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.

Nicki & Stuart's wedding, Dunkeld House Hotel

As it says above, in the opening spiel to my blog, I am very fortunate to get opportunity to travel around the country visiting and doing photography in some of the most beautiful places.
Perthshire has always been one of my favourites and I’ve been here many times both professionally and personally. The majority of occasions in a professional capacity have up until now been magazine shoots, including the occasion at Scone Palace when I gave the Earl something of a fright, but I’ll save that story for another time, lol. Personally, Diane and I love the Perthshire countryside and take breaks and holidays here quite regularly, which puts us in good company as Beatrix Potter and her family enjoyed doing the same thing. However, our visit on this occasion was for Nicki and Stuart’s wedding at the idyllic Dunkeld House Hotel.

This was my first visit to Dunkeld House Hotel and I hope I get opportunity to come back for many more weddings in the future as it really is a stunning venue! It’s located on the banks of the country’s longest
river and surrounded by gorgeous Perthshire woodland. Not only is the hotel very picturesque but the gardens and immediate surroundings are magnificent! For a an absolute dream as it abounds with so many choice locations for photographs!

We were booked to start at 11am with some getting ready photographs through until the speeches. Weather was an unknown quantity on arrival as it looked like it could go either way, and as you will discover that is indeed what happened. We’d arrived in good time allowing us to enjoy a coffee in the Dunkeld House lounge and thereafter we headed up to the bridal suite. Hair and make-up was underway for the bridesmaids when we entered and we got a few natural photos of them and some of Nicki with the wedding dress as we did the detail shots wedding photographer it’s
of the flowers, shoes, dresses, etc. The bridal suite windows overlooked the hotel lawn so we could get a good view of what was going elsewhere as the morning proceeded. The chairs were set out on the lawn ready for the wedding ceremony and when we spotted Stuart and his bestman we flitted down to do some quick photos with the two of them pre-ceremony too.

When I finished with the guys it was back up to the bridal suite as I wanted to get some photos of Nicki having her wedding dress laced up. This is always a fun time of the day and makes for some nice, natural relaxed images. As I was shooting the lacing up of the dress out the corner of my eye I spotted Anna, the flower girl, gazing out of the window. There was some gorgeous light pouring in around her so I quickly spun away from the dress lacing for a second and shot the image of
Anna that you see here. The original photograph was shot in colour but I also had a feeling it would really suit a black and white conversion. During the editing I experimented with a couple of monochrome conversion techniques I like to use and settled on this one which has an edgy infrared look to it. I really liked the effect so I entered it into the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers monthly contest and was delighted to pick up a Bronze award for it!

When Nicki was ready I did some nice bridal portraits and then some group shots in the room with her and the bridesmaids and then a couple including her parents as they had just arrived. We were then ready for the ceremony. At the top of the grand staircase I paused bride and father for two swift photos, full length and close-up, and then I ran ahead to the bottom of the stairs to photograph
the bridal party as they descended. Wedding photographers love staircases for photographs and the Dunkeld House Hotel staircase was no let down. However, when the bridal party were half way down two members of staff came running in frantically motioning for them to stop and wait. Unfortunately, right at this critical time the rain chose to come down! All the guests had been seated outside duly awaiting the bride but now they were all picking up their chairs and dashing for the Garden Suite! This is one of those occasions when my pre-wedding venue check proves so beneficial. When I carry this out ahead of the wedding I do so planning for every contingency, so although I’d been expecting and planned for the outdoor ceremony I had also scoped out the Garden Suite for the best vantage points, angles and lighting as well.

We all waited patiently until everyone was seated and then the piper struck up and lead the bridal procession through into the Garden Suite. The ceremony itself passed off beautifully and also created a great laugh when the
registrar unwittingly called the bride Gail instead of Nicki. Gail, of course, is Nicki’s sister and one of the bridesmaids. Stuart thanked the registrar for quickly correcting herself as he said he couldn’t afford to marry both of them!

Drinks followed the ceremony and then I took the bridal party and family back into the garden Suite for the group photographs as it was still raining. It didn’t take too long to run through these and then it was outside with Nicki and Stuart. I knew that one of the reasons for Nicki and Stuart selecting Dunkeld House was its beautiful location and they had really wanted to get
some photographs down by the riverside. The rain had eased off somewhat and as we have a lovely white wedding umbrella Nicki and Stuart agreed that we should definitely go for it. We also have waterproof camera covers that fit to our equipment. I know you’re probably not too concerned about the poor camera’s but I mention it simply because a friend of mine was at a wedding a few months ago where the photographer refused to do outside photographs as he didn’t want to get his camera wet! lol

Anyway as you can see we
got a good mix of pictures beside the riverbank, some of them utilising the over hanging foliage and other very natural images as Nicki and Stuart enjoyed walking along in such pleasant surroundings. Even in the rain Perthshire is idyllic! We finished off the photographic coverage with plenty of shots of the wedding cake made by Gail, which had the most amazing intricate, detailed work followed, by the speeches and a ceremonially glass breaking (family and friends will know what I’m talking about lol).

