17 Nov 2025

Outdoor Scottish-Hindu wedding at Crathes Castle

Two women hold hands on a path between two tall hedges, and the shot is taken through a gap in the hedge, creating a frame! Crathes Castle is in the background.

Eve and Shona in Crathes Castle Garden | Image: Mark Timm Photography

With a world-famous walled garden, spectacular wooded grounds and one of the most photogenic castles in Scotland, it’s no wonder Eve and Shona fell head over heels with Crathes Castle.

’We’d shortlisted several National Trust for Scotland properties in the North East, including Fyvie Castle, Castle Fraser and Drum Castle – but Crathes really stood out,’ smiles Eve.

The couple knew they’d be inviting a crowd and that their date would need to work with the Scottish, English, Swedish and Indian summer holidays, so they booked the 16th-century castle 20 months in advance, giving their large guest list plenty of notice.

’We’re both interested in history, and we also loved the idea of being able to return whenever we liked to the place we got married.’

’We invited 250 people in the end,’ says Eve. ’We needed to be near a city for international transport links, as many of our friends and family were travelling from India, Scandinavia, France, the US, Canada and Hong Kong. Crathes is just a 20-minute drive from Shona’s parents’ home, so getting married in Aberdeenshire was both a practical and sentimental decision.’

A shot of Crathes Castle from across the lawn on a sunny day, with white clouds scudding across the blue sky. A large, open-sided marquee and very long wooden dining table stands on the lawn in the foreground.

Rows of very long wooden trestle tables, set for a wedding dinner, are in an open-sided marquee.

After a tour of the grounds (with the ’incredibly knowledgeable’ events manager David), Eve and Shona knew they wanted to make the most of the walled garden. Eve comments: ’It’s so lovely, and we wanted the opportunity for our guests to be outside – weather permitting. The team were able to accommodate a marquee on the lawn.’

The day before the wedding, the couple hosted a Sangeet (a pre-celebration in Indian and Punjabi weddings) at Aberdeen’s Norwood Hall Hotel for 150 guests. ’We also had a Mehndi party at Shona’s house that morning, which was a lovely opportunity for our extended families to get to know each other,’ recalls Eve.

However, it did mean a few sore heads the next day … ’We spent the morning of the wedding apart, getting ready with our families. Everyone needed as much time as possible, and a big breakfast to recover!’ laughs Shona.

Two brides stand in a walled garden, smiling for the camera. They are surrounded by bright pink, yellow and red flowering bushes.

Image: Mark Timm Photography

Quote

“Our guests arrived for 3pm, greeted by dhol drums and bagpipes, and were asked to congregate around the mandap, a temporary structure where the ceremony took place.
We then had a vow and ring exchange, led by Eve’s mum, and exchanged flower garlands and had our Hindu wedding ceremony.”

Shona

Next up was dinner, including bowls of butter chicken, lamb bhuna, tadka dal, saag paneer, veg curry, rice and naan – with cake, halwa and fruit for dessert. Eve says, ’We really wanted to serve Indian food, so it was important to us to be able to bring in our own caterers.’

After a hearty meal, the brides changed to party mode, even though one of them had a badly injured ankle! ’Shona managed to hurt her ankle the week before the wedding, leading to a lot of stressing over footwear and a cancelled honeymoon,’ says Eve. ’But our ceilidh band kept the good vibes going and played acoustic music – later changing to a Bollywood disco – in the gardens, while our guests wandered around and explored. It’s a day we’ll never forget!’