Alison & George

I've been busy getting the images ready to show Alison and George who are honeymooning in Italy right now and want to post a few here as they are so beautiful! This was the wedding at Wedderburn Castle near the small village of Duns in the Scottish Borders. It started off quite dull and grey but as the afternoon went on, the clouds cleared and it was a glorious evening! The wedding ceremony was in Edrom at 5pm so I spent the whole afternoon at the castle taking pictures of everyone getting ready. There was clay pigeon shooting at midday and then traditional afternoon tea for all the guests! Alison was stunning and looked so beautiful as she emerged from the castle in the late afternoon sun! The groomsmen were all in grey morning suits and looked extremely dapper! It was a very small and intimate wedding as all the guests and wedding party had flown in from The States a few days before. I love small weddings - they have such a happy, cosy vibe to them.

After a quintessentially British dinner cooked by the marvellous chef Jules, Alison and George had a private first dance in one of the magnificent rooms in the castle. There was just the three of us there and it was all very emotional - it was one of those 'never forget' moments!!!

I must stop as I'm welling up again! Here are some of the best images from the day...enjoy!

Last post - for today anyway!

Right - here's my exciting news! Well, its exciting for me anyway!

One of my weddings (from April) has been chosen to be featured in the Real Life Weddings magazine which is the sister title of the popular Scottish Wedding Directory. It will be in the shops in October and I am very excited as you can imagine. The couple are Katy & Graeme and they got married at The Church of the Holy Rude and then afterwards at Stirling Castle. They have been interviewed for the feature and I don't know any details of what they said so it will be a real surprise for me to read the article!

My second piece of exciting news is that the Scottish Wedding Show is on this weekend (15th-16th September) at the SECC. I am exhibiting as always on stand 413a which is in the top right hand corner of the hall. Please come and say hello if you get the chance. I always have a selection of my favourite prints on display as well as a slideshow on a screen and for those with weary legs - a nice comfy couch to sit on! I won't be there on the Saturday as I am shooting a wedding in North Berwick but Jason will be holding the fort and I'll be there on Sunday!!

The third piece of news is that my hair colour has had a dramatic change from blonde to red! Not really sure why but it seemed a good idea last week! Nobody has recognised me since - its really quite funny! Sorry - no pictures will be posted of said hair colour!

Michelle & David

Silly me - I knew there were some images waiting to be posted! I shot a lovely wedding at the end of August for a gorgeous couple called Michelle & David. They had booked me years ago - or so it seems so it was great that their day had finally come!

Michelle had planned the whole day with perfect precision and judging by the amount of smiling she did, I'd say it all went to plan!

They got married in Dowanvale Free Church in the West End of Glasgow and Michelle's Dad (who is a minister) took the sermon. It was really lovely and one of the hymns was sung in Gaelic. It was so haunting as there was no music in the church. After that, everyone went downstairs for a sumptuous finger buffet! I love buffets but opted not to dive in and demolish a plate of very delicious looking sausage rolls! Instead, I just took some rather delicious photos!!! Here are some of my favourites!!! Oh and the reception was at Seamill Hydro so we had lots of fun on the beach! I'm back at Seamill on the 22nd of this month and can't wait!!!

F xxx

p.s I didn't ask the usher to jump in the air!!

oops!

I did it again! I have been so busy that I haven't had time to draw breath, never mind update my blog! Don't worry - during the quieter winter months I won't be able to stop blogging!!!

So, the reason I am so busy is this - I have shot 2 weddings during both of the last two weekends! I am shattered but it's been fun! I made a decision last year not to take any double weekend bookings but two weddings crept in as the people were just too nice to turn down! On the 1st of September, Karen and Andy tied the knot in Aberfoyle Church and then had an amazing reception in Karen's parents magnificent house on the banks of Loch Ard! They had the biggest marquee I had ever seen with a fabulous star light ceiling!!! Wow! The day after I whizzed down to Wedderburn Castle in the Borders to photograph Alison and George's Wedding. Alison and George are from Chicago and had brought their close friends and family with them to help them celebrate! It was a gorgeous wedding and the sun shone all evening for them.

Last weekend on the Friday, I shot Elaine and Martyn's wedding at Glenskirlie Castle which was fab. Elaine looked amazing and Martyn wore a traditional Welsh kilt which was really different. It was a very relaxed and happy day! We managed to squeeze in a pillow fight in The Honeymoon Suite and the pictures are brilliant! The day after it was Marianne and Steve's day with the most beautiful ceremony at Glasgow Cathedral and then a big party afterwards at St Andrews in the Square. The locations of the cathedral and the reception venue are both very urban with little or no greenery or parkland nearby so we had agreed that the pictures I would take would reflect this and not disguise it! It worked a treat and I can't wait to post some of their gorgeous pictures! You'll need to wait a little while longer to see shots form these weddings as I am taking my time working through them all!

