Paula and Gordon Corstorphine Church

Busy time of the year just now for portrait sessions with the run up to crimbo as well as a frenzy of print orders which require delivery before xmas. I’ve had two more weddings
since I last blogged, a couple of days down in Newcastle meeting with couples getting married there next year and then the Masonic Ladies Festival at Melville Castle on Saturday. Also delivered Paula and Gordon’s wedding album a few days ago, too, so here’s a bit about how their day went...

Paula and Gordon got married in a Tardis like church in Corstorphine and then back to Houston House for the reception. I had never been inside the Old Corstorphine Parish church until the morning of the wedding day. A few weeks earlier I had been out to have a look at it and noted how small it was, however, on entering the church itself I was amazed at how elegant and grand it is on the inside, and how it is ten times bigger inside than out! I think the minister must go time travelling in it! lol
Anyway, not only did it have plenty of grandeur and character but also a tiny balcony that the minister allowed us access to which meant Diane could take photos from above whilst I remained down at floor level. As it happened when I received Paula and Gordon’s album photograph selection list Diane was delighted to see that from the ceremony they’d chosen nearly as many of her photographs as mine. Fortunately, she hasn’t yet asked for a raise. Phew! The minister was Moira McDonald who I have worked with on previous weddings at other venues and is easily the nicest Church of Scotland minister in Edinburgh. I hadn’t realised she was the minister here so it was a pleasant surprise to discover this was her church. As usual she took a really nice ceremony and I was able to capture some lovely relaxed, natural shots of Gordon and Paula as they went through their declarations, vows, ring exchange, etc.
I took a few wide shots too to show the impressive church interior.

A few years ago when I was more involved with editorial and commercial work I picked up regular commissions from Heritage magazine, Best of British, Scottish Memories and Choice magazine where I was sent around the country photographing some of our most famous historical Castles, Palaces and Stately Homes. From those assignments I learnt the importance of working with mixed and low light levels without destroying the striking atmosphere and ambience of these ancients buildings. Nowadays, whilst I am happy to photograph a wedding at any venue whatsoever, I think the reputation I established through my magazine work is one of the reasons such a lot of my wedding bookings are for Castles.
When their ceremony was concluded we headed off to Houston House where we’d arranged to do the formals. I grabbed a quick shot of the newly weds as they left the church, pausing them briefly at the church gates alongside their piper and then once more
besides their wedding car and then we were all off along the A8 to Houston House. As an Edinburgh wedding photographer I always enjoy Houston House as there’s so many great locations throughout the gardens for beautiful photographs.

Upon arrival at Houston House the family and guests enjoyed a
glass or two of champagne and then we ran through the family group shots. When these were finished we took Gordon and Paula for a stroll around the beautiful gardens. I set up a couple of shots under the magnificent oak tree initially then as we moved from their across to the old courtyard I ran ahead and photographed some completely natural images as they walked through the gardens just enjoying their first quiet time alone together after the ceremony.
Whilst my wedding photography style is predominantly photojournalistic with the bride and groom session being natural and relaxed I also took a few classic style portraits as I knew these would look elegant and beautiful in the traditional wedding album that Gordon and Paula had ordered. One of my favourites is the black and white photograph posted here, I just love the top and side lighting on this image. All three wedding speakers did a great job following the meal and we got a nice set of photographs, including Gordon’s Heart’s joke’ lol. Then we finished up with some informal pictures as the guests laughed and joked and finished off their drinks.

One of the many things I enjoy about my work is delivering the wedding album. I get an enormous amount of job satisfaction when the seeing the delight on my couples faces as they look through their album.
That’s why whenever possible I like to deliver the album personally. For couples who have come from afar and from oversea’s this is obviously not possible, but for everyone else it’s an absolute delight! I also received this week a beautiful Thank You card from Paula and Gordon so I have to say a 'thank you' back for the lovely comments. It has actually reminded me that I haven’t up dated my Testimonials for a while so over the holiday period I’m going to pull out my box of 2010 Thank You cards and update my webpage.

Gillian and Gary at Craighouse

A few weeks ago I was talking about the forthcoming changes at one of Edinburgh’s finest wedding venues, Craighouse. It’s owners, Napier University, have put it up for sale and it’s highly unlikely it will be used for weddings once sold. Edinburgh wedding photographers who have worked here will lose a very fine venue indeed as there are literally
scores of beautiful locations in and around the grounds for great wedding photographs. Now funnily enough at the Corn Exchange wedding fair last Saturday and Sunday our stand was right opposite Napier’s Craighouse stand and on the Sunday their marketing and sales manager came across to see me and asked me to come in for a meeting with a view to putting together a showcase wedding album for them.

Does this mean a reprieve for Craighouse? Sadly, no. But despite being up for sale it will continue to function as a wedding venue until 2013. Hence, the reason they are interested in updating their marketing materials and promotional images. Of course, I’m delighted they asked me to do this for them and looking forward to getting to work on it. On our way home from the wedding fair I was musing to Diane
why, out of all the wedding photographers in Edinburgh who have worked at Craighouse they picked me? I surmised that it must be due to meeting and seeing me in person throughout the wedding fair on the Sunday that they were impressed by my handsome good looks and charming personality. However, Diane informed me that no, it was because on the
Saturday she had shown them some photos from the last wedding we had photographed at Craighouse and they absolutely loved them! Hmm, I’m not sure whether to feel elated or disappointed, lol.

