Monthly Archives: November 2010

Helen & John, Whalton, Northumberland

This was my furthest travelled wedding of 2010, making the long trek down to Whalton, just outside Newcastle for the wedding of Helen Nicholson and John Campbell. The couple live in Dubai now, with Helen being from Northumberland originally, John is from Halkirk, Caithness. I travelled down on the Thursday evening so I could attend the rehearsal and check out the locations. It was a nice day for mid October, very mild and dry. I started off at Longhurst Hall, where I was hoping to get some pre wedding images of Helen and her dress, but unfortunately the girls ran late at the hairdressers so I had to shoot off to Whalton Church to get some pics of the guys. Whalton Church was a lovely little church, with lots of character, although a bit tight for photography, so I ended up taking up position at the back of the church.

After the ceremony we headed to Linden Hall, Longhorsley for the reception. John had arranged a surprise for Helen, and after we had done some photos with the car and an old style double decker bus, Helen’s horse Pepper turned up. Well he never turned up, someone brought him in a trailer, but there were a few tears shed as she was introduced to him. We got some lovely pictures of the three of them, before heading in for speeches, dinner and then the dance.

Sharron & Ben, Cruden Bay Wedding

Last month I travelled to Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, for the wedding of Sharron Cook and Ben MacDonald.  We had a fun pre wedding shoot a few months before, so I was really looking forward to the day, as I knew we would get some great images from the shoot. The wedding was at Cruden Parish Church, which is a stunning little place, with lots of potential for photography.  We started the day at Sharron’s parents home in Boddam, where the girls were all getting ready. From there I left for the church to photography Ben with his best men and ushers. After the ceremony I did a few shots with the happy couple outside the church – and some with their cool dog, Seth, who turned up in Highland dress -  before we joined the rest of the bridal party at the harbour at Boddam for some more fun. The weather was kind to us and it stayed dry. The reception was at Buchan Braes in Boddam. I stayed until the dance and had a really great day.

Suppliers: Cake – Cake affairs, Inverurie.  Stationary – Elegance Handmade Stationary www.aberdeenweddingstationery.co.uk.

Ceremony Venue:  Cruden Parish Church, Cruden Bay

Reception venue: Buchan Braes Costal Hotel

Dress: Moments Bridal, Fraserburgh

Shoes: Faith

Cake: Cake Affairs, Inverurie

Rings: Finnies, Aberdeen

Hair: Natalie @ The House, Great Western Road, Aberdeen

Make Up: Rae Mathieson

Stationery -  Elegance Handmade Stationary www.aberdeenweddingstationery.co.uk.

Chair Covers and Centre Pieces – Bonnie Events, Fraserburgh.

Flowers -  Ann Drouettes Florist

What was your favourite moment of the day?

I can’t choose one bit as the whole day was brilliant and we enjoyed every minute of it.

What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?

It’s your day so do what you want to do and be organised!

Was there anything you’d have done differently?

Nothing!  The day was perfect!

Elise & David Pre wedding shoot

I recently did a pre wedding shoot in Inverness with Elise Clayton and David McDonald. The couple are from Glasgow, but are getting married at Bunchrew House next month. David was in Inverness through his work and was involved in a music festival at Eden Court Theatre. That seemed like the perfect place to do the shoot, and it was a lot of fun as the building has such a contrast between traditional stone and very modern architecture.

Jody & Muir, Cawdor Church

Jody Freer and Muir Morton were married last month at Cawdor Church. It was a mixed day, with a few rain showers but I think we hit it lucky as it stayed nice for the main parts of the day. Jody got ready at her family home in Inverness and I was there to photograph the preparations. The reception was held at the Drumossie Hotel, but before we went there, we headed to the very beautiful Cawdor Castle, for some photography in the grounds.

Florist:  Amanda Call

Ceremony Venue:  Cawdor Church

Reception venue:  Drumossie Hotel

Dress:  Anne Priscilla Bridal, dress designed by Sassi Holford

Headpiece:  Acacia II by Jenny Packham

Shoes:  Dune, Glasgow

Cake:  Croquembouche and Chocolate Cake by Harry Gows

Rings:  Kenneth Moore, Silvercraft, Inverness

Hair:  Sandra’s Unisex Hair Salon, Dingwall

Make Up:  Susanna Russell

Cars:  Highland Vintage Cars, Inverness

Videographer:  Stan Williamson – ManStan DVD

Band:  Rhythm n Reel

Casino:  Top Hat Entertainment

What was your favourite moment of the day?
It’s hard to pick one moment as the whole day was amazing, but arriving at the church, seeing everyone and then walking down the aisle to Muir would have to be my favourite moment.

