I just found out that 4 of my images achieved merits in the BIPP (British Institute Of Professional Photographers) National Awards, which has just been judged. The awards night is at the end of November at Blenheim Palace. Delighted that these 4 got merits in such a high profile competition.
I was delighted to have 4 prints awarded merits at the recent MPA (Master Photographers Association) National awards. The four prints were displayed in the ‘Wall of Fame’ at the prestigious awards night in Birmingham earlier this month.
Very pleased to open the new issue of Professional Imagemaker Magazine to find they’d used my image on the cover. It is the monthly magazine from the SWPP (Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers) and goes out internationally to all the members, so it was great that my image was chosen.
The first of 3 weddings this weekend was Laura MacDonald and Gary Goddard, at Cawdor Church. It was such a wet day, absolutely torrential rain all afternoon, which was such a shame. However when we returned to the reception, Culloden House, we were lucky enough to get a 15 minute window where we got out for some nice shots of the couple. Culloden was such a nice venue – my first time there, just disappointing that we didn’t get to fully utilise the area.
Ceremony Venue: Cawdor Parish Church
Reception venue: Culloden House Hotel
Dress: Sophia Tolli Design from ‘Dress 2 Impress’ Inverness
Shoes: Rainbow Couture – from ‘Wedding Daze’ Nairn
Cake: Audrey Simpson – Conon Bridge
Rings: Custom Made
Hair: Vanessa from ‘Karrera’
Make Up: Ellen Geddes – ‘Charisma Beauty’ Inverness
Cars: Executive Stretch Limousines Inverness
What was your favourite moment of the day?
Meeting each other at the Altar.
What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?
Organise it in the time that it takes for a dress to be made or you will question every decision that you have made! DON’T buy Bridal Magazines.
Was there anything you’d have done differently?
No, the day was absolutely perfect.
Any other stories or comments.
John was absolutely brilliant, he put everyone at ease.
After our amazing pre wedding shoot IN Loch Ness, I was really looking forward to this wedding. Kimberley De Koning and Graeme Watson, from Inverness, who got married at Achnagairn House
Unfortunately our amazing plans for the day were ruined by the Scottish weather – it rained continuously ALL day! We then made further plans for me to stay down and do another shoot on the Sunday as it couldn’t possibly be worse……but it was! However Achnagairn is one of the venues where bad weather isn’t a huge problem as there are so many great features inside it. We had some fun shooting in a few spots around the house and got some really nice images. It was a humanist ceremony which as usual was lots of fun as well as being very moving.
I am really looking forward to a post wedding shoot where we can all get to work on some amazing images!
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Achnagairn House
Dress: La Sposa, Barcelona
Shoes: Benjamin Adams
Cake: Butter Boutique cupcakes (Luckily we got some samples of the amazing cakes as they disappeared quickly on the day)
Rings: Our wedding bands were from Chisholm Hunter Inverness, and Graeme had a gorgeous new engagement ring made for me as a wedding present!
Hair: Lorraine at Hair Directory
Make Up: Jackie at Gemini
Flowers: Angela Hunter
Band: The Shire
Videographer: Ness Pro Video
Piper: Hugh Watson
Stationary: As Graeme is a Graphic Designer, it was great to be able to design our own wedding stationary.
Lighting: Graeme’s colleagues at Dynam organised the lighting in the hall, and I don’t think they could have made it look any more beautiful!
Others: John Lockhart was our Caterer and basically event organiser, I cannot speak highly enough of the service he provided and the standard of food our guests were served. Everyone raved about it!
What was your favourite moment of the day: We absolutely loved everything about the day! The service was very personal, and we wrote our own vows which made it even more special. Alan Smurthwaite who performed the Humanist Service was fantastic and I can’t thank him enough. Amongst other readings, my little brother Dylan and Graeme’s little cousin Ailsa did a great job with their poem!
What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding: Not to panic about being in control of everything on the day! I was scared it would rain, which it did. But it made for a great atmosphere in the house and it was buzzing with people, to be honest we barely noticed it rained we were having too much fun! We managed to get some amazing photo’s inside and of course we had John taking the photo’s so we knew we were in good hands!
Was there anything you’d have done differently: No, we were delighted with everything we planned and it all came together perfectly!
It was great to have all our family and friends under one roof for the weekend! Everyone loved it and it’s something Graeme and I will never forget!
