David & Fi get Hitched in the Highlands at Inshriach House
Emma & Mark's Wedding in St Andrews
Back when I was 18 I was offered a place to read English at St Andrews university but I ended up choosing English and History of Art at York, at the time I didn't know how heart-wrenchingly beautiful Scotland is. But hindsight is a wonderful thing! I never made it up to St Andrews for a visit so this September I was so happy to have the opportunity to finally visit Scotland's first university. I arrived the evening before to attend the rehearsal and meet Mark and Emma for the first time. I was overwhelmed with how lovely the area was and St Salvator's Chapel was just stunning. Emma was radiant and as you can see from the pictures didn't stop smiling all day. She beamed her way down the aisle and the service was one filled with laughter and love. After the ceremony the guests headed back to Carphin House where the bridal party were staying for canapes and champagne. The weather stayed so fine that everyone was able to stand outside on terrace and enjoy the views over the hills of Cupar.
As the sun was setting and most of the guests had departed I took Emma and Mark off for a quick walk around the grounds for some final pictures. They didn't stop chatting and laughing the whole way around. I am sure they are destined for a very happy future together and I'm grateful to have been a part of a very special wedding.
Lynn & Stephen's Engagement Shoot at the BBC Scotland Props Department
Lynn: "Stephen and I have an idea that we thought we would run past you... My mum has a friend who works for the BBC and when I was younger she introduced me to the BBC prop store - you may have heard of it? It's the most amazing place, it's basically a warehouse with aisle after aisle of clutter, things from various tv programmes and films. It also has a costume department with everything from ball gowns and tuxedos to flapper dresses and flares. It reminds me a lot of the underground part in the ministry of magic from Harry Potter! What do you think of shooting there?" Me: "Well, yes - of course! What's not to love about shooting in a prop department?!"
Here are the results of that shoot a couple of months ago.... a truly beautiful and very much in love young couple and I very much enjoyed shooting their wedding in October. A blog posting to follow of the wedding pictures.
Robbie & Anna's Wedding at Ardkinglas House, Loch Fyne
Every now and again, a wedding comes along that the wedding gods have really smiled on, and everything falls into place most perfectly. This seemed to happen for Anna and Robbie. A beautiful, quirky couple with a charming little girl, they married on Loch Fyne at isolated historic Ardkinglas House that was so gorgeously styled it felt like a fashion shoot. The sunshine unexpectedly came out at the right times and enabled them to marry outside under the open sky surrounded by only close family and friends. The day really felt quite magical and it was a privilege to have been part of it. After supper everyone donned wellies and coats and headed down to the edge of the loch to pass The Quaich, a two-handled cup containing whisky that was passed round the guests allowing them to propose individual toasts to Anna and Robbie to wish them well.
You can view the full album here - the password is Robbie's surname.
Laura & Alan's Wedding at Oran Mor
Laura came to me through a mutual friend; the best kind of referral. I was even more delighted when I met her and discovered that she was absolutely gorgeous! She told me she was getting married at Oran Mor where I waitressed there when I was still studying so I knew the venue well. The auditorium is a dream wedding venue with celestial ceiling mural by Alasdair Gray one of Scotland’s largest pieces of public art and grand stained glass windows as it once was a church and is now a venue containing restaurants, bars and nightclub.
I photographed their pre-wedding shoot at the university a few months back - you can see the results here...
I didn't know Laura but I soon came to know that she is highly organised! I was extremely impressed at her attention to detail - a good sign that a wedding is going to run smoothly - and it did. I met up with the bridal party at One Devonshire Gardens, one of my favourite hotels in Glasgow where the girls were getting ready and then headed onto the very intimate ceremony held up in the gallery in the uppermost point of Oran Mor, accompanied byApollo String Quartet. Afterwards we risked the rain and headed out to the botanic gardens but were hampered by a massive downpour and had to hid in the glass houses - along with the rest of the tourists.
Back at Oran Mor all the evening guests were arriving for the meal. There were some wonderful speeches, particularly from Rosaria, Laura's best friend and maid of honour who spoke so dearly of her friend. Laura is truly one of those people who is both beautiful on the outside and on the inside - her friends were testament to her kindness but so too were all the personal touches at the wedding; the thank you cards, the roses for the guests, the basket of useful things in the bathroom.
