Wedding film in the Scottish Highlands

Dorja and Mike have a deeply unique story that dates back to 2017. Dorja was born in Zagreb, Croatia. Mike is Scottish, and they met each other for the first time in Dundee, Scotland. Back then, they were both students, and Dorja worked in a local bar during her second year at university, which is where their first encounter took place. Working her usual shift, he says he was instantly struck by her beauty, and Dorja couldn’t help but notice Mike. As the night wrapped up, they exchanged numbers and from there, it began.

For the last 6 years they’ve built a house and a future in Dundee that they love. Like most couples, they faced some challenges together: they tackled long distance relationship early doors, when Dorja relocated to Spain for her studies, and faced lockdown together when they couldn’t see their family, which was particularly hard on Dorja.

They wanted to start their next adventure standing together with only the closest of people to them, declaring their love in a place that feels right for them. Only 13 guests travelled to St Mary’s Space, in the hearts of the highlands of Scotland, to celebrate their unique and intimate micro-wedding.

“Our wedding video is an absolute masterpiece. Joce's attention to detail, and his
ability to capture those small moments full of emotion is incredible.”
Dorja - Bride, 2024

The creative process

Dorja and Mike’s elopement film is inspired by cinema. Truly. Dorja wanted the moodiness of Scotland to come through, and she really wanted to incorporate the Scottish Highlands into their story. Their wedding film is an epic story of love of time. It’s about their unbreakable bond – their long-distance relationship only solidified their connection. It’s a story of trust and building each other up to become the best version of yourself. This is a unique wedding film, and very intimate look into Dorja and Mike’s story, which I felt extremely lucky to be a part of.

I wanted their film to connect their love for the outdoors, with the story of how it all began. In her vows, Dorja beautifully describes the leap of faith they both took, when they decided to give long distance a go. Editing was key here, as I wanted to tell their story from the very beginning. The intro to their wedding film represents this: the bride and groom filmed separately, symbolising their long distance relationship, with nothing but mountains between them. Followed by togetherness, and Dorja saying that she then experienced what it meant to be loved by Mike.

Incorporating the wilderness was also key. I needed to balance their shared passion for the outdoors, with the intimate feel of their day.

The result is a wedding film with powerful story-telling, underpinned by the couple vows. Their story, in their own words.

Dorja and Mike’s elopement in the Scottish Highlands

The elopement film

Their film is a story of time. The past, present and future. To achieve this, the edit was done with purpose:

The past: separate shots of the couple. The foundation of their elopement film is based on the idea that they experienced long distance relationship early doors, and I needed this element to be captured. The towering mountains, a symbol of the distance between them.
The present: togetherness. The Scottish Highlands are a unique part of the world, and this needed to be present within the overall piece, whilst demonstrating that Dorja and Mike had made it through challenging times. Shots of Dorja and Mike sticking together through a storm represents this. No matter the challenges, they stayed united.
The future: coming times. The closing shots are a representation of togetherness, and looking to what’s ahead as a team. And throughout the film, the support of their friends and family.

St Mary’s Space in the Scottish Highlands

The venue itself is perfect for a cinematic wedding filmmaker like myself: nestled in a forest of trees and surrounded by towering mountains, St Mary’s Space is a converted church, with heaps of character and heritage. Now a boutique recording studio, conceived by owner and composer Jamie and his creative wife Charlotte as a living art work. It still hosts weddings, but on a limited basis throughout the year, and it’s truly a unique space for a micro-wedding or elopement. The venue oozes creativity, with records everywhere, radio players, logs, bookcases, and instruments that you’ve never seen before. It keeps within the Scottish traditions, and its brick structure contrasts beautifully with the wooden beams that surround the venue.

Next door, the Sitoorerie, your very own rustic wooden cabin, adds so much charm and provides a quiet space for bridal preparation (more on this below), or for the couple to retreat to.

St Mary’s space is now a recording studio and wedding venue

Stepping inside the venue is like entering a magical world. The space can comfortably sit up to 16 guests, and it’s a place like no other. It’s an authentic spot, perfect to slow things down, and focus on what really matters: you and your guests. The warm and relaxed space serves as both the ceremony room, and wedding meal cooked by Jamie himself.

The elopement ceremony space at St Mary’s

St Mary’s Space is surrounded by forests and towering mountains

The Scottish Highlands are a wedding filmmaker’s dream, and really allowed me to push the limits of my creativity. I had to strike the balance between incorporating such epic views and surroundings, and delivering a film that felt adventurous, but also keeping within the theme of an intimate celebration. Dorja and Mike wanted their film to bring out their adventurous side, and their love for the outdoors. The wilderness shines through, and is an ever-present element of this elopement film in Scotland.

