Congrats to my friends, Ayden and Pete, who got married in Arisaig earlier this month. This was my first elopement and it was 10,000x better than traditional weddings in every way.…
Island Wedding
My first island wedding! And also a rare wedding I attended as a guest—not the photographer. Still, I had to bust out the camera to capture what an island wedding is like.
Shawshank got married in South Uist, which is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was a lot of fun. Islanders really know how to party.
I’m so happy for my friend Shawshank. I’ve only met Gary a handful of times, but it’s enough to know I like him and I’m excited about their future together.
Carolyn Baxter Bridal at Carlowrie Castle
Words can’t describe how proud I am of my sister. Carolyn is a dress designer, recently moving into the bridal industry and designing a range of 5 wedding dresses… all while raising a baby. My sister handmade these dresses from her shop in Broughton Street, Edinburgh.
Shooting in Carlowrie Castle last week was the first chance I had to see the dresses. Now, I’m not the most feminine of women—give me a pair of Nike leggings any day, but even I wanted to play dress up. Carolyn has done a beautiful job.
I’m so proud of my sister and envious of her talent. You can see the all of the dresses on Carolyn’s website.
Gillian and Chris at Sheildhill Castle
Another lucky day on the weather front with Chris and Gillian’s wedding in Biggar, but it meant another day of chasing the shade around the castle gardens!
I turned up nice and early, easing myself into the day as the girl’s got ready. Usually I feel quite rushed at weddings, but with Chris and Gillian’s relaxed attitude the pace of the day felt just right.
We didn’t spend long on portraits, but I’m really happy with what we did get. For a couple who hate having their photo taken, my camera certainly loved them!
Katherine and James at Fingask Castle
I’ve been quiet! I’ve been busy shooting weddings every weekend of September. The first was Katherine and James’ wedding at Fingask Castle in Perth.
I won’t lie, with them both being photographers (James’ work, Katherine’s work) I was nervous about photographing this wedding. Obviously there is always a sense of pressure, but even more so when they are such talented photographers!
We were up against some harsh light on the day, but we chased the shade around the beautiful gardens of Fingask Castle.
There were a lot of personal touches at this wedding, which is what a celebration of this kind should be about. I came away from it feeling like I knew Katherine and James, and hoping we can keep in touch and I can visit them if I ever find myself in their area of Canada (yes, they organised a wedding in Scotland all the way from Canada!).
Sam + Trisha
Earlier this month, I traveled the furthest south I’ve been (in the UK) and photographed Sam and Trisha’s wedding in Lewes in sweltering heat no Weegie is prepared for. It feels cliche to say, but it really was a spectacular wedding. Lewes was a treat to photograph in, with quaint buildings and a castle nearby, and Sam and Trisha themselves were a beautiful couple. Imagine my delight when I turned up and was told the wedding was outdoors. Yas, natural light! This just doesn’t happen in Scotland.
Thank you, Sam and Trisha.
Ryan and Beth
When Ryan and Beth first approached me to photograph their wedding, I remember Ryan telling me it was going to be “really cool”. I wasn’t quite prepared for how cool. I think this is every wedding photographers’ dream; quirky venue (a teepee in the English countryside), beautiful couple, plentiful emotion amongst family and friends, and a striking attention to detail. It was difficult for me to whittle my photos from the day into a concise blog post, there was just so much to capture. I’m eternally grateful to Ryan and Beth for giving me the opportunity to be there, to be a part of their day. It was a wedding I’ll never forget.
Robert and Oonah’s Belfast Wedding
I am always humbled when people give me the opportunity to photograph their wedding. Their wedding. It was more-so humbling when Robert and Oonah, two people I now consider friends, invited me over to Belfast – a city I’m not familiar with – and entrusted me in photographing their special day. Oonah sent me the loveliest words after seeing the photos.
“You’ve captured all the people in my life who mean so much to me, we are so so grateful, it’s like you knew what I was imagining and just made it!”
I lucked out with Robert and Oonah; least of all because they both scrub up well (not that I had any doubts), or because they were laid back enough to carry on taking photos outdoors after the rain started, but because everybody who attended their wedding was genuinely happy for them and the vibe was, therefore, perfect throughout the entire day. That made my job easy.
Dublin
Gah, I’m a little lost for words regarding my trip to Dublin. Getting to spend hogmanay attending a wedding in Ireland was the finest way I’ve ever welcomed in a new year. The whole experience was fantastic for me; coffee in St Stephen’s Green, wandering the city with my camera, dancing with old (and new) friends, trying Guinness etc.
Dublin is a photographer’s dream, which is why it’s been tricky to trim my photos down to a manageable lot. So I haven’t. Yeah. I walked down Grafton Street with my 135mm and meandered back up with the 45mm ts-e, the latter of which got a lot of use on this trip.
Martin and Gayle’s Wedding
Elisha Clarke, a photographer from Ireland, asked me to second shoot a wedding she had flown in from Dublin to Glasgow to photograph. I had been following Elisha’s blog and her Twitter for a while, so I couldn’t pass the opportunity to work with (and learn from) her. Elisha had asked me to do ‘photo documentary’ style of shooting, hanging back and capturing the more candid moments, so you’ll definitely want to check out her set of photos, which show a different take on the day.
The couple, Gayle and Martin, got married on the 11/11/11 at 1:11pm, and there were lots of cute touches to this wedding that I personally loved.
