Archibald Photography Blog

Duncan and Cat met at Marischal College in Aberdeen when at Medical School; Cat met Duncan working as an anatomy model.  Duncan’s proposal to Cat took place at Sign no 29 on the Point de Vue piste at the Grand Moutets ski resort in Argentiere, near Chamonix, France during a blizzard.

Duncan and Cat decided to get married under the Great Yew Tree at Ormiston which they told us is “not only a beautiful and tranquil place but one which is very special to both of us”. Duncan further explained, “It is an ancient tree that was preached under by John Knox and George Wishart during the Reformation”.

Cat’s dress was made in a small boutique in Alcester, not far from their home in Warwickshire.  Cat told us “I chose my dress because it was adaptable so it wouldn’t drag on the ground at the wedding venue and I got married in my wedding wellies.”  Groomswear was a kilt was from The Kilt Shop in Musselburgh.  Duncan bought Cat some jewellery from Element Bespoke Jewellery in Birmingham which Cat told us “really complimented the dress without Duncan knowing it” and Cat’s hair and makeup was by Michelle Whittaker from Earlston.

One of Duncan’s colleagues piped for them and the final tune he played before Cat went under the tree was ‘Mhairi’s Wedding’.  The couple’s evening reception took place at Macdonald Marine Hotel in North Berwick and the soundtrack to the evening was by ceilidh band Darloch which Cat and Duncan described as “brilliant”.  Duncan told us “we chose the Gay Gordon’s as our first dance because of the name; it seemed appropriate as Cat’s first dance as a Gordon”.

Cat and Duncan explained, “There was no overall theme to the wedding but we did have some ski related things like our cake (supplied by 3D Cakes) and our tables were named after pistes at the ski resort where we got engaged.”  Marie White supplied the flowers and according to Cat “we wanted something bright, colourful yet simple for the flowers and they were perfect”.

Duncan told us that “Archibald Photography came highly recommended to us by my usher” as Gareth and Marianne’s wedding had been photographed by Mark in 2007.  Cat and Duncan told us, “Our favourite image is the wide angled shot of us under the tree; we are surrounded by the mass of branches showing how high it is. We also love lots of the pictures of the kids; Donnie spinning Coco (the monkey) by his tail and Juliet having run to hug Duncan”.

Duncan and Cat wanted to have a small and intimate ceremony despite having hundreds of friends and family to invite to their reception.  They had just their closest friends and family at the ceremony which worked perfectly for them with such a special and unusual outdoor wedding venue. Cat told us “everything was perfect, even the weather; the rain just started as we went in for our reception.  We had our ‘mad’ idea and stuck with it and had exactly the venue and ceremony we wanted.  It worked perfectly.”

One aspect of Cat and Duncan’s wedding which didn’t go entirely to plan involved a succession of wedding cars.  The first car broke down after their ceremony and couldn’t be restarted, they were then taken to the Macdonald Marine Hotel in a guest’s car (requiring Mark to do some pursuit driving!) and finally a replacement vintage car was brought to the hotel to be used for photos!

Cat and Duncan, we loved being part of your unique and special wedding day.  You didn’t let the slightly thing faze you including the unexpected car trouble and unwell family. Here are some of our favourite images of your wedding: