Archibald Photography Blog

Nicola and Liam met at a birthday party for Liam’s brother Calum; Nicola’s friend was friends with Calum’s wife.  They were together for four and a half years before they got married having lived together for two and a half of those years.

Liam proposed to Nicola on a secluded beach called Ardban near Applecross. He was very romantic and had hidden a note in the picnic blanket then he went down on one knee.  The couple had champagne and corn beef sandwiches for their picnic and the ring was a £5 ring from Argos which Nicola wore until they went to buy the real thing!

Liam and Nicola decided to get married at the Western House Hotel in Ayr as it was near Troon where Nicola was originally from and meant she could leave from her mum and dad’s house (the couple now live in Aberdeen).  They picked Western House Hotel as it has a good reputation (Winner of Scottish Hotel of the Year 2009 and Scottish Wedding Venue of the Year 2007, 2008 & 2009), it had accommodation for all their guests (most of whom had to travel to the wedding) and because it had a big enough dance floor.  Nicola told us that “Jean Kerr the wedding co-coordinator was great in helping us plan the big day.”

No wonder Nicola is still so keen on Troon – check out this gorgeous beach shot that Mark captured just before arriving at Nicola’s parents house:

Nicola had her hair done by Joe at Capello in Troon.  Joe was Nicola’s hairdresser when she lived in Troon and her Mum still goes there. Nicola told us “it was lovely to have my hair done by someone that knows me and the family so well and was able to provide a much needed glass of wine!  We then went next door to The Powder Room to get our makeup done.”

Nicola’s dress was by Ellis Bridals and she got it in Cuco Bridalwear, a lovely wedding shop in Troon. Nicola said “The staff there made choosing my dress a really lovely experience and even though I went to quite a few places in Aberdeen none came close to the one in Troon.” Nicola bought her veil online at The Wedding Veil Shop which she found great value for money. She also chose her tiara online – handmade by East Beach Design.

Flowers for the day came from Kirstie’s in Troon; again a family friend. Nicola told us “Kirstie did a wonderful job and again having someone you know doing it really brought a personal touch.” Nicola’s Aunt very kindly bought their cake for them from Sugar and Spice. As it was also Nicola’s Mum and Dad’s 40th Wedding Anniversary, the couple also bought them a cake from Sugar and Spice and thought both were great.

Cars for the big occasion from Waterside Cars and what a fantastic car they chose. Apparently Liam was in heaven when they went to visit the showroom as there were so many fantastic old cars to look at.

The couple were aware that choosing a photographer that they both felt comfortable with was going to be really important to them. They told us “we followed our hearts when we chose Mark at Archibald Photography.  He was great on the day, he really understood what we were looking for and that helped to put us at ease on the day.  My mum hasn’t stopped going on about how great he was!”

The day was such a fantastic success that Nicola struggles to chose her favourite part. However, she was really pleased by the reaction from their guests when they saw the couple doing their first dance. Nicola has decided that “five weeks of classes and a couple of private lessons to learn a routine really was worth it to hear the gasps when people realised we weren’t just going to be shuffling round the floor.”

Nicola’s cousin played the piano for them during the ceremony. Nicola told us “I had wanted a grand piano but it cost too much. Thankfully though, we hired a really good digital piano and it worked really well as after the ceremony the piano was moved outside to the band stand and Gilmour played away so the guests were entertained while we were getting our photo’s done.  We hadn’t planned it but it was a really nice touch!”

Nicola & Liam’s evening entertainment was provided by a band called Fudge Machine, who were, again, chosen via an internet search. They told us “we could not have been happier with them – they did a great job, my guests raved about them and the dance floor was never empty!”

There were plenty of laughter going on at the wedding. Nicola recalls “we definitely had a bit of a giggle when my garter fell down – thankfully not during the ceremony.  There were a couple of hiccups on the day like one of the ovens being broken but nothing major and nothing that spoiled it for us.”

In summary, the couple felt they “had an amazing day, the sun was out and everyone seemed to be having a good time.  Only wish it could have lasted longer.”

Here’s a small gallery of some of our favourite images from their day.  Please feel free to tag yourself in these images via our Facebook page :

Tags: award winning photography, Photography at Western House Hotel, wedding photographer, wedding photographer Edinburgh, wedding photographer Glasgow, wedding photography, Western House Hotel

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Weddings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.