Vikki & Glyn - 5 June 2010 - Dunfermline Abbey & Garvock House Hotel

What is it with relaxed, organised brides this year?!?! It makes me look back at my first wedding of last year where the service was supposed to start at 2 and the bridesmaids were barely dressed by ten past 2 - and they were only upstairs in the hotel!!

Vikki answered the door looking stunning - hair and make-up complete thanks to the lovely Val. All was calm and I got my camera out just in time for this the first shot of the day...Vikki arriving from the kitchen with a huge plate of ham sandwiches... all for her...only joking!



Vikki was so well organised and, despite lots of corsetting, everyone was dressed fairly quickly and ready to concentrate on Vikki...





We even managed time for photos in the garden before I left for the Abbey.



On arrival at the Abbey we got some shots with the boys - once we had finished the formal bits the nerves disappeared and they all relaxed back in to their more natural style - Vikki's mum Jean calls this the dancing shot!



Vikki arrived early in her fabulous VW Beetle Convertible with brother Grant, whilst the girls Jean, Liann, Stacey & Kim arrived in the VW Campervan giving us time for some photos outside the Abbey before the service:







Revd. Canon Paton performed a stunning service, relaxed, serious, fun - just perfect.





Our time at the Abbey was limited due to a wedding on our tails, so we abandoned group shots at the Abbey so we could focus on Vikki & Glyn and I had to scale the palace walls to get this shot that they wanted with Dunfermline spanning behind them over to the bridges...







Back to probably my favourite Dunfermline reception venue, Garvock House Hotel in their fabulous cars, courtesy of Ecosse Classic Wedding Cars. The first time I have seen a VW beetle convertible and campervan ushering people to and fro - but they looked fantastic and were surely one of the big talking points of the day, and the chauffeurs were faultless...







We slotted the group shots in, seeking shade away from the beating sun...






After a fabulous meal of fish and chips or chicken stuffed with haggis came the speeches, which were hilarious and revealing to say the least!! Whilst Glyn is still speaking to his best man Jacob, I doubt he would ever speak to me again if I recounted the stories online - but a few facial expressions surely say it all - it's Vikki's look of concern here that gets me!



and afterwards the "how could you?" shot...



Having spent all of our time with Vikki & Glyn using architecture, I suggested a quick 10 minute 'green background' shoot at Garvock...







which ended in the garden where we spotted a putting course. Asking if they would like me to usher their guests down and fetch some putters and balls I was met with a resounding yes! How Heidi - on pretty much the second or third shot managed a hole in one (from the 'rough'!!)I will never know, especially looking at the other more wayward failed attempts - but my attempts to convince her that tradition meant she now had to put her card behind the bar was met with lots of shushing and "no don't tell them that"!





After the cutting of their fabulous cake, complete with blue LEDs, Glyn led Vikki on to the dance floor for their first dance



before the party really started...thanks for this first one Anna...







All in all a fabulous day from start to finish, filled with fun and laughter all round.

And some lovely emails received the following day, these words from Vikki's mum...

"Hi Ruth

Just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and contribution to an amazing day yesterday for Vikki and Glyn. Thanks to you we also arrived early at The Abbey as you made sure the girls were all dressed and ready to go with plenty of time to spare which otherwise I am sure would not have happened.

Looking forward to seeing the result of all your hard work and even more so now as Vikki was telling me today about all the shots you took at The Abbey.

Thanks again Ruth. Vikki certainly made the right choice for her photographer.

Jean"

Thank you Jean - it was such a pleasure to be part of such a wonderful day!

Caroline & Kevin - Norton House Hotel - 8 May 2010

I was greeted by Caroline's dad on arrival at their house and it was another morning of organised calm. Caroline, her sisters and mum were being pampered in the conservatory



whilst dad was staying well out of the way in the kitchen, keeping everyone topped up with tea, lunch and champagne! It later materialised in his speech that he had been given a post it note with his instructions for the day one of them stating that he would be well outnumbered by 7 women in the house and he would be best to stay in the kitchen unless he had important tasks to do like lighting lavendar candles!!

The service was lovely with Caroline's sister performing a very emotional reading, that she just managed to get out through the tears and the Best Man getting the rings mixed up, which led to much laughter.





Outside the sun shone and the grounds at Norton are lovely so, group shots complete...



we attempted a romantic wander around the grounds, which was only slightly hampered by the kids charging up to the bride and groom thinking their photographs were finished, whilst another plonked themselves right in front of my zoom lens thinking I was finished as I was lying down on a bank - obviously taking a rest rather than trying to get a nice angle!!!







Stranded in Hong Kong, Caroline's cake maker could not get back to make the cupcakes she had wanted but her emergency replacement looked fabulous, covered in bright pink gerberas and topped with a mini Caroline & Kevin!



A lovely day, very intimate and full of fun - Caroline has one of the most stunning smiles and grinned from ear to ear all day long!

Victoria & Will's Wedding - 30 April 2010 - Balbirnie House Hotel

Mr first wedding at Balbirnie this year and as usual the sun was shining.

Victoria was getting ready at Balbirnie and all was calm and organised - the "not that long" train taking up a whole corner of the room!



Victoria looked stunning and I swear I have never seen a more tiny waist before - she could hardly fit her arms through the waist of the dress to step into!




The All American boys were up for anything before the service and we had great fun posing and jumping in their kilts.



The ceremony was held in The Orangery (outside being deemed a bit too chilly!) and performed by Humanist Celebrant Tim Maguire. The ceremony was very personal to Victoria and Will, with two of their close friends telling the story of how they met and their lives together so far... full of laughter and fun whilst observing the necessary reverence at the appropriate bits.





Group shots were done on Balbirnie's steps and filled with hysterics, generally stemming from people who were not used to wearing kilts!!



With the sun was beating down all day, Will ensured he would not dehydrate by contantly carrying a bottle of champagne around with him!







The speeches were excellent, heartfelt and funny and Victoria & Will presented a cake to Will's mum who shared her birthday with their wedding day.



As the happy couple stepped on to the dance floor for their first dance, the floor lit up with tiny hundreds of LEDs and looked sensational. After the first dance Victoria stood up to sing a surprise song to her new husband. After that you could hardly get her off the dance floor!







A beautiful day from start to finish.