An Inspired Adventure Elopement in Scotland

Words by Photographer and planner Megan McEachern

This adventure elopement inspiration shoot was part styled, part a real declaration of love and what Sara and Rachael stand for. They contacted me as they were going to be on the Isle of Skye for a little road trip and wanted to dress up and create something cool while they were in the area. Strong LGBTQIA+ advocates, Sara is from Canada, and Rachael is from England. The pair were getting tired of seeing model couples for same-sex styled shoots who weren’t actually from the community or seeing a lack of representation in the U.K.’s wedding industry in general.

With this in mind, I wanted the shoot to be paired back and really just to be a complete showcase of their love, without any showiness or big fancy frills or anything to distract from their connection. Due to Covid-restrictions, Scotland’s elopement scene is booming. Thanks to its unique marriage laws, you can get married practically anywhere, unlike in England or Wales. Because of this, I wanted to showcase the possibilities of where you could actually get married or create your adventure elopement in the wildest of settings. Sara and Rachael are also big on travel and adventures, having met while snowboarding in Canada. So to do the shoot in some of Skye’s most adventurous and remote spots seemed like the perfect location to represent their love.

We hiked to The Old Man of Storr – an iconic and epic Skye natural landmark, and the Quiriang – another wild and remote spot on the island. I wanted to show couples what is possible in the age of Covid. You don’t have to have masses of people, or big fancy, expensive days. It can also just be you two and an incredible landscape. What better backdrop for your day is there than that?

Tell us about your love story, and your favorite memories together.

Sarah’s friends had wanted to introduce her to Rachael, but she never gave much thought about it until they pointed Rachael out from across a bar in a small mountain town in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Right away, Sarah thought Rachael was definitely her type but was too nervous about introducing herself. So she pulled a classic millennial move and slid into Rachaels DM’s on Instagram. From there, it was a flurry of Instagram direct messages before they met up in Vancouver, Canada. It was love at first sight for both parties! The adventures quickly began, and there aren’t any signs of stopping yet!

There’s two favorite memories.

We road tripped Olympic National Park in Washington and Camped on La Push beach. It was probably one of the most magical settings, so beautiful and peaceful.

The other is when we spent a week exploring Iceland in a campervan in February 2020. It was freezing, but there were absolutely no tourists, and we had the place and sights to ourselves. It was so so worth it!

Rachael’s favorite thing about Sarah is her passion, drive, and motivation. She is forever learning new ways to create and always looking to strive for so much more, making her prouder every day.

Sarah loves Rachael’s free spirit and fun-loving personality; Rachael will always be the first one to want to adventure out and explore.

We definitely push each other to strive for better.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome together?

From meeting in August 2019 to Sarah moving to the U.K. in December 2019, it was so fast (but we knew there was a lot of love between us) then a pandemic hit. We definitely went from not knowing each other that well to knowing EVERYTHING about one another.

We have also launched a business together called Rainbow Certified, which was challenging to achieve as a couple during a pandemic. But we have learned so much and grown together in ways we never thought was possible.

What’s in the future for you both?

Our future is to GROW. Grow our business, grow our knowledge, and grow our love together. Not a clue what country we will end up in to settle down, as we both love traveling and exploring what the world has to offer us!