A Minimalist Edinburgh Elopement
with Two Wedding Looks

Edinburgh’s Gothic architecture and weathered stone provide the backdrop for this minimalist elopement styled shoot. Rather than creating an elaborate wedding setting, photographer Mégane Defontaine wanted to see what would happen if the city itself provided all the scenery.

With Sophie and Ross exploring Edinburgh in their wedding outfits, the shoot shows just how much can be done with a beautiful location and a few carefully chosen details.

Photos throughout from Mégane Defontaine Photographer

Letting the City Set the Scene

For Mégane Defontaine, the idea began with a question:

“With this shoot, I wanted to explore a more intimate and contemporary vision of a two-person wedding: what if you didn’t need to create a wedding backdrop when the city itself already provides all the scenery you need?”

“Edinburgh naturally became the heart of the project. Its ancient stone, Gothic architecture, arches and monumental facades create a dramatic yet romantic atmosphere. Rather than artificially recreating a wedding setting with numerous decorative elements, we chose to let the city itself become the ceremony setting, the backdrop, and almost a witness to their story.”

That approach shaped the whole shoot, from the locations to the decision to keep the styling deliberately simple.

“The intention was not to recreate a complete wedding day, but instead to return to what we believe is at the very heart of an elopement: two people, a destination, and the choice to experience something meaningful together.”

Love this idea? Check out our log: Let the City In – rethinking wedding Portraits beyond poses

One dress, two looks

Sophie wore a fitted ivory wedding dress from Kudos Bridal Boutique, styled in two different ways throughout the shoot. One look featured delicate off-the-shoulder sleeves and a scattered pearl hair accessory, while the other introduced statement puff sleeves and a pearl headband. Both hair accessories were by Scarlett and Wolfe Headwear.

The flowers changed with the styling, too. Flower Study Weddings created a slender bouquet with trailing burgundy amaranthus for one look, and a fuller arrangement of rich reds, burnt oranges and greenery for the other.

The finishing touches included earrings by Gemini Clay Studio, with hair and makeup by Hannah Bailey. A few carefully chosen changes gave the same dress two quite different looks.

Scottish Style & Autumnal Colours

Ross wore a traditional Scottish kilt from The Kilt Studio, paired with a charcoal jacket, waistcoat and burgundy tie. His outfit stayed the same throughout the shoot, with buttonholes by Flower Study Weddings coordinating with Sophie’s changing bouquets.

The deeper colours of Ross’s outfit worked beautifully against the pale stone of Edinburgh’s historic buildings. Mégane chose a “deliberately understated and autumnal colour palette, combining ivory, black, charcoal, stone grey, warm earthy tones, and touches of burgundy and deep red.”

Behind the Lens

As well as organising the shoot, Mégane Defontaine was the photographer behind the images. Her natural, relaxed approach suited the intimacy of the minimalist elopement concept, while Edinburgh’s architecture gave her plenty to work with.

“As the gallery unfolds, the architecture gradually gives way to intimacy. The images become closer and more personal: a glance, a hand, a kiss, the movement of a dress, a smile.”

Content creator Captured By Fifteen was also part of the team, creating a short-form video of the shoot. Wedding content creators offer something a little different from traditional photography and videography, capturing moments in a format couples can enjoy and share soon after their wedding.

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Keeping things simple

For Mégane, keeping the shoot simple was a conscious decision, rather than something that needed filling out with extra details.

“The idea behind this elopement was to step away from the ‘more is more’ approach that we often see in weddings at the moment, adding more décor, more details, more installations, more of everything, and instead come back to something much more essential.”

“There is something quite emotional about stripping a wedding back to its essentials. We feel that there is a growing desire for couples to return to a simpler, more personal way of getting married, something that feels less like creating an event for everyone else and more like creating a meaningful experience for themselves.”