First, I went to Ukraine for two weeks to continue with my work over there. You can see some of the latest work on my website www.simoncroftsphoto.com. Immediately after that, Sylwia and I both went over to Fotofest in Houston – it’s the world’s biggest festival of photography and happens on once every two years so we didn’t want to miss it!

And last week, we both went to Torun for the opening of Sylwia’s exhibition at the Wozownia Gallery. I hadn’t been to Torun before, but I was bowled over by it – a beautiful medieval city, very well preserved. And just behind the gallery is the house of Coepernicus, who lived in the city. The gallery itself was in a beautiful historic building in the centre of town, and as I hope you can see, the exhibition looked great! Some pictures from the opening party:-

When I arrived at Lorraine’s parents house to photograph the buzz of the preparations the rain just became solid. And it never really subsided. Matt’s cat Tiberius very sensibly did not want to venture out from under the duvet to have his portrait taken.

Lorraine and Matt were ready to face the forecast – you can see umbrellas in the pictures – but the mood was full of sunshine! They even braved the downpour to get a picture they were particularly keen with a panorama of Stirling, clouds parted just for the right moment to reveal The Wallace monument in the distance!

The rest of the day was spent cosily tucked in the Balbirnie House with their friends and family. When Simon and I were leaving the party was in full swing at it’s spectacularly lit dancefloor.

Sylwia

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All of which makes it a great location for a wedding! That, and the fact that it is right in the heart of historic Edinburgh. Chani and Mark’s wedding was a very personal occasion, a gathering of close friends and family with a wonderful atmosphere. And an enormous amount of effort had been put into the details – beautiful sketches for the table layout and favours, and lovely flowers by Pollination. But Mark definitely stole the show with his dinner speech, which was all delivered in rhyming verse (of his own composition of course!) and despite the emotions and events of the day he managed to remember it all and deliver it flawlessly!

And as you can see, amongst it all we found time to go for a little wander in Queen Street Gardens:

Charlene and Ross had clearly put an enormous amount of thought and care into all the details. And there was a distinct campervan theme to the day – The bridesmaids and groomsmen arrived in a VW camper, and after the wedding Charlene and Ross set off in an adventure in another, apparently slightly more modern camper.

The weather for the day was distinctly touch and go, as indeed it was for much of this summer. It was far from clear that we were going to be able to get out to take  a few portraits as there was already a light rain and the forecast was for flooding. Despite the wet ground, Charlene braved the risk of the odd grass stain to the dress, and we made it down to the little lake, and managed to take our pictures before the rain set in.

All in all, it was such a happy day, and with a clearly tightly knit family, that the rain didn’t spoil the mood one iota, and the full jollity of the festivities carried on inside the marquee uninterrupted into the night!

Wedderburn Castle, nears Duns in the Scottish Borders, provides a grand setting for a wedding. In Scotland, you can never guarantee glorious weather, but one thing that you can be fairly sure of is that it will be changable. And so it was on Natasha and James’ wedding day. At times, the rain poured, which didn’t really matter, as Wedderburn has a lovely enough interior to keep all the guests – and the photographers – happy all day long. However, when there was a temporary lull in the rain, we took the opportunity to nip outside to take a few photos. Natasha was brave about her wedding dress in the weather, but soldiered on without complaint (and thanks to an umbrella gallantly wielded by James, all was well with the dress).

There was a particular wealth of delicate detail at the wedding, reflecting no doubt James’ and Natasha’s design background, and an enormous amount of effort and attention to detail. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and, as we headed off after the meal, we have no doubt that the festivities carried on in like fashion well after we left!

We were also so grateful to you for being so patient with us, two people who are not natural posers in front of the camera at all, and had been nervous about that aspect of the day. Also, we were so impressed that you managed to get all the photos done so quickly at our request, so that we could really get involved in the party. All too often we have been involved in weddings where the bride and groom seem to disappear for an hour!

So thank you. We have a wonderful memory of our day which we will cherish forever.

Many thanks again,

Caroline & Charles”

Caroline and Charles chose the church of St. Michael’s with its iconic spire, next to Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, for their ceremony. The reception was a little way away, in a marquee on the foreshore of the Firth of Forth at Dalmeny. The weather was looking distinctly blustery, and the location could have been chilly if the wind had been in the wrong direction, so we had our fingers and toes firmly crossed for several days before. But come the day of the wedding, the wind though strong was from the West so that the marquee was sheltered by the trees, the morning rain dispersed, and as the reception began the sun came out right on cue, allowing the guests to take full advantage of the spectacular location.

As you can see from the photos, this was a wedding that had tremendous preparation, with so many beautiful details. One of the highlights was the that a selection of guests were nominated to be carvers, involving fancy chef-like headgear, and a tremendous amount of hilarity. In fact, hilarity seemed to be a feature of the whole reception, everyone clearly had a fantastic time!

When we met up a week or two before the wedding, Fiona was just heading off on a mountain biking trip, and we were all crossing our fingers and our toes that she wouldn’t break any bones in the last few days before the wedding. Happily she survived intact, and the wedding day itself went perfectly, with ideal roasting weather to match, and an touching and humorous speech from Fiona’s sister. And there was so much fun being had on the dance floor that it was all that we could do to hold ourselves back from stopping taking pictures and joining in.

So, thank you to Clare and David for giving us that opportunity! Clare and David’s day was made even more special by the quiet presence of an extra member of the wedding party, in the form of a bump. There was an extra surprise for Clare as, unbeknownst to her, her father had arranged a classic VW Campervan to transport her to House for an Art Lover. All in all, it was a splendid day, and not only Clare and David, but clearly all the guests – and the photographers to boot – had a wonderful time!