Ashley & Kenny – met at school and it just grew from there. The thing that struck me when I first met Ashley was that she just could not stop smiling when she talked about her day and she was still smiling when we looked through their wedding photographs the other night. They enjoyed every second of their day and to me that is how it should be. My job was to capture the fun that contributed to that feeling.
So where to start – for those of you who do not know Ashley & Kenny let me try to give you some background. The chief bridesmaid was Nicola – Ashley’s twin sister and the best man is Nicola’s fiance – lost yet? Ashley has become a “Daye” and Nicola will become a “Knight”. Ok – enough confusion.
I had the unusual request to go to the groom’s parents house to photograph the men getting ready instead of the bride’s house (too many nerves at Ashley’s parents that morning) and I was more than happy to do so – it’s part of my philosophy to work with what the couple want and not stick to a set routine. The men looked fantastic in their Pride of Bannockburn kilts.
The Surprise for Ashley
So the first time I say Ashley that day was when she arrived at the church and there was that beautiful irrepressible smile.
Ashley's mum looked so elegant
A very proud dad
I was smiling inwardly too as I knew there was a huge surprise planned for Ashley as she entered the church – a pipe band. She had no idea as she followed the lone piper into the church on her father’s arm and her face was a picture as the pipe band started to play too. She says this is still her favourite memory of the day.
One of the Uncle's sang Nessun Dorma - not a dry eye in the church!
Twins
Later at the reception the speeches pulled at every emotion and changed in a split second from tears to roaring with laughter. Ashley’s parents had kept the identity bracelets from when the twins were born and Ashley’ s father had Ashley’s baby id in his hand during his speech.
It was lovely to be part of Ashley & Kenny’s day and I hope these images bring back lots of happy memories.
I first met Christine and Stephen a couple of years ago at a wedding fair which they had travelled to from their home in Aberdeen – they met at university in Aberdeen and they liked it so much they stayed and set up home there. I remember thinking at the time that 2 years always seems so far away, but as always the time has flown by and soon it was their wedding day.
They wanted their wedding day to be relaxed, fun and reflect their personalities. They are both passionate about Scotland and it’s scenery and wanted somewhere that felt remote and yet was accessible as they had family and friends arriving from all over the UK. So they chose Foresthills in Aberfoyle (www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/foresthills) which has a peaceful location and stunning scenery, beautiful no matter what the weather. Foresthills is set in the stunning backdrop of the Trossachs – so we had mountains, lochs and Scottish summer weather – all 4 seasons in one day. And the day was full of fun and laughter and genuinely lovely people.
It’s on days like this that I remind myself how lucky I am to do a job I just love here in Scotland. The only challenge was working with the weather and yet ensuring everyone enjoyed the wedding day. I hope we achieved that. Here is a small taster of the images captured that day.
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A fantastic fun couple, sunshine, great coffee and Troon beach – the best possible ingredients for a pre wedding shoot. These “shoots” are an opportunity for us to go over all the details for their forthcoming wedding and to spend some time taking photographs to let the couple get a feel for how I work and to hopefully capture some beautiful, relaxed photographs of the two of them.
Really looking forward to their wedding day in a few weeks time as I know there will be lots of laughter and fun.
With just over a month to go until their wedding day, I met with Fiona and Russell for their pre wedding meeting and shoot. After discussing all their plans for their wedding day over a much needed coffee, we headed outside to make the most of the streets of Glasgow on a quiet Sunday morning.
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Here are a couple of shots from that morning. I always enjoy doing these shoots as most couples are apprehensive about having their photographs taken, but once they have done the pre wedding shoot they feel a lot more relaxed and have a good understanding of how I will work on the wedding day.
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I am really looking forward to their wedding day at Dundas Castle.
Charlotte and Tom planned a totally unique winter wedding, choosing to get married at Bonkyl Church near Tom’s parents farm and then have the reception in a marquee on the farm. When I say marquee – that really does not do it justice……it was beautifully decorated with flowers by Tom’s uncle, a Christmas Tree from the farm and spectacular lighting which really made the venue very special.
I met the groom and his groomsmen at the farm for some photos in the morning and I could not resist taking a photo of Tom with one of his lambs.
Then I headed over to meet Charlotte and the girls (plus Dad of course) at their hotel.
I think it is fair to say that Charlotte’s Dad had a lump in his throat when he saw his beautiful daughter for the first time in her wedding dress.
The youngest guest – Tom & Charlotte’s nephew.
I can still clearly remember when I first met Mags – she had a huge smile, was full of positive energy for all her plans and had a very clear idea of exactly what she wanted for every aspect of their wedding day. The attention to detail really showed on the day – from the specially selected ribbon on her bouquet to the cake topper, which had been modelled on the moment Cam had proposed to Mags.
One of the best aspects of my job is getting to know some very special people and hopefully building lifelong friendships – Mags and Cam are just fabulous and I want to thank them for trusting me to capture their special day.
Jo and Dan wanted to return home to the UK to get married – they currently live in Sydney – and chose the elegant Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Most of our pre wedding discussions took place via email or phone and yet I felt like I knew them by the time we met on the day before their wedding day.
I met Clair and Richard when they were up in Scotland looking at venues for the wedding day and had chosen Hillhouse, in Troon, which is one of Ayrshire’s finest luxury private country houses that offers a unique 5 star exclusive use venue for a wedding.
Again we just clicked on every level – I feel so fortunate to have met them as they are one of life’s genuinely good guys and being with them and their friends and family on their wedding day was fabulous. I do feel very fortunate to do what I do as you get to meet so many lovely people and share with them one of their happiest days of their lives.
Thank you for choosing me to photograph your wedding day and I hope you love the images.
I immediately clicked with Lesley when we first met at The Scottish Wedding Show and I was extremely flattered that she would trust me to capture her wedding day – she is an award winning photographer. What made it even more special was that I would have the opportunity to return to Drumtochty Castle which is where I had got married a few years ago. It really is a magical place and the team at Drumtochty really look after their guests.