Royal Wedding at Dalhousie Castle

I’d never met Rachel and Paul until their wedding day. They were coming over from the USA with a small party of twelve to marry
in a quintessential Scottish Castle. This is quite a popular occurrence in Scotland and the north of England with the Americans particularly since Madonna did it. In fact, it was the best thing Madonna’s ever done! lol I didn’t actually get Madonna’s gig but I have done a number of weddings up along the far flung northern Sutherland coast in some idyllic Highland strongholds. Dalhousie Castle is much closer to home sitting on the edge of Midlothian. I’ve photographed many Dalhousie Castle weddings and they are always a delight!

In looking for a wedding photographer Paul had done what many do and started an online search. There was plenty to choose from as here in the UK we were right in the middle of Royal Wedding fever with the build up to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s big day. On the run up to the Royal Wedding ITV had been running a ten minute wedding slot each day just before the 6 o’clock news and I was fortunate enough to have been one of the top twelve weddings photographers featured by them.
Paul had found me on their associated website which was suitably impressive to lead him to booking me directly. The power of television, eh? lol

I met Paul on the wedding morning in the Dalhousie Castle Library and after introductions and a chat I did a couple of relaxed photographs with him, one of which is the first one posted here.
I then made my way to the bottom of the staircase for Rachel to come down with her two young bridesmaids and after a quick posed shot I ran ahead to photograph the ceremony proceedings in my usual reportage style. Civil ceremonies generally don’t take much more than 15 minutes or so and then when the register had been signed the newly weds and their twelve guests went back up to the grand lobby for drinks and canapés. Dalhousie Castle were a bit worried that with only twelve guests they may have made too many canapés and
so they asked me to help out with the eating of them. Having been brought up with impeccable politeness and good manners I was duty bound to assist ;)

This was the first ever wedding at Dalhousie Castle that I’ve been too where there has been no cars parked right at the entrance. So never one to pass up a golden opportunity we did a group photograph of Rachel and Paul and all the guests outside the main doorway. For the bride and groom session I took Paul and Rachel for a walk around the castle grounds. For the most part the photographs with the bride and groom are set up or directed. However, as my
photographic style is reportage or photojournalistic I am looking to take images that will fit in with this natural and relaxed feel. Therefore, I direct or ask my couples to do things that are natural, fun or romantic. Modern wedding photography is predominantly about good pictorial storytelling. If you start asking couples or guests to do strange or bizarre things that are not natural elements of a wedding day it will throw the whole sequence of photographs out of synch. From experience of working for so many magazines I can tell you that the editor will be looking fora set of pictures that tell the story of what has happened on the day and/or captured the essence of the event. Any images that do not fit in with this harmony are immediately 'spiked' (rejected). This of course includes the shots that you have directed or set up. They need to marry with the overall feel of the day itself and require a classy, fashionable look even if they are traditionally posed. Magazine and publishing housing editors have unbelievably high standards and in my opinion its important the same standards are applied to a wedding day.

I finished up with Paul and Rachel back in the grand Dalhousie Castle lobby. Rachel wanted a photograph of herself sitting on the throne so we did this before they went in for their wedding breakfast. I had been booked to photograph from the ceremony arrivals up until going for their wedding breakfast, a total of three hours. We ended up with just under 200 beautiful photographs. Rachel and Paul have opted to add on to theirpackage the award winning Bellissimo Perfetto album (recently voted wedding album of the year 2011). It is rumoured (top secret this, from an insider source) that this the album Prince William and Kate Middleton have ordered for their Royal Wedding photographs, so they are in good company! If you currently planning a wedding and interested in having a Bellissimo album yourself get in touch and I will be happy to show you some samples. I do a 40 page album which holds up to 100 photographs for £695. It really is the finest wedding album in the world!

Philip Hawkins storms Barony Castle

Gail and Robin were married at one of my favourite Border venue’s, Barony Castle. Edinburgh wedding photographers really enjoy making the short trip down the A703 to this idyllic white walled castle on the outskirts of thebeautiful Eddlestone village as it is such a glorious setting for photographs. You will recall that the last time I was here was for Zena and Scott’s wedding in the autumn of last year, so I was really looking forward to coming back again in the spring!