Morning preparation

Dorja’s bridal preparation at St Mary’s Space

Dorja’s mum, her sister and Dorja herself got ready in the cabin located right outside the main wedding space. No driving to different venues or stress about being late! This was a lovely morning as Dorja’s family, including her brother and her dad whom she hadn’t seen in months, all came in to say hello and hug her. This was a beautiful moment, and Dorja felt completely relaxed at that point.

The cabin is a beautiful space, and allowed me to connect the outdoor to every shot I framed. I really wanted to capture the intimacy of this moment, and create sequences of the bridal preparation that draw you in and out of the space seamlessly.

Mike got ready by himself in a nearby cottage. I made the short 10mn drive from St Mary’s Space to meet him, and to capture this intimate point, when he dressed in his traditional Scottish kilt. This allowed me to deliver quite a powerful sequence of shots, with Mike getting ready on his own whilst Dorja greets her family. Mike looking totally relaxed, yet determined.

Dorja’s in her dress before the ceremony

Mike traditional kilt attire for the wedding day

The ceremony

The ceremony took place in St Mary’s Space, with only 13 guests, and hosted by local celebrant Rona from Humanist Society Scotland. Rona was incredible to work with, and truly crafted a ceremony that told Dorja and Mike’s story.

They chose to take part in the ancien Celtic tradition of hand fasting: this symbolic gesture where two people would bind themselves together freely and permanently. One hand is tied, and the other is free, representing that they are entering this marriage freely, but that they recognise that they are stronger as a couple. This was followed by the legal part of the ceremony, where they exchanged vows and rings. I had never witnessed a hand fasting ceremony before, and this really felt something special to be able to capture.

I wanted to be able to capture the powerful backdrop during the ceremony, alongside tighter shots of the couple. I loved the idea that I’d get beautiful symmetry of the couple down the aisle, but also close, intimate frames of them both.

So I decided to have a camera at the back, and one at the front. This allowed me to create balance in the shots, with lines that draw you to the couple from the back, and tight frames when they first see each other.

Micro wedding in Scotland — Dorja and her sister

The Reception

Intimate wedding film in Scotland — Dorja hugging Mike’s father after the ceremony

Scotland elopement wedding video — Dorja and her guests following the ceremony

Following the ceremony and the traditional confetti, we were able to enjoy the sun peaking through the forest trees. This gave me the opportunity to capture the real intimacy of Dorja and Mike’s life: only 13 people present, all hugging the couple like they hadn’t seen each other in years (which, in some cases, was true). A family-only wedding is always something that feels extremely special, but this felt even more precious knowing Dorja and Mike’s story. I genuinely felt the strong bond that all the guests had with the couple.

Unique wedding venue in Scotland — Wedding meal at St Mary’s Space

The space inside was then turned around into the most intimate setting. This felt like an authentic family reunion, a dinner table that anyone could have sat at and enjoyed good company. Just before guests enjoyed their dinner, I wanted to encapsulate this closeness, so I captured the whole family together, from the same position I filmed the ceremony. A node to the past, present and future: matching frames from the same spot, but different moments of the day.

Couple Portraits

As a creative wedding filmmaker, one of the key elements of this wedding film to me was the location. Dorja and Mike wanted ‘the moodiness of Scotland’. They wanted the film to be full of excitement, yet emotional. Couple portrait gave me the perfect opportunity to do this. Before travelling to Scotland to film their wedding, Mike told me I’d experience all 4 seasons in one day … well, Scotland did not deliver! Rain, hail stones, and bright sunshine, all in the space of 10 hours.

We drove up to Glencoe, a 30-35mn drive from St Mary’s Space. The idea was to be able to capture the couple with nothing but mountains around them, and give the Scottish Highlands center stage to this love story. Dorja never hesitated when I mentioned the location for couple portraits, though a brewing storm meant we had to be a lot quicker than we’d have wanted! We had about 10-15mn maximum to be able to capture what we needed, before huge rain and wind joined the party. No pressure!

Their film is a story of time, and the couple portraits are framed with purpose, to achieve a series of shots which I knew I’d need for the edit:

The past: separate shots of the couple. The foundation of their elopement film is based on the idea that they experienced long distance relationship early doors, and I needed this element to be captured. The towering mountains, a symbol of the distance between them.
The present: togetherness. The Scottish Highlands are a unique part of the world, and this needed to be present within the overall piece, whilst demonstrating that Dorja and Mike had made it through challenging times. Shots of Dorja and Mike sticking together through a storm represents this. No matter the challenges, they stayed united.
The future: coming times. The closing shots are a representation of togetherness, and looking to what’s ahead as a team. And throughout the film, the support of their friends and family.

Dorja and Mike on top of towering mountains

Team on the day

Film: Joce - Lune de Miel Studio
Photographer: @rachwal.photo
Venue: @st.marys.weddingspace
Dress: @azazieofficial
Hair stylist: @bonnyswonderland
Florist: @fynw.uk

Real wedding: Dorja and Mike’s elopement in Scotland