Emma and Donald's wedding at Craighouse

Craighouse, on the Napier University campus, is has long been one of Edinburgh’s most popular wedding venue’s amongst Edinburgh wedding photographers. It is beautiful both inside and outside with its palatial Victorian Turmeau Hall and its idyllic gardens. As you would expect it is also extremely popular with bride and grooms and so I photograph weddings here regularly. Last year I had eight weddings at Craighouse and this year I’ll photograph about half a dozen. There were rumours last wedding season that 2010 was to be the last year for weddings at Craighouse as they were then going to be looking to sell the venue on. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen as it will be shame to lose a gorgeous venue like this. I’m not the only wedding photographer in Edinburgh who feels like this I’m sure.

My first Craighouse wedding in 2010 was Emma and Donald. The day dawned with mixed skies and we unsure of how the weather would pan out. You can see this in the first photo which was taken about half an hour before the ceremony was due to get underway. I’d done some pre-wedding shots with Donald as his groomsmen and then quickly took them over to the far corner of the circular driveway. Being familiar with the venue I know that the drive has a slight incline at this point which enabled me to position the three gents in front of the main buildings with the dramatic skies looming behind them. Laying on the ground to take the shot helped exaggerate the angle and give it a bit more impact.

Emma and Donald were having a Humanist ceremony, which is nice and relaxed and always fun.The seating was laid out with all the chairs facing into the large bay window which I really love as it bathes the bride and groom in wonderful light. It also means that the table for signing the register will be placed in the bay window too which again makes for a great set of photographs. As they were signing I took some wide shots showing off the great bay window as at rises from floor to ceiling. I then cropped in a little tighter, as in the picture shown here, to show the bride and groom together with their witnesses as they carry out the signing. And then I finish off by setting up a few quick posed shots of the happy couple before bringing in the two witnesses around the newly weds for a more formal photograph.

Celebratory drinks were served on the terrace outside overlooking the city which is where I did all the group shots a short while later. I’ve shown here one of the most popular requested group shots at Scottish weddings, and that is all the guys in kilts. I take two versions of this, one with simply all the guys in kilts as requested, but I also then add in the bride, too as I feel the couple may as well have both versions. It’s also a nice contrast seeing the brides dress set off against all the Scottish kited tartans.

One of the favourite features of Craighouse is the elegant marble staircase. I always do a few images at every Craighouse wedding on the staircase as it is just so beautiful. It lends itself to both individuals, couples and groups. If it rains at Craighouse this the favoured spot for Edinburgh wedding photographers do shoot the formals. I did a five minute set on the staircase which included some bridal portraits, back of the dress with the staircase sweeping up behind, and then some combinations with Emma and Donald both standing and sitting.

We took a short walk out into the grounds and down amongst the trees to finish off the bride and groom photographs. It was by now nice and sunny, although the ground was a little damp underfoot so we didn’t wander off too far, but we were able to get a nice mix of fun and romantic photographs under the trees with several different back drops. We were back in plenty of time for their line-up to be arranged and whilst that was being organised I shot a some photos of the set up of the Turmeau Hall together with some detail photos of the wedding cake. We were booked up until the wedding breakfast so these images were the last ones I photographed. I’m back at Craighouse in a couple of weeks through into the evening so check back soon for some first dance photographs.

Auchen Castle wedding - Kate and Dave

Auchen Castle is a romantic Scottish castle wedding venue located on the edge of Beattock not too far from Gretna. One of the advantages with being a wedding photographer in Edinburgh is I’m ideally placed for anywhere in Scotland and the North of England, and I love travelling!

Kate and Dave’s wedding was my first one at Auchen Castle so I was really looking forward it. We were booked to do 3 hours coverage commencing an hour before the ceremony, but we set off early as I wanted to spend a half hour or so having a good look around in preparation which allows me to work smoothly and quickly once the proceedings get underway, particularly with the formal photography and the main bride and groom session.

Most of my wedding packages are based upon how long the couple wish me to attend the wedding and then whichever album they choose to have, together with any other optional additions. This allows a good amount of flexibility for me to tailor specific packages perfectly for each couple, and also accommodate all budgets. For Kate and Dave we’d arranged to start an hour before the ceremony just as Kate was getting ready to get into her dress. This would allow us to get a few informal pre-wedding photographs and then some bridal portraits once she was ready. We also did some pre-ceremony photographs with Dave and bestman also his parents in-between.

I’d never met Kate and Dave before the wedding day. They both came up from Manchester and after deciding on Auchen Castle as their wedding venue they didn’t get opportunity to come back up to Scotland for a visit. They had found me on the internet and as I have several real life wedding galleries on my website which they had looked through they were more than happy to book me with just a phone call. A lot of couples coming up from England and else where to marry in Scotland don’t always get chance to meet up so it is always important for me to have plenty of recent weddings online for them to view so they can see the quality of my work.

