BELLADRUM, 20 YEARS ON: 'Temple of love' will host competition winners as they renew vows two decades after they wed at the romantic spot near Beauly
To Gillian and Calum Leitch, it stands as a monument to their love, a sacred spot.
Belladrum Temple, on the beautiful estate made famous by the Tartan Heart Festival, is where the couple wed just over 20 years ago.
What were the chances, then, of the devoted pair – fresh from their 20th wedding anniversary celebrations – spotting and winning a competition offering a dream return?
That prize will come with lavish, champagne hospitality and much more, at the venue where they first made their wedding vows.
“To win this means absolutely everything to us,” Calum (62), a council roofer, plumber, plasterer and roughcaster, said.
“We will be using the prize to renew our vows, but we kind of renew our vows every single day. We are still head over heels in love after more than 20 years together.
“Renewing the vows will be really lovely, but it is the place that means so much to us, and the whole package is just superb – we’re going to love it.”
Acknowledged as one of Scotland’s most romantic wedding venues, the restored, B-listed 1930s built candlelit building exudes a timelessness.
Yet the timing could hardly be more apt.
Gillian (50), a paralegal, and Calum have been celebrating two decades of love just as the Belladrum music festival prepares to raise a glass to its own first 20 years.
The pair chose to wed alone and in secret, without family and friends, with the big day coming so soon after the death of both sets of parents.
Now, as winners, the couple will be joined by a small group of friends for an unforgettable day on July 27 next year, just as the 2024 music event draws to a close.
Along with the romantic ceremony and champagne reception, there will be a honeymoon suite glamping package, festival weekend camping tickets for guests, festival merchandise and a hamper of luxury local produce and treats.
There will also be money-can’t-buy side-stage viewing of festival performances and a dedicated on-site wedding coordinator.
Asked to write a short explanation of why she and Calum should win, Gillian described the courage Calum showed over the course of the last four years in beating stage 5 cancer.
“We were married at Belladrum Temple August 2003 and celebrated 20 years this year,” she wrote. “My husband is a true hero! The last 20 years have been blissful in our marriage but after all the cancer treatment he has endured, without complaint in the last four years, I have fallen in love with him all over again.
“He is my rock and has made me laugh in dark days. I would love to renew our vows at Belladrum so I can tell him how much I love, adore and worship him.
“Belladrum holds a special place in our heart and always will. There is no other place so perfect for a reaffirmation of our love.”
For all that Belladrum Temple was special to them, Gillian kept it quiet when she spotted the competition.
“The first I even knew she had entered was Wednesday this week when she said we’d won!” Calum explained.
“We’re in a bit of disbelief,” Gillian said. “Back in 2002, the year before we married, we simply fell in love with Belladrum Temple. It was pure luck, and pure fate, finding it in the first place – and we feel much the same about winning the prize.
“We attended Belladrum many times before Covid and Calum’s diagnosis put a stop to it, so I’m delighted, especially for Calum, to be going back."
“It was a tough spell in my life, but I had a good woman beside me to help me through it," Calum added.
“We just kind of stayed positive throughout it all.
“It is just amazing that we’re going to be going back to Belladrum Temple. We can’t quite take it in.”
