Being a
wedding photographer in Edinburgh places me within easy travelling distance of all the popular wedding venues throughout Scotland. I have some great weddings I’m looking forward to this year from as far away as Torridon in the north west Highlands to
The Royal Terrace Hotel which is literally a stones throw from where I live. Heather and Robert were marrying at Glenskirlie Castle near Stirling which is only about 40 minutes away from Edinburgh. Two years ago I photographed a lovely
wedding at Harburn House, Lianne and David, where Heather was a bridesmaid for her sister, now it was to be the other way around!
As soon as Heather and Robert had set their date and decided upon Glenskirlie Castle, Heather and Lianne’s parents phoned me immediately to book me to photograph the wedding. It’s always a pleasure when this happens and I was delighted to have their date available and book them in!
Glenskirlie Castle is a relatively new wedding venue in Scotland having been purpose built about 5 years ago. It’s a magnificent white turreted fortress with a host of beautiful locations for photographs both inside and out. The day itself dawned nice and bright with just a hint of a possible light shower, which did occur a couple of times but didn’t spoil anything at all. The girls were getting hair and make-up done in town and then I was to meet them at the castle for 1pm. The first thing I did was photograph Heather unpacking the gorgeous dress as she couldn’t wait to get it out. I then did a few details shots including shoes, flowers, bouquets and also a couple of bridal portraits.
I met the guys down at the castle entrance around 1.45pm and did some different shots with them finishing up with portraits of the groom. Before returning to the bridal suite I got pictures of the ceremony room set up and also some shots that I will use as page backgrounds in their album. Back up in the bridal suite I photographed Heather having her dress laced up and then when she was ready some full length photographs showing off the beautiful dress as well as a couple of bridal portraits. We also had time to do some photographs with the three bridesmaids, including of course Lianne, and also the very proud father of the bride.
I photographed bridesmaids and then Heather and father walking up the aisle before retreating to the rear of the room. When I’d carried out my pre-wedding venue recce a few weeks ago I noted that at the front of the room it was going to be quite a tight squeeze and I would therefore be better placed moving to the back of the room during the ceremony. I know I’ve written before about how important the pre-wedding venue check is, but this is a typical example of it’s benefits. Usually I will opt for a position at the front of the room during the ceremony so I can see the couples faces as I quietly work away in the corners of the room. However, if I’d gone their on this occasion I would have found myself blocked in and not having a good view of the proceedings either. The pre-wedding venue check helps to ensure I get in the right place at the right time which is crucial to good reportage wedding photography.
Heather and Robert had requested a Big Group photograph of all their guests so following the ceremony I took everyone outside into the rear courtyard and set this up whereupon I then did their family group photographs. A few spots of rain came down just as we were about to take the newly weds around to the front of the building for their bride and groom set but it didn’t amount to much and soon blew over. I got a good mix of photographs using the castle as a backdrop and then went over to a little ornate garden in front of Glenskirlie House. If there had been a wedding booked for the house on the same day as one in the castle we wouldn’t have been allowed down here but I’d checked this out on my earlier visit so knew we were okay. We’d scheduled half an hour for our bride and groom photographs so I finished it up with a few interior shots as the lighting is quite low inside and made for some lovely atmospheric images.
Speeches were before the wedding breakfast which allowed the speakers to relax and enjoy their meal. Diane and myself got some great photographs from the speeches capturing all the fun and laughter on the top table and throughout the room. We had time after the meal to do some group shot requests and then we were back into the main room for the cutting of the cake on the dance floor. Lights down again for the first dance and that was the evening reception now into full swing.
All in all a fantastic day and a wonderful wedding and a big thank you to Billy and Ethel for booking me to photograph both their daughters weddings! Now looking forward to designing Heather and Robert's album!
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