Phew! I'm exhausted just talking about those weddings but what amazes me is the diversity and uniqueness of the weddings I am part of. Every week I attend a happy celebration but each one is so different from the one before. All my clients have such great taste and ideas to make their day so special. From intimate weddings on islands in the wilds of Scotland to the most amazing Castles or Stately Homes to stylish house parties...what other job combines such diverse locations with the rewarding task of working with people who are blissfully happy?!!! I love it!!

I have to sign off now but will be back with some exciting news later!

F x

Viva la France

I know I haven't even touched on our amazing holiday in France so thought I'd blog, just a little about how marvellous it all was!

We had opted to visit a part of France that we hadn't visted before and had read about the regions called Poitou Charente and Charente Maritime, in the western side about half way down! We also decided to drive this year so that I could shop for bits and pieces for the house and the new office we have built. I love the French style and everything is so much cheaper. Jason thinks we could have done with a trailer to cart everything back but we managed to squash it all in!

Anyway, we had rented a farmhouse with our friends in a tiny hamlet called La Roche. The nearest towns to us were Saintes www.ot-saintes.fr/gbsainteshistorique.htm, St Jean d'Angely www.angely.net and Cognac www.westernfrancetouristboard.com/cognac.html all of which were so interesting and very different from eachother. My favourite was Cognac and we went there a couple of times. To think it houses all the Cognac producers, it is in fact a very small town. I found it all fascinating and we visited Le Domaine Rémy Martin which was just amazing. The whole place is massive with cellars and huge warehouses filled with barrels of Cognac. You can smell it in the air and just feel that something special is being created there! I could go on and on about it but won't! Just visit the website www.remy.com/ and read about this fascinating drink and brand for yourself.

Back at the farmhouse, we had a pool which was great and despite many trips to neighbouring towns, we managed lots of sun drenched days relaxing at the pool. The boy loved it!

I don't want to blog forever about the holiday, suffice to say, it is a gorgeous area of France for a holiday with so much to see and do but it's peaceful and very very pretty! We will definitely be back!

I haven't even mentioned the wine...better not, so here are some of my favourite holiday pics!

Castaway!

So...at long last I've found a wee minute to blog about the wedding on the island in the middle of a loch in Glencoe!

It was brilliant and I had such an amazing time. The weather was spectacular and let's face it, Glencoe can be pretty miserable, but the sun was blazing and we were all sunburned by the end of the day! The scenery was spectacular and it was nice seeing the area from a different perspective for a change.

Myself, Jane and Keith the piper set sail in a little motor boat laden down with our equipment and a hamper of goodies for after the ceremony. When we arrived on the island the nettles and weeds had taken over and after scrambling up the seaweed covered rocks, Keith had to beat a path through the nettles with an oar from the boat! Next came the groom, Igor, in a rowing boat and he laid everything out on the beach ready for the post ceremony party! Then came the parents who had been invited at the last minute. Igor's parents had flown in from New York the day before! They were all bemused by the unique location but agreed that it was an amazing spot to have a wedding!

Then came Caz in the motor boat and Keith piped her progress from the mainland to the island. It was wildly romantic and I captured it all in detail for them to remember forever. Caz wore a fabulous vintage gown that she had lovingly restored herself and a simple bouquet of roses. She didn't see the need for shoes and was barefoot the whole day. Ron was their Humanist celebrant and the ceremony was really lovely. Next came champagne, oatcakes, cheese and fruit on the beach and it was just perfect! I can't describe how amazing the whole day was and we all left the island about 5pm feeling as if something magical had just happened. Igor rowed Caz into the sunset and Igor's dad left by kayake!

I have posted just a handful of images from this fabulous wedding but there are loads of stunning shots! Caz and Igor and their little girl Ruby are leaving for New York next week so I'm glad they have lots of very Scottish memories of their wedding!

we're back!

phew! we are now back from France and we had a brilliant time. Everything was just perfect and it was oh so relaxing. I did take lots of pictures so will post some in the next couple of days. I can't quite believe the holiday is over but reality has hit home this week! I came home to a ton of emails and post so its been a busy few days trying to sort through them all. In between that I have managed to squeeze in two weddings!


I shot a beautiful wedding on Saturday at http://www.ballochneck.com/ and although it didn't stop lashing of rain all day, they still had a wonderful day and the images I've taken are really beautiful! Ballochneck is an amazing estate in Stirlingshire and the house is just amazing. The owners are Fiona and Donnie Allan and they are just the best hosts! They have this stunning Victorian Conservatory where the ceremony is held. Its filled with lush plants and even has a little pond with a resident frog! The roof was dripping and the rain was battering off the roof and it was just so romantic! I enjoyed every bit of it!


Laura was stunning in a vintage style dress and Andrew looked so smart in his morning suit. Here are some of my favourite images from their day. Look out for their Victorian cake topper; it's adorable!

The second wedding I shot this week was Caz and Igor's unique wedding on the island in the middle of Loch Leven! It was fantastic and I had such a brilliant time. I can't begin to descibe it as it was more of an adventure than just a wedding! More about that in my next post!

Fiona Xx