Towards the end of the evening we were treated to a line up of Laura's talented musical friends including Rosaria who belted out some awesome opera. It was all such a wonderful day - the type of wedding I left thinking I wouldn't have minded being a guest.
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Kate + Alex's outdoor island wedding on Arran
Having holidayed on Arran for many years with her parents owning a holiday cottage there, getting married on the island was an obvious choice for Kate. Bravely they made the decision to do the ceremony outside and whilst England was enjoying the jubilee in torrential rain and wind, Arran awoke to calm seas (thankfully as I was on the first morning ferry - the ferry takes 30 minutes from Ardrossan) and sunshine breaking through. I was blown away when I saw the location for the ceremony - the walled garden sits at the foot of Brodick Castle which is perched on the hillside overlooking the sea. steeply sloped a pathway ran from the castle down through the garden to the foot of the hill where a stone circle with rambling roses surrounded a sundial.
Kate arrived and was led by her father for the long walk through the gardens watched all the way by Alex (secretly praying she wouldn't trip on the steep path!) It was a stunning site and by far the most dramatic entrance I've seen at a wedding. The ceremony took place within the circle with the guests standing in a tight circle which made the whole ceremony feel incredibly intimate.
After the ceremony they had afternoon tea and champagne on the lawn then headed back to Auchrannie House Hotel for the reception.
Kate and her bridesmaids got ready at Orwin Cottage and Alex got ready at Rowanbank Cottage. I stayed at The Glenartney guesthouse on Arran and Burnfoot House in Ardrossan the night before.
You can view the whole gallery here. Password is Guinan.
Simon + Tanja's Wedding in Aviemore
Aviemore holds a very special place in my heart and I have been going up there for many years so I'm always happy to have a reason to make the 10 hour journey up there to stay with my good friends the Micklethwaits who own and run Inshriach House and Estate. Simon and Tanja made the move 18 months ago from London life to take over Simon's family business to become the third generation to run Pinebank Chalets, turning their life from the daily commute to daily snowboarding.
The wedding took place at the idyllic St John's the Baptist Church, Rothiemurchus. Tanja and the bridal party got ready at the Highlands Hotel and arrived in a 1964 Humber Sceptre MK 1 courtesy of Ross at The Dell of Abernethy and Morris Minor white Cabriolet from Bygone Drives. As they arrived a handful of snow fell - it was all very pretty and romantic.
You can view the full gallery of images and purchase prints here. The password is Pinebanks.
Credits:
Food by Good Highland Food. We ate roasted red pepper, sweet potato, chilli and coconut soup with oak bury crusty organic bread followed by rare roast fillet of Caithness beef with red wine jus, fondant potatoes and parcels of fine beans and Morayshire carrots. To finish we had panna cotta with a strawberry compote and homemade shortbread.
Flowers by Country Harvest, Kingussie
Dress by Dress 2 Impress, Inverness by San Patrick
Shoes by Irregular Choice
Tipis by Highland Tipis
Hair by The Retreat, Aviemore
Make-up by Kate Higham
Ale by Cairngorm Breweries
Djs were Owen and Gordie from The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore
Chris + Meghann's Wedding on Barra (Outer Hebrides)
During quieter times I like to make the most of my destination weddings and so a wedding in Barra, the Southern most island of the Outer Hebrides, became a week long road (and boat) trip for me and mum in early June.
Chris and Meghann are Americans who somehow found my details and got in touch. As a MacNeil, Meghann wanted to celebrate her Scottish heritage by marrying on the Isle of Barra, at the seat of the MacNeils, Kisimul Castle; situated on a tiny island in the bay of Castlebay. Given the journey involved getting from Pasadena where Chris and Meghann and their families live to Barra it was close family only.
You can fly to Barra (it is the only airport in the world that has scheduled beach landings!) but mum andI decided we had time to take the slow route which involved me collecting her from Inverness airport (she coming from Gatwick, me coming from Inshriach House’s folk festival Insider, a little worse for wear) and driving to Oban for the 7 hour ferry crossing to Barra’s Castlebay. With only about 1600 residents, island life is a little different to life on the mainland. Our B&B (Tigh Na Mara Guesthouse) host looked quizzically at us when we requested keys for our rooms, ‘you won’t need those here’, he assured us. How refreshing.
