Roxburghe Hotel Wedding - Lisa and David

Photo reminder - you can click on any of the images to open up a larger gallery viewer to scroll through and see the photographs at a better size... It's a beautiful place the Roxburghe Hotel located in historic Charlotte Square in the heart of Edinburgh's west end. Although Lisa and David's ceremony was taking place in the nearby St. Cuthbert's church my first port of call on the day was the Roxburghe for some room shots. Lisa and David were wanting to pop into Princes Street Gardens for a couple of photographs by the famous fountain in front of Edinburgh Castle following their ceremony whilst their guests made their way across the road to the hotel so I knew it likely I wouldn't get opportunity for these shots later in the day.

I took a few different photos of their reception room including a couple of high level images like the opening shot shown today. I'm often asked how I do this photograph as not many other photographers do this type of shot. Well I'm afraid I have to keep it a secret but suffice to say it possibly has something to do with me being bitten by a spider when I was a small boy ;)

St Cuthbert's Church is one of those buildings that doesn't look incredibly large from the outside but when you walk through the doors it takes on Tardis like dimensions! There is a sweeping circular gallery up above the main auditorium and that is where the photographers are asked to work during the ceremony. I took a few wide angle photographs to capture the whole setting but mostly I was working with a telephoto lens just to get in a little closer to the action.

As is always the case the ceremony seems to fly by and I was soon heading down the stairs to photograph the signing of the register. After this I ran ahead and photographed the newly weds as they made their walk up the aisle as the new Mr and Mrs Tweedie!

Lisa and David had requested a Big Group shot and there was a good location for this to the rear of the church so when everyone was ready we took them around the back and placed everyone in position behind the bride and groom with family and bridal party on front row. I was able to jump onto a wall to give myself good elevation as for a Big Group photograph the height allows me to capture everyone's faces without people blocking each other off.

One of the great things about weddings in Edinburgh is that you are never too far away from a view of the Castle, something which all wedding photographers in Edinburgh love! And that was next on our agenda once the wedding guests had finished giving the happy couple their congratulations. As all this was going on several tourists were walking through the church grounds en route to Princes Street Gardens. As a wedding photographer in Edinburgh for some reason being equipped with professional camera gear must give the impression I am something of an expert on all things to do with Edinburgh as I am frequently stopped and asked for directions and information from tourists as I work in Edinburgh. Two of the best questions I have ever been asked occurred today! Firstly I was asked "What time does the one o'clock gun go off?" Then a short while later, "Is the castle there all year round?". Priceless! lol

Once ready we took the short walk across to the fountain for the photos and then I also paused within the church grounds too for a couple of shots before finishing up at the church with some photographs by the wedding car. Myself and Diane then set off for the Roxburghe whilst Lisa and David took the car. It's a short walk over from Princes Street Gardens so we arrived well ahead of David and Lisa, who as it happened took longer than expected as the car broke down on The Mound! However, they soon arrived at the Roxburghe and together with family and bridal party we went across to Charlotte Square Gardens to do their group photographs.

Once these were finished we did Lisa and David bride and groom sessions which is always my favourite part of the day. As the Roxburghe has private access to Charlotte Square Gardens I wanted to make the most of it so we did a few photographs with them whilst in the gardens and then headed over the road to the hotel itself. You may not realise this but if you were to head up to the hotel bedrooms on the top floor of the Roxburghe there is actually a large window that looks out across to Edinburgh Castle. This is a location I will always try and use for a wedding at the Roxburghe Hotel not only for the great view but because the huge windows generate such beautiful light it makes for a great variety and option of images.

We were booked for photography up until the arrival of the evening guests which of course allowed us to photograph the speeches, which are always good fun, and a few informal shots, too. Lisa and David are now selecting photographs for their wedding album, a 40 page Bellissimo holding 100 photographs. This year the Bellissimo is my most popular album choice probably from the publicity generated by Prince William and Catherine Middleton who chose a Bellissimo for their own wedding photographs. Although having said that it has long been recognised as the best wedding album in the world within the wedding and photography industry and included amongst it's many awards is the current Wedding Album of the Year!

If you would like to see some sample Bellissimo wedding storybook albums why don't you come along to the Melville Castle wedding fair on September 23rd where I will have some on display for you look and browse through. I'll have plenty of other albums too so you can have opportunity to compare and see what you think.