I first met Robin and Gail at the Edinburgh wedding fair last year. As soon as they had finished looking through my albums they booked me immediately. I then did an engagement shoot with them at the Hilton Edinburgh Hotel about a month before the wedding day and they were so good throughout the session, and we ended up with so many great photos, that I knew their wedding day would be even better! If you’ve never considered doing a pre-wedding engagement session its well worth considering it. Generally, we’ll do about 45 minutes and I’ll shoot a whole variety of images, many of which will be similar to things we’ll do on the wedding day itself which gives us a chance for some coaching, and also as it’s a little more relaxed and informal we’ll get a nice set of informal and contemporary photographs. We ended up with between 45-50 photographs from Gail and Robin’s shoot and they then select their favourite to get printed and mounted into a signature display board for all the guests to sign on the wedding day. The opening photograph posted here is the one they chose from the session and if you scroll down a little you’ll see how it looked on the wedding day after a few signatures had been applied. As a full time wedding photographer in Edinburgh I have good working relationships with many of the top fashionable venues in the capital and as many of them also use me for marketing and PR work they are happy to let me bring along my wedding couples for engagement shoots, so just let me know if you’d like to arrange one.

For the wedding day I’d been booked for pre-wedding 'getting ready' photos through until the first dance. Getting ready pictures are always good fun as well as getting many timeless memories. I started off in Gail’s room as she had her hair and make-up done and then flitted back and forth between her room and Robin’s. Robin and the groomsmen had been given a small function room to get ready in which had two huge bay windows. I shot some natural photographs as they grappled with their cravats and shoe laces and then did a few posed shots when they were all ready. One of my favourites is the one of Robin you can see here. I just loved the way the light was pouring in through the windows of the room so I asked Robin to stand just on the edge of the nearest bay window so that he was slightly side lit and I then moved position so the far window was showing just over his right shoulder. This gave the effect of the window light cascading in around him but at the same time retaining detail in his face and kilt tartan. Given that this was taken just about twenty minutes or so before the wedding ceremony, possibly the most nervous time period, I think he looks remarkably smart, cool and relaxed. It also marries nicely with their engagement print too as it has a similar look and feel.

The wedding ceremony itself went off beautifully! I was working alongside Robin’s brother, Bruce, who was doing the wedding videography. Bruce is a television cameraman and the last wedding he shot before Gail and Robin’s was Prince William and Kate Middleton’s. Robin, Gail and all the family were very grateful to the Royal couple for allowing Bruce to get in some practice ahead of the big day!

I’m going to now jump ahead a little to the Big Group photograph. Many couples request a Big Group shot, and if there’s opportunity to do one I definitely recommend it. It’s quite special having a photograph of all the family and guests. If it all possible I will try and take the Big Group photograph from a height, ideally an upstairs window. With so many guests the easiest way to ensure you can see everyone’s faces is to have sufficient height. I knew ahead of the day that Robin and Gail wanted a Big Group shot so I checked in with Barony Castle the day before to see if they could make available an upstairs window, which they said would be no problem. As it turned out, on the wedding day, I wanted to do the Big Group in the central courtyard and Barony Castle said they had a door that opened out onto the conservatory roof which overlooks the courtyard. So once I’d got everyone positioned I ran inside, and the hotel staff took me upstairs and into a little office type room whereupon I was told I’d have to scramble out the tiny window! To be honest I didn’t mind this at all. I’ve scrambled out of tighter and more uncomfortable spots than this to get good shots, lol. But once I climbed up onto the window ledge I had to jump off and down onto the roof, and unfortunately I didn’t see there was a drainage gutter teeming with water so I ended up landing right in it! I jumped out of it as quickly as I could to be followed two seconds later by Bruce doing the same thing. Fortunately, it was a nice warm day so our shoes and socks dried out fairly soon.

The Big Group photograph I’m showing here is the full frame, wide shot. I shot it this way because I wanted to not only get the whole
group but also show off the lovely location and surroundings. To add an additional point of interest I asked the piper to stand in the background too, which he was delighted to do. The quality of the photograph files I shoot are so high that should Gail and Robin prefer to have the group itself emphasized more I can just crop in tighter around them all and eliminate the background.

After climbing back in through the tiny window I went back downstairs and we did their family and bridal party group photographs before heading up alongside the stream to do the bride and groom session. The last time I was here it had been raining beforehand so the stream was more like a river, but today it was much shallower which made it easier for me crossing out onto
the small stone walkway across the water to get the shot of them at the head of the tiny waterfall. Before we finished up and went in for the meal I took Gail and Robin round an ill frequented corner of the castle for a shot in front of one of the circular turrets and then around the front of the castle for one with the square turret. In the post editing of this image I had to remove a car that had parked right underneath the main turret and was sticking its nose into the photo. Grrrr! I don’t know why castles have to have car parks located right up to the front facades! They should move them further back so they don’t encroach on our pictures! (Rant, rant)

Anyway we had a fantastic day, which passed so quickly, and we ended up with well over 300 photographs. Robin and Gail are now making their way through them selecting which ones they want to go in their album. I can’t wait to get started on the design! I’m back here for another wedding at Barony Castle in a couple of months so looking forward to that :)