I joined the family for the rehearsal on the tiny castle out on the bay and the wind and rain whipped around us. The next morning however, the sky was blue and the waters calm. I loved the intimacy of a wedding of only 11 people (including the bride and groom) and the setting couldn’t have been more picturesque. It was a joy to spend time with them and their lovely families and they invited me and mum to join them for the wedding meal at The Castlebay Hotel that evening after I had stolen them away for a half hour for some informal shots on the beach.
After honeymooning in Italy they are now back in the US and have a summer of celebrations to share their marriage with wider friends and family.
Yvonne & Gordon's Wedding at Brigadoon
Brig O'doon House Hotel in Ayr is a perfect wedding venue. The hotel itself is set on the banks of the River Doon in an outstandingly beautiful area within lovely manicured gardens. The Brig o' Doon is a late medieval bridge used as the setting for the final verse of the Robert Burns's poem Tam o' Shanter. In this scene Tam is on horseback and is being chased by Nannie the witch. He is just able to escape her by crossing the bridge (over a running stream) narrowly avoiding her attack as she is only able to grab the horse's tail which comes away in her hands (thanks Wikipedia - my literature degree didn't cover Burns comprehensively).
Yvonne and Gordon had taken over Doonbrae House, a 19th century house opposite the house, to stay in before and that's where Yvonne and the girls were getting ready whilst the boys were in Rose Cottage next door. Yvonne was very cheery and relaxed when I arrived, more concerned with helping everyone else in the party to get ready before herself, I found her on the floor tying up her dad's laces long after she should have been in her dress! Gordon and the boys, on the other hand, were regretting getting into their woollen kilts so early as for October it was so, so hot and muggy.
The bridal party were piped over to the hotel and down the grand staircase into the main ballroom where the ceremony was taking place. The flowers and bouquet were created by Elaine at Dream Flowers & Favours. The celebrant for the ceremony was one of Gordon's tennis students.
Yvonne's niece, Emily, was like her little shadow the entire day...
Doonbrae House...
Tennis ball's as favours...
If you were a guest at Yvonne and Gordon's wedding, you can view the whole album and purchase images here. The password is Gordon's surname.
Laura + Jon's Wedding on Loch Awe
As chilled out brides go, Laura probably rates as the most chilled. This is a bride who, when her car with her and her bridesmaids broke down on the way to the hairdresser in the nearby town, rather than waste time waiting to be rescued simply stuck out her thumb and hitched with the first passer by. Despite arriving 40 minutes late back at Ardanaiseig Hotel she was super cool and relaxed and remained that way for the rest of the day. Ardanaiseig Hotel is one of the most spectacularly located venues I've been to recently. A romantic and luxury hotel tucked away at the end of a 6-mile one track road on the edge of Loch Awe on the West Coast of Scotland, furnished eccentrically by the owner, a London antiques dealer. Jon and Laura had exclusive use of the venue and grounds which include a boathouse where Laura was getting ready. It wasn't until the penultimate moment that the decision to ignore the morning of torrential rain and risk holding the wedding outside in the amphitheatre by the loch was made, and the staff scurried around to make it happen (admittedly the alternative great hall looked beautiful but who could resist an outdoor wedding, in Scotland, in September?)
As the guests tottered across the grass in their heels Laura was peeking over the balcony of the boathouse to see them arrive. Finally it was time, and escorted by her mother, Laura was piped into the opening for the ceremony.
The reception was held back at the house and I hung dangerously onto the top window to get the group shot before arranging family and friends for the family shots with the almost surreal landscape of Ben Cruachan behind them. The location was such a treat to photograph in and Laura braved the damp in her heels to wander round the grounds.
(If you were a guest at this wedding you can access the full album and purchase prints here and the password is Jon's surname).
My favourite touch in their decorations of the marquee was the booklet, laid out for each guest, with a short paragraph about every one of the guests to get the conversation flowing. As Jon pointed out in his speech, when you have everyone from a high court judge to a onion farmer in the party you can't fail to find someone to engage with!
