At the end of October I was shooting the wedding day of Natalie & Jamie at the popular - Ghillie Dhu in Edinburgh. I had photographed at least one previous wedding at this location so knew the lighting of the venue quite well. 

The Ghillie Dhu is a traditional Scottish Bar/Restaurant located in the city centre with a upstairs function suite that is very popular for Edinburgh weddings.  Beautifully restored in 2010, it's lavish decor and high ceilings make it a lovely choice for a traditional Scottish wedding.

Natalie & Jamie's was an evening wedding so almost all my shots were taken indoors at the venue. The main entrance and staircase leading to the function room proving to be the most popular spots with wedding photographers.

Natalie & Jamie had a very laid back approach to what they wanted from their big day, which made my job a lot easier.  I could be less intrusive and focus on capturing moments rather than interrupting the guests, which is exactly what I like to show in my photography. Low light venues can make candid photography difficult but with a bit of forward planning and knowledge of the venue things turned out very well on the night.

After the lovely ceremony, all the guests enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere before the ceilidh and dance performances began, which certainly was not relaxed! Natalie herself dances in Barocco Tribal.  A Tribal Fusion Belly Dance performance troupe based in Edinburgh.  After the lively ceilidh there was a surprise performance from the troupe (pictured above and below) which proved a massive success and definitely not something seen at a wedding reception that often! 

I'm looking forward to shooting another similarly laid back wedding like Natalie & Jamie's, a very different experience and approach to the traditional wedding and very enjoyable.

In early September, Richie and I traveled to Ayr to photograph the wedding of Lynn & Graeme at the lovely Brig o'Doon House, home to Robert Burns famous poem Tam o'Shanter.  One of the best places for a traditional Scottish wedding, we were spoilt for choice at the house with it's high ceilings and spectacular decor.  The grounds similarly impressive.  Here I will include a few of my favourite images taken on the day.

One of the favourite spots for wedding photography here is of course the famous late medieval bridge - Brig o'Doon, which is featured in Robert Burns poem. We had literally 15 minutes to shoot here due to a tight wedding day schedule, so were determined to make the most of it. Of course, it started to rain just as we headed to the bridge. Funnily enough it was that kind of rain with sunshine you only get in Scotland! This kind of weather always provides interesting results as the lighting is usually dramatic, and despite our equipment getting wet, these were the best shots of the day.

I do like shooting the occasional wedding as a two man job with Richie. It provides the most comprehensive coverage of your day and not a moment is missed. It also provides a coverage of your day which one photographer could never possibly do.

Shooting with a mix of traditional and contemporary styles we have one photographer shooting as the lead photographer and the other capturing the candid moments from afar. This non intrusive style of photography we think creates the complete wedding photography package. In the next month or so I will be setting up such a package on my website, so please watch this space!

So far it's been a great year for wedding photography. Over the Summer months I have been working alongside my friend and fellow wedding photographer Richie Laurie with great success. We have been shooting at some great wedding venues such as The Caves in Edinburgh, Norwood House Hotel in Aberdeen, Archerfield House just outside North Berwick and Brig O'Doon House in Ayr.

I thought I would share a few images from myself and Richie's wedding last month at Archerfield House, North Berwick. A secluded location that features a luxurious stately home, which has to be one of the best in the country.

The Bride and Groom - Sarah & Craig, were married at Cramond Kirk first before heading to Archerfield for their reception. They had the run of the house with their family and friends which seemed like a fantastic way to spend your wedding day, not forgetting the free bar included. 

We were spoiled for choice for photo opportunities at Archerfield, my favourite spot being the grand ballroom (pictured below) where the speeches and dancing would take place, the whole house was luxurious so photographs in any room looked fantastic.  Archerfields grounds were also very impressive. The front courtyard and driveway being ideal for a lot of the group shots that day.

The day ended with a live band and lots of energetic dancing from the excited guests. A great day and superb location for a wedding, I hope I'll be going back!

On the 1st September I was lucky enough to get a spot on the roof of Boots on Princes Street for photographing the fireworks concert, that marks the end of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I realised I was a lot closer than I thought on arriving there, was a good thing I packed the super wide angled lens. 

The weather conditions weren't the best with very strong winds and the wind chill was biting.  I didn't realise how strong the smoke off the fireworks would be, I found this affected the shots a lot. Apart from that this is probably the most head on view of the castle you can get at a height so I shouldn't complain,  it was an awesome sight!  Below are a few of my favourite images from the night...

Hello there and welcome to my new website which is going live today, Tuesday 3rd September! There is a few pages that need a little tweaking but I am now happy enough for it to go live and share it with the public. 

With this blog you can keep up to date with what I am working on at the moment as well as featuring some of my favourite images from Weddings and Events this year.

Please note my 'Client Area' is not available yet but will be coming very soon and will be a online preview for all weddings and events, with the ability to preview your photos and order prints or canvas'. 

Watch this space!