Lisa Small and Ally Mackenzie were married at Dornoch Cathedral on a beautiful sunny day last month. The day started with some getting ready pictures at Lisa’s mum’s house, before we headed to the Cathedral. After a lovely service from Susan Brown, the couple then went to Skibo Castle to have some photographs taken. It was my first time at Skibo, and I have to say it’s some place! I could have stayed all day shooting there. The couple had avintage wedding car which gave us some good opportunities, and along with some guns, and comedy teeth, there was no shortage of good props for the day! The reception was at the Spa Pavilion in Strathpeffer, my third weekend in a row at Strathpeffer after not being there all year.
Ceremony Venue: Dornoch Cathedral
Reception venue: Strathpeffer Pavilion
Dress: Benjamin Roberts dress from Wedding Belles Alness
Shoes: Benjamin Adams
Cake: Harry Gow Inverness
Rings: Colin Campbell Inverness
Hair: Lynne at Gorgeous Inverness
Make Up: Dawn Cameron Aspen Spa Tain
Cars: Iain Sutherland, Brora
Videographer: Our friend Alasdair Maclean
Cake Topper: Cakes by Fiona Barnett, Ellon
What was your favourite moment of the day?
We enjoyed every moment of the day but the ceremony was definitely our favourite.
What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?
Stay calm and enjoy the planning, don’t worry about the little things as you probably won’t even notice them on the day.
Was there anything you’d have done differently?
Got ready earlier, I was running out the door to the church.
After a busy few days driving around the country, the weekend finished with the wedding of Jennifer Kellett and Jamie Brown, at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness. The couple live in Edinburgh but chose Inverness for their Humanist ceremony. It was a beautiful day, so we headed out to Culloden Battlefield for some pictures after the very moving ceremony, before returning to shoot the rest in the lovely gardens of the Drumossie.
Ceremony Venue: New Drumossie
Reception venue: New Drumossie
Dress: Eoanzi by Emma Roy (Edinburgh)
Shoes: Dune
Cake: White Chocolate 3 Tier by Harry Gow
Rings: Ernest Jones – Men White Gold Plaing Band, Woman Platinum Plain Band
Hair: Louise Jefferies, Edinburgh
Make Up: Charlene Lothian, Edinburgh
Cars: Jaguar XJ
Humanist Service – Sylvia Cameron
Piper – Pipe Major John MacDonald
Flowers – Amanda Call (Elgin)
What was your favourite moment of the day? There were too many moments to mention but it is hard to put into words the feeling of walking down the isle on your wedding day. Its hard to beat!
What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding? Enjoy every bit as much as you can, the planning, the day and the occasion. It all goes so quickly, so don’t waste any time stressing!
Was there anything you’d have done differently? Started the day earlier or finished later, it all went too quickly!
The whole day was beyond what we could have expected. The venue and staff at the New Drumossie were exceptional, the food was superb and we really felt taken care of. Another highlight of the day was getting taken up to Culloden battle field for a time out from the ceremony and photo session by John!
This was a crazy sort of weekend, which began on Thursday when I travelled to Glasgow to meet Alexandra Jack and Peter Cunningham at Glasgow University Chapel, where they were getting married on the Saturday. I was so excited after seeing the venue as it had so much potential, with time being the only big obstacle. The day finished with a very long journey back up to Inverness on the back of an AA truck after my car decided to play up. So after that, then Friday’s wedding at Portmahomack, it was another trip to Glasgow for the wedding in a hired car! Alexandra and Peter live in Inverurie, but chose the University Chapel for their wedding, and what an amzing building it is.The only down side was the rules that I had to stand at the back, which is a fair old distance away. I would have managed but the bridesmaids and best man were given seats directly between the bride and groom and myself which restricted my view for ceremony shots. Lovely building though and great light in it.
I could have spent a week shooting here! The reception was at another favourite place of mine, Oran Mor
Thank you to Craig McGuire for stepping in as my assistant for the day.
Ceremony Venue: University of Glasgow Chapel
Reception venue: Oran Mor
Grooms Outfit: Gibbs, Inverurie
Dress: Manual Mota for Pronovias, London
Shoes: Dune, Glasgow
Cake: Bibi’s Bakery, St. Andrews
Rings: Tiffanys&Co.
Hair: Ellen Conlin
Make Up: Joanne Brown
Cars: Glasgow Taxi
Flowers: Roots, Fruits & Flowers, Glasgow
Stationary: AJ Designs, Oldmeldrum
Piper: Matthew Henderson
Band: The Gordon Shand Ban
What was your favourite moment of the day? My favourite moment was when we walked out of the church, into the Glasgow sunshine, as husband and wife; with Sigur Ros playing in the background.
What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding? Don’t try to please everyone, not matter how hard you try it is not possible. It is your day, do whatever you want.
© 2013 Inverness Wedding Photographers
ProPhoto Photography Blog by NetRivet Sites
