Diane & Craig, Achnagairn House Wedding

I was very lucky to be chosen to photograph the wedding of local celebrity Diane Knox (Knoxy on Moray Firth Radio) and Craig Campbell (former Ross County star, now with Nairn County) last month at the fantastic Achnagairn House, Kirkhill, near Inverness.

It was a fantastic day, with just perfect weather conditions (not often I say that) and a great bunch of people, who really made me feel part of the family for the day! I don’t think I remember seeing a more excited bride than Diane, which made for great photographs, especially when she opened her present from Craig (what a smooth fella!). The couple were so good in front of the camera and really enjoyed it, which makes the job so much easier, although Craig did want too many kissing pictures for my liking. Altogether a fantastic day and I met lots of amazing people.Special thanks to bridesmaids Lucy and Stef who were a huge help and great posers as well.

Over to Diane for the next part:

We got our cake from Andrea Webster, not only did it look fantastic but tasted gorgeous – we had black and white cupcakes to suit our theme with a top tier.

Our florist was Angela Hunter, we always knew we wanted Angela as her style is so sophisticated and a bit different from normal wedding flowers.  We stuck with cream roses and calla lilies and Angela added some additional flowers to compliment.  Our table centres were nice and tall with sparkly black branches and crystal drops.

Caterer was John Lockhart – we can’t say enough good things about John and his team, they went above and beyond the call of duty and made the day a huge success.  We went for a buffet also, so our guests had lots of food!

Chair covers and styling came from Sitting Prettier, they transformed the Ballroom and were completely fantastic.

Ceremony Venue:  Achnagairn House

Reception venue: Achnagairn House

Dress:Hollywood Dreams, custom made

Shoes: Christian Louboutin, silver and sparkly!

Cake: Andrea Webster, see above

Rings: Colin Campbell, Inverness

Hair: Lucinda and Gemma at Halo

Make Up: The fabulous Stephanie Mcdonald at Halo, my bridesmaid J

Videographer: Callum Mackay from Invergordon

Others: Spud the Piper

The Shire – best band I’ve EVER heard at a wedding!

John the Prof and Ronnie on the fiddle and accordian

Craig Noble from MFR, DJ

What was your favourite moment of the day?

Walking down the aisle, I’ll never forget it.  Dad and I walked down the stairs at Achnagairn and Spud told us to walk slow and take it all in.  Mum and my brother Russell were piped in first to ‘Mhairi’s Wedding’, and then Spud came back for us.  He started ‘Highland Cathedral’ and we went for it – it was Craig’s choice of song and it was incredible.  He found it very emotional and I saw him look at me and have to look away.  My Dad and I enjoyed every minute of the walk, I just remember smiling from ear to ear when I saw all our friends and family, and then my gorgeous fiancé.  I was so happy to see him, but know that will always be a special moment for both my Dad and I, and Craig and I.

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

Enjoy every minute!  During the ceremony, meal and reception I stopped so many times to just look around and take it all in and so glad I did, it was an amazing feeling.  And be organised, the last week is always crazy no matter how well prepared you are but don’t stress the small things, on the day they don’t even matter.

Was there anything you’d have done differently?

Absolutely nothing, it was all perfect and beyond my expectations.

Any other stories or comments?

I had a lot of fun with my dress, it wasn’t what people expected from me!  It was massive and made me feel like a princess, great fun to dance with.  As soon as John saw it he knew we were going to get some fantastic pictures.  We had a great time with John, I’m really glad we did the pre-wedding shoot as we got to know him and his style and it really made us relax on the day.  I’d do it all again tomorrow