Kate and Dave’s ceremony had been planned for outdoors on the elegant lawn right in front of the castle. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play ball and it was moved inside at the last minute. No matter, everything went off wonderfully and by the time the ceremony was over it had stopped raining allowing us to do the group shots outside. However, it’s a good job I’m quick with them because within twenty minutes the rain started up again. We all ran indoors and we did the bride and groom session inside using one of the beautifully spacious bay windows and the fantastic staircase. We also got another ten minute break with the showers and nipped outside again to finish off.
Just for a change, instead of showing you some of there photographs I’ve posted some album page spreads. Two more weddings this week and three portrait sessions will keep me busy, together with the promotion of the Edinburgh Wedding Fair. If you want V.I.P. Catwalk show tickets ahead of the Forth One radio campaign just click the link then pre-register.

More Melville Castle weddings, Fiona and Keith

Well you can tell how busy I am by the fact that I’m falling further and further behind with my blogging, lol. I set a goal of doing a blog post every week and for most months this year I’ve done okay, but for the month of July I only managed two. June, July and August are always the busiest months for weddings and having two or three weddings a week during July is my excuse for only blogging twice. Anyway let me tell you about Fiona and Keith’s wedding which was right at the very end of July.

Keith and Fiona live just around the corner from me in Edinburgh so our pre-wedding meetings were nice and easy to arrange and it will also save me a lot in postage when delivering their DVD and album as well ;) We were at Melville Castle, but this time in doors with the ceremony being held in the Ballroom. I was booked for 6 hours coverage, 2pm to 8pm, with the ceremony being held at 2.30pm. However, I was there a little after 1pm and started the photography at about quarter past one. This happens at pretty much every wedding I work at as I inevitably start before the time I’ve been booked. It has something to do with loving my job so much, lol.

I went round and took a few detail shots initially which included the rooms being set up, the wedding cake and some of the flower arrangements. I then met up with Keith and his groomsmen and we went outside for a mix of photos. I did what we call a 'walk through' where I get all the guys to start off about 50 yards up the driveway and walk back towards me talking and joking amongst themselves. This is a great way to get a set of natural, informal shots as I simply shoot a succession of images from differing angles as they pass around me. I then did a couple of quick, posed combinations of Keith and the bestman, then with all the groomsmen (the first shot shown here) and then finally some photographs of Keith by himself.

Because I’d started early it meant Fiona was in the latter stages of having her hair finished, so we were able to get a few getting ready photos of her, too, which was a nice bonus. Being one of the most regular Edinburgh wedding photographers at Melville Castle means I know the place very well indeed. So when Fiona was ready I quickly took her out into a nearby corridor where there is a large overhead skylight which creates a gorgeous pool of natural light. Positioning her carefully under the ambient light we were able to produce a set of beautiful bridal portraits at full length, three quarter and close up. I then arranged the two bridesmaids alongside her for a full length and close up, followed by a similar father of the bride shot. I then headed off to the Ballroom to photograph their entrance and the coming down the aisle.

During the ceremony I always work quietly and unobtrusively usually in one of the corners of the room. As well as photographing all the key moments, like the vows and declarations and ring exchange, I’m always looking for the natural expressions of enjoyment on the faces of the couple. I’ve included two examples here both of which occurred during the singing of the opening hymn shortly after Fiona has been handed over from father to fiance. The happiness shown on both their faces really captures the joy of the moment and their love for another. This is also apparent as they hold hands whilst listening to one of the readings during the ceremony, too.

There was a minor mishap during the signing of the register when the minister some how spilt ink on Fiona dress, however, as far as the photographs go it’s no big problem as I cleaned them up during the editing. I know most wedding photographers in Edinburgh charge a premium for additional retouching work like this, but as I’m such a nice guy I’m happy to make it part of the service. Plus it can’t be a bad thing having a man of the cloth forever in your debt, lol!

I did the formal group shots out on the lawn in front of the fountain, which is where I normally do them at Melville Castle as it is the perfect place with the best angle of lighting. We then took Keith and Fiona away for half an hour for a bride and groom session starting outside and then moving around to the rear entrance before finishing off on the staircase inside. We got a great range of photographs from natural, relaxed images to fun and romantic with a few fashion shots thrown in.

The wedding breakfast commenced with the speeches. I worked around the top table with Diane shooting from the back of the room. As usual the speeches were full of fun and laughter which we managed to capture in a wonderful set of images. When the wedding meal was over everyone made it back down to the Ballroom for the cutting of the cake which was done in the centre of the dance floor right before going into the first dance.

Upon getting home the first thing I start doing is downloading all the photographs and backing them up. Also, as we had another wedding the following day, a lot of the equipment was to be re-charged overnight. In the morning I will give everything a clean and a re-check. Being a professional photographer requires having two, and with the more important, three items of each piece of equipment. To be honest, equipment malfunction is very rare as we only use top of the range professional kit, but nothing gets left to chance with something as important and un-repeatable as a wedding day. Hopefully, I’ll catch up with my blogging and tell you about the next days wedding in my next post.