Eric & Carol’s Crathes Rose Garden Elopement

Why did you choose Crathes Castle for your wedding? 

We learned about the Burnett clan in June 2022 at the Burnett Family Reunion at Lake Anna in Virginia. Eric is a Burnett (we have tracked his lineage to Edinburgh so far), and we were delighted to discover that Crathes Castle was given to the Burnett family by Robert the Bruce in 1323.

We decided to take an amazing vacation to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the gathering of Burnetts with King Robert the Bruce! In October 2022, I had the idea to get married at Crathes – just the two of us. Once I asked the Burnetts, I was placed in touch with David at Crathes Castle and everything started to fall in place.

Did you have an idea of what you wanted your wedding day to be like before you started planning?

I planned a wedding in a box so we could travel overseas. We picked out every detail. Everything was perfect; the wedding itself was more than we could have imagined.

There were butterflies and bees all around us, the water sphere was trickling in the background, the weather was perfect and the sun even peeked out a few times. It even rained in the morning and afternoon for good luck!

What did you decide on as the main inspiration behind your wedding?

 Crathes Castle was our inspiration as well as the Burnett family history. Some small details included:

• Several pieces of jewellery were made featuring the Burnett crest.
• We designed our own rings. Eric’s is steel with crushed garnett (his birthstone, and red like the Burnett tartan); mine has hematite and is encircled with diamonds from Eric’s mother’s anniversary band. We added garnet to match his ring.
• The kilt and stole were Burnett clan tartan.
• The tying of the knot used the clan tartan ribbon, my step-dad’s pig tie (he wore it to all weddings) and my grandfather’s hanky – joining all our ‘clans’.
• The flowers were matched to the colours of the tartan and our rings, and we also added some Burnett tartan ribbon to the flowers with Scottish ivy and thistles.
• The quaich was purchased in Scotland, as was the whisky from The Glenlivet Distillery where we had a tour the day before.
• The candles had feathers and thistle as well as red, white and blue coloured ribbons to honour where we were born in the USA.
• Our beautiful oathing stone is from Scotland as well and is my favourite colour: sparkly!

What were the highlights of the day for you?

Honestly, the entire day was perfect. As we walked around the gardens and castle for our photos and videography, we had so many people take our picture and wave and celebrate with us. We went back to the Burnett Arms Hotel afterwards and shared burger, chips and beer at the bar with our wedding attire on. Perhaps some shots were bought for us!

Who was your ‘star supplier’?

We had a dream team. David Sutherland at Crathes; Rhea McKenzie, our photographer/bridesmaid; Angela, our lovely wedding celebrant; Craig Taylor, our amazing videographer; Jamie & Fiona from the Leys Corp who helped us with so many details; the staff at the Burnett Arms who found a steamer when mine broke so I didn’t have a wrinkly dress. Anytime we had a hiccup, someone had a solution.