Amazing day at Dundas Castle yesterday. It hung in the balance for a while but in the end we went for it…OUTDOOR CEREMONY! A first for Dundas Castle and what a success.
Lisa looked almost impossibly georgeous and simply took Nadeem’s breath away as she appeared around the side of the beautiful castle. I love the freedom of an outdoor ceremony as it gives me room to shoot and move around unnoticed a little more than usual. Can’t wait to show you all the photographs. Watch this space!
Chris and Cheryl originally met at a mutual friends’ birthday night out at the Cathouse in Glasgow 3 years ago. As Cheryl told us, “We instantly communicated in the loud rock club and later arranged a date. We already had a mutual taste in music covered so the rest was easy.” Chris and Cheryl were both very interested in getting married and four months later Chris proposed.
Chris proposed to Cheryl over looking the Rest and Be Thankful near Loch Lomond where Cheryl had told Chris for the first time that she loved him. It was very hard to hide a secret from Cheryl and when Chris had asked what her favourite restaurant was she knew something was up. It worked out well for both of them since Chris was having trouble choosing a ring and Cheryl then got to choose the perfect ring from Mr Harold and Son in Glasgow.
Cheryl informed us that “our chosen venue Dundas Castle was a bit of a happy accident. We had held off on looking for a venue but it was still on our minds. While out one day on one of our road trips, we found ourselves lost round the south Queensferry area and as we were trying to find our bearings we both noticed a castle through the trees and instantly felt drawn to it. One internet search later and a phone call and we found ourselves standing in one of the most fairytale looking rooms we had ever seen. It was just us down to a tee. We booked the venue the same day.” (www.dundascastle.com)
The wedding day itself ran smoothly and the rain stayed off for photographs outside. The couple were so glad they had the opportunity for photos outside with such an amazing venue and felt the photos turned out great. Once inside the rain began to pour but a few hours of dancing later, Cheryl & Chris decided to take the risk and go for a walk out in the rain to get some fresh air. Cheryl told us “on our walk outside alone in the quiet we could see a man approaching from the distance with a brolly for us. It was Bob who worked at the castle and by giving us the brolly we were able to survive the Scottish weather and enjoy some time together a little longer. Surprisingly the dress was not ruined on our walk”.
Cheryl’s dress was by UK designer Stephanie Allin (www.oneandonly.co.uk) and purchased from Eleganza Sposa in Glasgow (www.eleganza.co.uk) and her shoes were from The Accessory Boutique (www.theaccessoryboutique.com)
The flower arrangements were all created by Lilium Florist (www.lilium-florist.co.uk) and hair and make up was done by Alexis Miller (www.alexismake-up.com)
Cheryl instantly fell in love with Archibald Photography at the Wedding Ideas Fair at the George Hotel in Edinburgh. After a talk with Donna and a look through Mark’s work, Cheryl had found the down-to-earth creative photographer for the wedding and all she had to do was convince Chris. “We approached 3 highly skilled photographers in total and Archibald Photography was by far the best candidate. When it came to the big day we trusted Mark to just do what he wanted and lucky for us he stayed and took fantastic informal shots of our wedding day. We knew Mark was dedicated to getting creative shots of our day when we saw him walk away with dirt all down his back. He had been down on the floor outside taking photographs. We love the story the photos tell. No need for a videographer when this guy is around. Donna was also a star and always went out of her way to make sure we were happy. In the end we were very pleased with the service.”
During the 10 week run up to the wedding, Cheryl and Chris attended dance lessons with Learn to Wedding Dance in preparation for their first dance as husband and wife (www.learn2weddingdance.co.uk). “The whole experience was a laugh and Felicity made us feel very welcome in her studio. By the end of the 10 weeks we had learned a dance routine which not only entertained our guests but gave us something fun to do in the run up to the wedding away from the stress. On our honeymoon on Kuredu Island (www.kuredu.com) they played “Sway” by Dean Martin, and we were happy to be able to perform our routine beyond our wedding day.
When asked about the best bit of the day, Cheryl said “For me it has to be seeing Chris all dressed up waiting for me at the bottom of the isle with a great big smile as the main theme from star wars was playing.” For Chris, “I think for me, seeing Cheryl for the first time in her wedding dress – my heart skipped a beat and I got butterflies in my stomach. I get the same feeling now just thinking about it.”
The only thing that didn’t happen as planned for Cheryl and Chris was that their specially made amaretto wedding cake was not put out with the rest of the vanilla cake. But the funniest thing was the evening ceilidh dancing with the majority of guests being English and never having participated in a ceilidh before. There were arms and legs all over the place.