What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?
Make sure you enjoy your day, as it passes too quickly.

Was there anything you’d have done differently? The day was perfect, I would not have changed anything.

Any other stories or comments? I was a bit stressed the last few days building up to the wedding, but the night before, I decided too relax and enjoy the day, if anything had been forgotten it was too late to sort by then.  I’m so glad I did, there is just so much going on around you on the day and you want to take in every moment, relax, smile and laugh, as it truly is the best day of your life.

Maja & Steven, Glenskirlie Wedding Photography

I was at Glenskirlie Castle last month for the wedding of Maja Nedic and Steven Stirrat. The couple who live in Serbia were over to get married at this wonderful venue near Stirling. It was a beautiful day, bright sunshine and not a breath of wind. The wedding was organised by Cheryl at Premier Wedding Planners Scotland, and it was great to work with Cheryl again.

A great day, lots of fun and a great venue.

Suppliers:

Ceremony Venue:  Glenskirlie House and Castle

Reception venue: Glenskirlie House and Castle

Dress: dress, tiara and veil hired from June’s brides, Glasgow

Shoes: Clarks

Cake: M&S

Rings: Ortak, Glasgow

Hair: Ramilia, Glasgow

Make Up: Ramilia, Glasgow

Videographer: No, my sister in law is a bit of paparazzi, so she was filming everything.

Others:

-    Flowers: Irene’s florist
-    Ceremony: Humanist celebrant: Peter MacDonald
-    Music: Christine Sparks Band
-    Hen party: Goes Well (pole dancing)
-    Wedding planner: Premier Wedding Planners Scotland

What was your favourite moment of the day?

Everything really: from ceremony itself to the absolutely great party we had afterwards. Everybody was up on the dance flour all the time. The band was fantastic!
Even lighting lanterns at 2am was fantastic! All men were in kilts (and were all feeling proud), including all the foreigners. Really nice!

What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?
Plan a lot in advance. We have started planning the wedding 3 months before the date, and have had lot of stress. Thank god we have hired a fantastic wedding planner Cheryl, who took a lot of stress away and have been incredible help to us. We wouldn’t even think of lots of things if it wasn’t for her. Also, to all the brides: remember to tell everyone not to ask you anything or expect anything from you on your big day, because you won’t be yourself.

Was there anything you’d have done differently?
Yes, put aside more time to plan things. As for the ceremony and the party, we wouldn’t change a thing. It was absolutely perfect!

Cara & Michael, Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness

The Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness was the venue for Cara Moore and Michael Henderson’s big day. Michael is originally from Thurso, and the couple live in Inverness. Unfortunately there was a lot of rain on the day so we were limited in what we could do and where we could go for pictures, but we hit it lucky and managed to get a window of sunshine to head out to the railway viaduct at Culloden and the Clava Cairns for a quick shoot. The wedding itself was a lovely intimate ceremony with lots of emotion and very few dry eyes in the room, myself included. It is such a great feeling to be part of days such as this, and makes me feel so lucky to have such a great job, where you get to share moments like these.  It was good to see so many familiar faces as well, with a lot of Thurso people being part of the day, and this led to lots of fun and laughs throughout the day. A really great day!

Ceremony Venue:  Kingsmill Hotel

Reception venue:  Kingsmill Hotel

Dress:  Sophia Tolli From Dress to Impress in Inverness

Shoes:  Dorothy Perkins

Cake:  Ros Campbell and Debbie Coghill

Rings:  Ernest Jones and H Samuels

Hair:  Louise at The Therapy Spa

Make Up:  Eileen at The Therapy Spa

Videographer:  Alan Sutherland


What was your favourite moment of the day?
The whole day was perfect!!  The morning was so relaxed.  I had a great time with my 2 bestest little sisters and my mum.  Getting dressed though and walking down the aisle had to be the best bit.  So nervous but so excited.  An amazing feeling!!!

What advice would you give to other brides planning their wedding?
Dont stress about the little things.  Its the people there that make the day so special not the immaterial things.  Enjoy every bit about it as it passes so quickly!!

Was there anything you’d have done differently? Nothing at all.  My day was perfect.
I just want to thank everyone again for making it the best day.  I want to thank everyone who stayed on Saturday too.  You guys made the weekend more than we ever imagined it would be!!  Thank you so so much xx

S o c i a l   M e d i a