After the ceremony, the four of us went for a stroll through the city, it was a lovely happy relaxed time, popping into interesting places and having fun snapping some creative pictures – doing what we enjoy doing. And amongst it all we went into a pub on the Royal Mile for a drink. Incredibly, amidst all the freezing weather in March, Katy and David cleverly managed to choose the one day that was glorious sunshine and warm!:-

It was a gorgeous sunny day, when the mixture of great light, location and a happy couple all came together at the right moment. Here is a selection of photos from the wedding dress part of the shoot. Part 2 coming soon!:-

Another thing that the day also had in bucketloads was rain! This must have been one of the wettest days of the winter. I mentioned in the previous blog post, winter weddings are definitely a real challenge for the photographer. It becomes dark much earlier, there is a high chance of bad weather, and even if it is dry the possibilities of going out are time-limited by the fact that it is going to be bitterly cold. So chances to use natural light are limited or maybe even non-existent. We decided to think of this, not as a disadvantage, but as a chance to think about things differently – to use the opportunities we had to take photographs in a different way from the way we might photograph a summer wedding.

At Bethany and John’s wedding it was near-impossible to step outside into the rain and darkness, so for taking portraits of the two of them we decided to concentrate on taking pictures inside instead. With a highly cooperative Minister at the church, Bethany suggested we might be able to stay behind after the ceremony and take pictures inside the church itself, especially as Bethany’s Dad had gone to a lot of effort decorating the church with spectacular lanterns, and there were also festive Christmas trees around. Bethany had also meticulously hand made the bouquets herself. We’d never tried a portrait session inside the church before, but it worked perfectly. As you can see, Bethany and John were very natural and looked very relaxed – and there was something of the James Bond about John in his dinner jacket. Later that evening, we also took some portraits in a luxurious bedroom in Glenbervie House, which gave a totally different look to the pictures, and again a great chance for us to experiment.

Winter weddings are by their nature tricky for the photographer – in mid-December there is always going to be a much shorter of period of daylight than in the summer, and of course it’s much chillier outside. At Becky and David’s wedding at Roxburghe House Hotel near Kelso, you can see from the ice in the puddles that it was freezing! But Becky and David also had a late ceremony time, so that we knew that by the time the ceremony was over, it would already be dark. This meant quite a different approach to taking their portraits, experimenting and having fun. Having a new situation and a new challenge is good for us sometimes, and I think the results were refreshingly different!

Becky and David started preparing for their wedding a long time in advance, and the conservatory room where the ceremony took place had the most beautiful decorations and lighting. Becky had begun growing eucalyptus trees a year or more in advance to form an arch under which they would be married, and by evening the room was glittering with candles and reflections. There were plenty of beautiful details for us to photograph, and Becky and David’s wedding presented us with an interesting and fun challenge. They were great sports – going out into the cold, Becky managing to keep upright on the grass and even dance in beautifully high heeled shoes!

Jo and Doug were no strangers to us – we photographed Jo’s brother’s Andy’s wedding to Kate at Broxmouth Park last year. Kate was due to be the Chief Bridesmaid and Jo and Doug’s wedding, so we were looking forward to seeing Kate and Andy again. That wasn’t to be – because Kate went into labour just hours before the wedding and gave birth a few hours after the ceremony!

The ceremony went off without a hitch in the beautiful interior of the Signet Library, with a handfasting as part of the ceremony. After the speeches, we headed off with Jo and Doug into the city streets for a few photos. And so into the evening festivities – the grand hall upstairs was the perfect setting for the meal and then the vigorous dancing under the Cupola. All in all, a wonderful day to remember.

The day was a perfectly happy and relaxed one, the apparent effortless and seamless transition from one part of the day to the next representing no doubt an enormous amount of hard work and foresight in the preceding months.

After the ceremony at St. Michael’s, Linlithgow, we met Siobhan and John at Dundas Castle’s boathouse to take a few portraits. The last rays of the setting sun was the perfect compliment to the autumn leaves.

With perfect timing, just as everyone headed to dinner in the marquee, the golden light transformed into the first snow shower of the year. Roddy Deans the piper gave a brilliant and expressive rendition of Burn’s “Address to a Haggis”. And the evening dancing was kicked off with what has to be the most spectacular first dance we have ever seen!

Emma and Alan’s ceremony was held in the house , and the reception moved to the marquee where there was a fantastic hog roast, and a wealth of beautiful details prepared by Emma and Alan – as you can see from the pictures!