh with 360-degree views of the city!
Stroll through Dean Village. An adorable walk through a historic neighborhood is always a good idea.
Visit Portobello Beach. Walk the coast, visit shops, or find cute restaurants within minutes of downtown Edinburgh!
Scotland National Gallery or Scottish National Portrait Gallery are both beautiful (and free) galleries to checkout in the city if you’re a fan or art and photography.
Peruse Royal Botanic Gardens. All my plant lovers? This one is for you.
Taste some scotch! You can definitely get the Scotch tasting experience of Scotland even if you can’t make the trek up to the Highlands (but if you can, I definitely recommend visiting McCallan because — wow it’s gorgeous).
My last tip for this section is to ask the locals! I make it a point to ask Airbnb hosts, bartenders, or servers for their favorite spots because they always suggest the best stuff. All the things on this list were recommended to me by locals!
What to Wear + Pack for your Scotland Destination Wedding
Because the weather in Scotland is relatively mild, you won’t have to pack to the extremes to be comfortable during your stay.
I do recommend always having layers so that when the weather changes, you can adjust accordingly! When I was there in July I had one light raincoat and a sweater or two and was perfectly comfortable. Definitely bring your waterproof items though, because it does rain… often.
For your wedding, if you’re expecting to be outside, it’s always a fun idea to bring clear umbrellas just in case it does sprinkle during your big day! Rain boots are also a cute and clever footwear option, especially if you plan to be trekking around anywhere with the potential for mud (like on Arthur’s Seat). If you’re a dress-wearing human, expect that your dress might get a little dirty.
As for traveling with wedding attire, if you’re wary of checking a bag, usually it isn’t an issue to carry-on garment bags when flying. More often than not the flight attendants love that you are going to get hitched!
As for suits, you can always rent a suit in Edinburgh with proper notice. There are tons of suit rental shops all over Edinburgh that I’m sure would love to accommodate you as long as you have proper measurements!
Deciding Where to Say “I-Do” in Edinburgh, Scotland
Scotland is an extremely popular destination for weddings and elopements so I won’t stress you out with a venue list just yet.
Before you go looking for wedding venues in Edinburgh Scotland, my first piece of advice would be to decide what kind of destination wedding you want to have.
Do you want to elope somewhere with beautiful landscapes and just the two of you?
Do you want to have an intimate ceremony in a castle?
Or are you dreaming of partying in a luxury hotel?
Make sure to sit down with your partner and hash it out before you start deep diving on Google! Once you’ve made that decision, you can check out resources like this one to help you find the perfect spot for you.
If you’re looking for an outdoor location in Edinburgh to elope, here is a shorter list of a few great options:
Royal Botanic Gardens — options within the gardens are:
the Chinese Pavillion
Ultimately this is going to be the hardest part of planning your Edinburgh, Scotland destination wedding or elopement (because there are so many phenomenal options) but once you’ve decided on where you’d like to tie the knot and what you want the vibes to be like, it’ll help make all the rest of your decisions that much easier!
And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, never fear.
I’m Courtney -
Adventure lover, travel nerd, foodie, photographer, and your new bff.
If you wanna learn more about me, click here!