Anyway, the last wedding we photographed at Craighouse was Gillian and Gary’s just a few weeks ago. We had an absolutely amazing day and Gillian and Gary were superb to
work with! I started off doing some shots with Gary and groomsmen around the courtyard for a few minutes just before everyone was taken through to be seated for the ceremony followed by a couple of quick photographs of Gillian’s mother and two bridesmaids prior to Gillian and her father arriving. The wedding car was a beautiful vintage Jaguar and so as well as getting a picture of Gillian and her
father in the back of the car as it came to a stop I also posed them by the car for a couple of photos and then brought in the two bridesmaids and flower girl for a shot of them all by the car. I also paused father and bride at the main Craighouse entrance for a nice portrait too before running ahead and photographing the bridal party making their way up the staircase, along the corridors and then finally down
the aisle.

The rooms at Craighouse are so large there’s plenty of space for me to move around and get photographs from either side of the bride and groom throughout the ceremony. This is nice as it allows me to photograph both their faces as they say their vows and declarations to each other. There’s also a huge bay window right behind the celebrant which I can back into for wide angle shots. When it comes to signing the
register the bride and groom are often seated at a table in front of this window which makes for a nice variety of photographs, too.

Following the ceremony everyone took their drinks out onto the balcony that overlooks the south side of the city. Not only are there superb panoramic views across the city but also plenty of space for a Big Group shot, which I think I’ve done at every wedding I’ve photographed here. It’s also an ideal place for the
formal group photographs as well as you can place the groups in the shade of the building where the light is nice and soft. The wedding car had been booked to stay on for a little while after the ceremony so when we finished the formals I took Gary and Gillian down to the car for some photos before the driver finished up for the day.

For the bride and groom session we made the most of Craighouse’s beautiful marble
staircase. We did a few classic poses at the foot of the stairs, which will look gorgeous in the elegant traditional wedding album Gillian and Gary have ordered, and then some more relaxed informal and fun shots around the courtyard before taking a short walk down to the small row of trees further down the drive. I really love it here as I can move around and change my backgrounds and angles creating a great
variety of images literally within a few seconds. We did a mix of fun, romantic and contemporary photographs and also made the most of the blustery wind, lol.

Following the meal we had the speeches. Lots of great photographs here. Especially with five speakers. Yes that’s right. Father of the bride, Gary, two bestmen and then a few words from Gillian herself who also had a special presentation for Gary
of a Gold, Olympic style medal, with the words “For having the Patience of a Saint. With Love, your wife” engraved on the back.

Everyone ambled back through to the balcony and the Queens Room afterwards for a few drinks and laughter before we were all back into the Turmeau Hall for the cutting of the cake which then lead into the first dance. All in all another fantastic Craighouse wedding! Hopefully I’ll get a few more here before it gets sold.

Melville Castle weddings, fairs and weddings

Well as usual I’m dropping behind on my blogging lol. We’re right in the middle of wedding fair season so together with photographing weddings and working on album designs things are pretty busy, which I like :) So that’s my excuse regarding the blog anyway!

The day after Zena and Scott’s wedding I was at Melville Castle’s wedding fair, followed by Ravelston House Hotel and Debenhams the week after. And then it’s the big one for Edinburgh at the Corn Exchange this Saturday and Sunday. As Debenhams and Ravelston House were on the same afternoon Diane and myself split up and she did Debenhams while I went to Ravelston House. Both of these were slightly smaller than Melville Castle’s and therefore not quite as busy.

I have to say a big thank you to everyone who came to see me at Melville Castle. Both old friends and new. I’m the only Edinburgh wedding photographer who is allowed to have display albums permanently out at Melville Castle so many couples who have visited Melville Castle looking for a wedding venue have had a good look through them and then seek me out for a chat about their own wedding photography. I was thrilled that so many had come through to the wedding fair especially to see me! I was right in the back corner of the pavilion this time, next to Robert McLaughlin. Along with myself Robert is also Melville Castle’s recommended photographer as based through in Glasgow he does a lot of work for their sister hotels, Airth Castle and Glenbervie. Despite being in the far corner I had plenty of new visitors coming over and chatting too and it really was a great afternoon!

It was nice to meet again with a number of couples who have already booked me for their wedding at Melville Castle and had come along to the wedding fair for another look around of their venue and make bookings with some of the other suppliers. One of these was Jenna who’s wedding is tomorrow at Melville Castle, so I’m looking forward to that very much! Many visitors were also wanting to hear all about how well Zena’s wedding had gone the day before, too and I will be sure to pass on to her all your kind comments and interest. I must also say thank you to Gillian and Paul, Karen and Norman and Lisa and Richard for booking me on the day too.

The two photographs posted here I used as display prints at the wedding fair. One is actually used by Melville Castle for the front cover of their brochure and you may also have noticed on the large banner advertising the wedding fair. I’ve done an infrared black and white conversion to the original colour version which I think gives it a bit extra impact. The other image is one that has now become my most requested Melville Castle wedding photograph after I first did this shot at Liz and Bruce’s wedding three years ago. Because it is so timeless it’s the kind of photograph that will never become dated. And yes, Jenna and Michael want this shot tomorrow too, lol.

If you are planning on coming along to the Corn Exchange at the weekend Diane will be on our stand Saturday and then we’ll both there on the Sunday. I’m not the only Edinburgh wedding photographer exhibiting so you’ll get chance to compare albums and wedding books against other wedding photographers and decide which of us you’d like to entrust with the photography of your un-repeatable day.