A week in the highlands
I'm just back in Surrey after a wonderful few weeks in Scotland. I like to combine work and pleasure where possible so I meandered up North after Tara and Folarin's wedding in Bedford for a couple of Glasgow weddings and finishing up in Aviemore at Inshriach House - one of my favourite places in the world. I'll be blogging about the wonderful home-made wedding that Lucy and Simon had up there on Saturday night but I thought I would post a few pictures of the delightful Inshriach landscape taken for the Location Scotland website - taken in between hoovering the house ready for wedding guests, washing a smelly Monty-dog and cooking for Walter and Lucy to earn my stay in the 'Summer Palace' (see the last picture for my cosy home for the week). I shot a fashion story up here last autumn and the place is just brimming with amazing locations including the Spey, numerous bothy's, a squash court, a victorian dog shed , vegetable garden and a mini loch - all within a stone's throw of the main house. It's also home to the amazing Insider Festival in June. Many thanks to Walter and Lucy for their hospitality, wine and for turning my electric blanket on full in anticipation of my late night arrival :)
From top: Cottages, loch, squash court
From top: Caingorm Mountains, Loch, Inshriach House (with teepee and wedding marquee in background)
From top left: Squash court and bothy, river Spey, Victorian dog shed, 'Beer Moth'
Official residence: Summer Palace
Before leaving I popped in to The Dell of Abernethy to take a few pictures for Ross and Polly of their new home which they have taken over running near Nethy Bridge. It has six stone cottages attached to the house which you can visit all year round and is an awesomely quiet and beautiful spot perfect for exploring the Caingorms.
Inshriach House Wedding || Scotland Wedding Photography
One from the archives of last summer at my favourite wedding venue in the country, Inshriach House... I'd actually had supper at Cristina's parents with Cristina and MP about 5 years previously (and now remember some serious after-dinner wii-hoola-hooping action) but funnily enough had completely forgotten about this until I turned up at the house on the morning of the wedding to photograph the bridal party getting ready.
Cristina and her bridesmaids got ready at the Aviemore house which her parents have lived in for years and I got plenty of shots of them in the garden with the cows in the fields looking on. They chose the pretty Loch Insh Church where Cristina's parents were married 23 years earlier.
Cristina wore a Caroline Castigliano dress with a black sash which was echoed in the bridesmaids dresses which they selected themselves, and teamed with some rather fabulous Christian Louboutin's.
I was reintroduced to them after their engagement by an old friend, Walter, who ownsInshriach; an Edwardian country house in the Cairngorms National Park where the reception was to be held. Cristina and MP were looking for a relaxed, informal local venue which would allow them to bring the Spanish influence of Cristina's family into the meal (Spanish gambas and local Scottish beef) as well as having an incredibly relaxed atmosphere. The groom's father was one of the designated carvers as joints of beef were served at table.
An (initially!) reluctant MP was pushed into performing the Spanish tradition of retrieving the bride's garter from her leg - with his teeth. After first going for the wrong leg he emerged triumphant.
"I saw Cristina walk across the room with a feather in her hair and knew she was the one". MP
Hannah + Danny’s Engagement Shoot in Edinburgh
I've just arrived back home in Surrey after a whirlwind of three weddings, two engagement shoots and a magazine shoot in Scotland. I'm working through the editing but seem to have started backwards with this shoot being the last one I did last night whilst it's fresh in my mind. Hannah went ahead and booked me for her wedding at Mar Hall before we had even met. When we did finally meet it was a fleeting coffee in a café in Glasgow after I had spent a very special night with friends on a Gullane Beach in Edinburgh. I had woken at 6am to the sound of the sea and a clear blue sky before hurrying back to Glasgow to meet Hannah.
So on Sunday afternoon I finally got a chance to spend a bit more time with Hannah and to also meet Danny. Despite Hannah having just come back from her hen weekend in Ely she looked gorgeous and fresh faced. Hannah and Danny are easily the youngest couple I’ve photographed at only 23 (they will be 24 when they marry next month) and I sighed over how lucky they were to have avoided 10 years of dating and uncertainty – and of course that they will look handsome and young in their wedding pictures (something I feel I have now missed the boat on!)
They took me down to Cramond Shore in Edinburgh where Danny proposed after setting a treasure hunt trail for Hannah. After a few wrong turns she followed the clues including an ipod message left with an ice cream seller, a boat named ‘Hannah’ and a Harry Potter-esq tree with sprawling exposed roots to find Danny waiting for her on a bench by the river with a ring and a bottle of champagne. We followed the route of the treasure hunt stopping for plenty of photos along the way. The sun even came out for a bit as they snuggled down into the grasses on the beach. Such perfect young love.