First Melville Castle wedding of 2011

I have lots of weddings at Melville Castle coming up this year. I’ve been their recommended photographer now for several years so I’ve photographed more weddings here than any other wedding photographer in Edinburgh. So it’s fair to say I know the venue pretty well! lol Melville Castle have a recommended suppliers list for couples booking their wedding here, and there’s three Edinburgh wedding photographer’s on it. Well, two to be totally accurate as one of the three isn’t actually an Edinburgh wedding photographer, he’s from Glasgow, lol . However, at the beginning of the year I was in for a meeting with the wedding co-ordinator at Melville who informed me that following a meeting with the company’s senior management they had agreed that for personal recommendations they were only going to be putting my name forward to couples. Of course, I was delighted! So this year I will end up shooting even more weddings here than usual! Yay!

So my first 2011 Melville Castle wedding was Gillian and Paul on the 20th May. The day started off rainy and miserable looking, but amazingly as you can see from the pictures it turned around and ended up being glorious blue skies and lovely sun! Melville Castle was booked for the reception with the ceremony being held at St. John’s church in nearby Dalkeith. As we were booked to start at Gillian’s parents home first it meant we got the equivalent of three different venues, which is always nice for a great diversity of images.

We arrived at 1pm and had a lovely time chatting and playing with the cats. I also took some photos too ;) Starting an hour before the ceremony, which was to be 2pm, meant Gillian was able to get a few nice pre-wedding photographs with her bridesmaids as they prepared to set off for the church. I grabbed a few last minute getting ready shots and then took them out into the garden for some portrait style photos. We did combinations including all three girls together, then one each with Gillian, and of course Gillian by herself. For every grouping I always endeavour to shoot a full length, three quarter as well as a close up. The full lengths are nice as you want to see the beautiful dresses, and then the close ups are a little bit more intimate and relaxed. Iwork with a zoom lens so once I’ve posed everyone nicely I can shoot the three images within a couple of seconds without having to move and without the subjects knowing which I’m taking so no one has time to feel nervous which results in natural, relaxed photographs.

We left about 1.20pm to arrive at the church for half past. I did a few quick shots with Paul and his bestman and groomsmen and then quickly went to grab a brief word with the minister, only to be told by the church officer he never turns up for weddings until the very last minute, lol. It wasn’t too long until the first car arrived with Gillian's mother and Stephanie and Debbie the two bridesmaids. I had time to pause the three of them at the church entrance for a couple of quick shots (full length and close up as before) and then I was back on the roadside awaiting the brides car which duly arrived a couple of minutes later. I paused father and bride in the back of the car as that’s a shot I really like and it often becomes a favourite for the father, and then again I paused them in the doorway of the church shooting the full length and close up before I headed off to the front of the church to photograph them coming up the aisle.

As St. John’s is a large spacious church there was plenty of room for me to move around unobtrusively behind the minister and get a variety of wide angle shots showing off the whole setting and then zooming in for the bridal party as we went through the vows and decalarations, etc. The table for the register signing was positioned next to a huge window which created some beautiful, strong side lighting. I always get the chance to set up a couple of shots after the register has been signed but the one shown here was completely natural and shot without anyone knowing I was taking a photograph. I’ve had to do a slight amount of airbrushing as there was some church equipment encroaching into the foreground of the image which I’ve now removed.

Once the ceremony was complete and all the legalities finished I ran ahead and photographed the newly weds as they made their way up the aisle and exited the church. A quick pause at the church doorway for a nice 'just married' shot and then I like to step back and just photograph all the fun as the guests come pouring out the church and congregate around the bride and groom offering their congratulations. Gillian and Paul wanted to do a few photographs of the bridal party on the church steps before heading off back to Melville Castle where we’d do all their family group photographs on the lawn in front of the castle.

Before leaving the church I had a word with the driver and arranged for him to bring the bridal car down the narrow track beside the castle upon arriving at Melville which would enable us to position the car on the south-east facing corner. This is the most dramatic setting for using the castle as a backdrop for photographs and the only location where it is possible to position a wedding car. Most times the wedding car will drop the bride and groom at the main entrance to the castle, but as this sits at the heart of the car park it is impossible to get a full shot of the castle from here. Because I’m at Melville so much they are quite happy with me bringing the car down the siding and around to the south-east corner. The car company were too when they saw the photographs afterwards!

Following the formals we did a half hour bride and groom session and then finished up with the line-up and then the speeches. Gillian and Paul have just got back from honeymoon and now are about to start selecting the photographs they want to go in their album. I spoke with Gillian earlier today and she is so delighted with her wedding photographs she wants to book me to do a photo shoot with Kaiser, her 10stone, 10ft tall, immensely hungry looking puppy! So if you never see me again...