Two Royal Terrace Hotel weddings

I was very privileged to photograph the first ever official Vow Renewal ceremony in Edinburgh recently at The Royal Terrace Hotel. And then three days later I was back for a Royal Terrace Hotel wedding with Raye and Howard. One of the major differences between a wedding ceremony and a vow renewal ceremony is that while marriages are required to be legally registered, vow renewals are not. In fact, due to the Edinburgh registrar office being so busy with handling wedding requests they do not normally do vow renewals. It is possible of course to arrange a private vow renewal ceremony, perhaps with a local minister, but this would not be registered or have any official status. So how did Sandra and Damien manage to obtain an official, registered vow renewal ceremony?

Well as mentioned above Edinburgh applications for vow renewals are usually rejected with the couples being advised to make their own private arrangements. However, Sandra and Damien’s application landed on the desk of a new recruit and in ignorance it was processed and authorized along with the marriage applications. When senior members of staff saw the mistake they didn’t have the heart to cancel and disappoint Sandra and Damien so they decided to undertake their first ever legally registered vow renewal ceremony. So that of course now means that I am proud to be the first and only Edinburgh wedding photographer to have
photographed an official vow renewal ceremony and the Royal Terrace Hotel is the first Edinburgh venue to hold one all thanks to a lovely couple from Ireland whose application must have been blessed with the luck of the Irish, lol.

It was a very pleasant ceremony with just myself and the registrar enjoying the proceedings with Damien and Sandra. It lasted about ten minutes and then Damien and Sandra were given their official vow renewal certificate together with celebratory champagne from the Royal Terrace Hotel. I photographed the ceremony itself from the corners of the room similarly to how I would for a wedding ceremony and then we did
some relaxed photos in the private garden that the Royal Terrace Hotel has at the rear. Sandra and Damien were a fantastic couple and it really was a pleasure to do their photography and be involved in such a unique event!

Three days later we had another sunny day in Edinburgh for the wedding of Raye and Howard at the Royal Terrace Hotel. As you can see from the photos conditions were idyllic for an outdoor ceremony. Most wedding photographers in Edinburgh enjoy outside ceremonies and the private rear terrace of the hotel is very spacious and makes for beautiful outdoor wedding ceremonies.
It is also flanked by three private walled gardens, one of which has a gorgeous athenic gazebo. Of course, none of this is visible from the main street so the terrace and gardens remain exclusive and secluded. Royal Terrace itself is one of my favourite Edinburgh streets. It sits on the lower rear slope of Calton Hill overlooking Leith and for such a wide and broad beautifully cobbled road is surprisingly serene and quiet. I am also in good company because the Royal Terrace is also a favourite of Sir Sean Connery who tried very hard to buy a home here, but no one on the Terrace was willing to sell to him despite his extremely generous offers.

I have photographed many weddings at the Royal Terrace Hotel so it was a delight to be here again for Raye and Howard’s. I was booked to do photography from ceremony arrivals through until the wedding party went in for their wedding breakfast. I started with a few photographs of the rear Terrace set up and ready for the ceremony, shots I always like to get if possible as I know the brides rarely get to see this on the day itself as all their guests are seated when they get their first view of things. Raye had requested some photos of her and her sister up in the hotel room about
fifteen minutes before the ceremony was due to commence and after taking these I photographed the rest of the proceedings in my normal reportage style. I always endeavour to remain as unobtrusive as possible as this enables me to capture the genuine emotions, feelings and moments of the day. Apart from the group photographs and the bride and groom session which of course require some organisation and direction, working coolly and quietly means for the most part I can take photographs without anyone knowing they’ve even been photographed producing very natural, relaxed images.

Every couple I’ve spoken to after their wedding day have been glowing in their praise of the Royal Terrace Hotel, the staff and the food. I’ve also done a few anniversary parties here too with similar compliments. So if you’re considering the Royal Terrace Hotel as a wedding venue I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. If you wanted to fix up a pre-wedding engagement shoot here and sample it before hand just give me a shout and we can book something up for you.