Melville Castle Wedding promo

Well things are real busy right now and going to get even busier once into September. Weddings are coming thick and fast, hence the reason this Edinburgh wedding photographer can't keep up with his blogging! lol I'm off early in the morning for the west coast of Scotland to photograph a wedding at Ayr over the weekend, so really looking forward to that! Being pushed for blogging time I'm going to cheat this week and instead of posting photos going to give you a youtube link to a promotional slideshow I've just completed for Melville Castle. If you're still looking for a wedding photographer in Edinburgh it will give you chance to see some of my wedding images from this beautiful venue, and if you are one of my former brides who was married at Melville Castle you may feature somewhere in it(although please bear in mind there is a limited number of images I can use so it's impossible to fit everyone in). I hope you enjoy it and please give me a call or drop me an email if you'd like to meet for a chat about your wedding and look through some beautiful albums and Storybooks or discuss booking a photo shoot. Slideshow link:Melville Castle Wedding slideshow

Napier University Weddings - Laura and Bruce

Well lots going on right now as we are right in the heart of the busiest period of the wedding season. You can keep up to date with my weddings and photo shoots by following my facebook page if you like (blatant plug thrown in there as I’ve just noticed I’m close to reaching 1000 likes, lol). The photos today as you can see are from Laura and Bruce’s wedding at Craighouse which I’ll tell you about in just a second (remember you can click on any photo spread to open up the gallery viewer where you can see the pictures much better at a larger size) but firstly let me bring you up-to-date with some news.

Many folks have asked me about Melville Castle and if it’s correct they are going to be doing weddings again. Well most definitely! Melville Castle weddings kick off on September 15th with their first wedding of the year since coming under new management. I’ll blog some photos from the wedding naturally so keep an eye on my blog and face book page for them in due course.

Melville Castle wedding fairs are up and running again, too with the first being held on Sunday, September 23rd from 12 noon until 4pm. So if you are currently planning a wedding I’m sure you’ll enjoy it and pick up plenty of idea’s and info from the hand picked wedding companies who have been invited to attend. I will have plenty of wedding albums for you to look at both from Melville Castle weddings and other venues as well.

Speaking of wedding fairs, after a lot of deliberation I have decided to adopt a change of policy regarding exhibiting at wedding fairs and shows and will now only be exhibiting at wedding fairs where the wedding suppliers and companies are by invitation only. I feel wedding fairs that feature only hand picked exhibitors better reflect my stance as a proponent of quality over quantity. Keep an eye on my news page on my website for details.

I have also been doing some commercial and editorial work recently and if you keep an eye on the likes of OK Magazine you’ll spot some of this. Photo shoots for a few wedding venues have ensured I’m super busy between weddings, too. And I have also been asked to exhibit at the Love Pets Show at the Royal Highland Centre weekend of September 1st and 2nd following the success of some of my pet photo shoots. Oh, and I even picked up a Highly Commended Award for a landscape photograph from the Photographic Societies! Yay!

Okay that’s enough for now, lets tell you about Laura and Bruce’s wedding.

I had a great Engagement Shoot on Calton Hill with Laura and Bruce about a month before their wedding. Very relaxed, enjoyable and a set of excellent pictures. I am probably the closest wedding photographer in Edinburgh to Calton Hillso so it is a location I am very familiar with and enjoy using frequently. Bruce and Laura picked their favourite photo from the bunch I took which I then had printed and mounted into a beautiful wedding signature mount which went on display on the wedding day for the guests to sign and leave comments on. Laura also ended up ordering about 300 additional photographs from the shoot and Bruce’s mother likewise (very small exaggeration)!

I started the wedding day at the family home where Laura, bridesmaids, family and parents were getting ready. A lovely mix of detail shots, bridal portraits and some group photos in the garden. My personal favourite is the photo of Laura in the very first spread which was taken using nothing more than natural window light and careful avoidance of Bruce’s model airplanes ;)

I was then off to Craighouse. This is my last wedding at Craighouse as it is being sold off at the end of the wedding season to a property developer. Craighouse will be missed by all Edinburgh wedding photographers, I’m sure. The current owners, Napier University, will continue offering weddings at a new venue over at Craiglockhart and I’m delighted to have been asked if they can keep me as one of their recommended wedding suppliers. So I’m looking forward to photographing a few weddings at the new venue in the future.

Laura and Bruce’s wedding was just fantastic! A lovely ceremony followed by a drinks reception seemed to go over so quickly and then we were doing their family group photos out on the balcony. Included is a Big Group photograph of all the family and guests which is always a treasured image. We did about half an hour or so with Laura and Bruce for their bride and groom session and then grabbed some informal pictures before it was time to be going in for their wedding breakfast.

Speeches, lots of fun capturing and many requests were easily accommodated as we headed towards their evening reception and the dancing. The Turmeau Hall at Craighouse is such a magnificent room and when the lights are lowered for the dancing has such a good atmosphere with its high ceiling and huge, ornate windows. The last two spreads show photos from their first dance followed by Laura’s father daughter dance. At the time of writing we are near to completion of their stunning Bellissimo storybook album. Page proofs of my first draft were sent through to the newly weds a little while ago and they have just emailed back with one or two amendments which I’ll have finished by end of this week. Then it will be off to the printers! :)