What could be better than having a luxury castle all to yourself, your five besties in tow, a private chef cooking your favourite food and a steady supply of Aperol Spritz? Not much, as bride Rowen discovered when she married her love Ottavia
Rowen Good and Ottavia Camposilvan
23rd May 2024
Venue | Kilmartin Castle, Argyll
Photography and film | Aly Robinson Photography & Videography
"Ottavia and I met on Hinge in March 2020. We were together for three years before I popped the question on New Year’s Day 2023. It was nothing well thought-out; we simply had a special moment at home together to exchange ‘one last gift’ from the festive period.
When it came to the wedding, we knew we wanted to do things differently. Like many same-sex couples, we kind of had to!
We wanted to avoid the politics that came with inviting family, so decided upon a small wedding with just five guests and our dog, Basil. We also decided to walk down the aisle together, forget about speeches and not bother with bridesmaids or best men.
We hoped we might be able to find a venue where everyone could stay together for a few days. I’m from England and Ottavia is Italian, so we decided upon a ‘neutral’ country and eventually settled on Scotland as it’s far enough from our London base to feel like an adventure.
We wanted somewhere in a beautiful natural setting that was intimate and luxurious. We found Kilmartin Castle near Lochgilphead in Argyll through Google Maps. When we discovered you can hire this magical and historical place in its entirety for small weddings, we just completely fell in love with it. It even has a lake for swimming.
Check out other amazing wedding castles in Scotland
We chose not to keep our dresses secret from each other. We wanted to have the dress-shopping experience together and ensure they complemented each other – but for everyone else they would be a surprise!
I knew exactly what I wanted and found a silk-chiffon dress online from Wolf & Badger for £650. Ottavia, who isn’t used to wearing dresses and wasn’t sure where to start, decided to shop in a sample sale at local Hitchin boutique Lumi Bridal. We had a special day together finding the right dress.
After a road-trip around Scotland, we arrived at Kilmartin Castle the day before the wedding. We cooked an evening meal with our friends and the buzz of excitement was palpable!
We chose to get married later in the day at 4pm. That meant we had lots of time to relax. We cooked brunch wearing our silk dressing gowns and fluffy ‘bride’ slippers, then we all got ready together listening to some of our favourite tunes. Neither of us felt nervous.
After walking down the aisle together to ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ on the fiddle, we had a humanist ceremony led by local celebrant Annie Loughlin of Humanist Society Scotland.
I secretly had a friend translate my vows into Italian so I could surprise Ottavia (and everyone else) on the day. I don’t speak Italian, but practiced ridiculously hard to say the vows right! We also swore our vows on an oathing stone.
Choosing a reading was the hardest bit to plan so we left it quite last-minute. We didn’t want anything ‘over done’ or ‘too cheesy’. I came across an adaptation of Plato’s ‘Symposium’ online and remembered Ottavia teaching me about it and the concept of the ‘other half’ one day. It made us tear up reading it again, so we knew we’d found our ceremony reading.
We had two main criteria when we were looking for a photographer. Firstly, someone who specialised in intimate weddings and elopements and secondly, was used to the Scottish landscape and famously fluctuating weather!
Aly Robinson’s work is breathtaking, she’s hugely passionate about what she does, and we had instant chemistry with her. Her husband Ben is a videographer who works alongside her which was an added bonus.
It rained during our outdoor ceremony. We knew the risks, so when the rain wouldn’t stop, we decided to embrace it. We stood outside in the cold, misty rain and our little dog Basil, who hates the rain more than anyone, took shelter under the dress of one of our guests. It was so funny!
Ottavia is from the region that produces Aperol, so spritzes were flowing in plentiful supply between the ceremony and dinner time. We hired a private chef, Nelson Reposo of Italba Dining. He is a Milanese who lives in Scotland, and is a master of fresh pasta, a food we adore.
Start your search for wedding caterers in Scotland here
We had spinach, ricotta and lemon ravioli with sage butter and parmesan to start, followed by halibut with potato fondant, caponata and olive salsa. The fantastic meal was one of the highlights of the day.
We ate in the castle’s greenhouse and enjoyed the beautiful scenery at the same time.
We didn’t plan to have a first dance. However, at the very end of the night – when we’d changed into our pyjamas and were playing a game of twister all together – one of our songs came on the playlist and we randomly fell into a first-dance-type of moment.
We bought a little karaoke machine and projected Spotify lyrics onto the wall. As you can imagine, much silliness was had until the wee hours of the morning. We wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding – not even the grey and rainy weather."
Rowen + Ottavia's highlights film captured by Aly Robinson Photography & Videography
Venue Kilmartin Castle
Photography and filmmaker Aly Robinson Photography & Videography
Celebrant Annie Loughlin, Humanist Society Scotland
Rowen’s dress Rowley Hesselballe from Wolf & Badger
Ottavia’s dress Lumi Bridal, Hitchin
Brides’ shoes White Doc Martens
Bride’s shawls The Tartan Blanket Co.
Dog’s outfit Etsy
Hair and makeup All DIY by the brides
Rings Lloyds Family Jewellery
Cake Akara Bakery
Catering Italba Dining
Flowers Dried Edinburgh
Stationery VistaPrint
Ceremony and drinks reception music Fiddle player Isla Ratcliff, sourced via Encore Musicians
