Archibald Photography Blog

It’s great to shoot a wedding when there is lovely natural light, perfect weather conditions and loads of time to spend wandering outside taking beautiful images. What to do, then, when it is dark outside, the ceremony is in an ancient Bastle House (that the couple call “the cave”) with virtually no natural light and the wind and rain are conspiring to snap umbrellas in two? Welcome to the world of the Scottish wedding photographer!

For me the answer is simple…don’t fight the weather…work with it. In bad weather I love to photograph inside-out umbrellas and capture the power of the elements. One thing I’ve learned after all these years is that really bad weather on a wedding day leaves a strong memory with the guests and they are guaranteed not to forget the day!

November 2009 was the wettest November for Scotland on record.  Storms and rain caused major flooding and disruption.  The day before Rachael and Chris’s wedding, I drove over to Carmichael to see what the road conditions were like.  The road to Rachael’s parents house appeared impassable but a local farmer convinced me it was alright to drive on through.  Rachael told us that night that the rain had flooded the room in which the ceremony was to take place but things would proceed with a soggy carpet!

Look at the crazy weather!

Rachael arrives looking beautiful

Rachael and Chris originally met at a party in Chris’s brother’s flat in Edinburgh.  After too much wine and a story about mushy peas, Rachael was apparently smitten!

The couple decided to hold their wedding ceremony in Rachael’s parents’ house where she had grown up.  Rachael’s parents house is particularly special as they own a Bastle House.  For those who have never heard of a bastle house (and I had to look it up on Wikipedia), they are found along the Anglo-Scottish border, in the areas formerly plagued by Border Reivers.  They are farmhouses, characterised by elaborate security measures against raids.

The characteristics of the classic bastle house are extremely thick stone walls (1 meter or so), with the ground floor devoted to stable-space for the most valuable animals, and usually a stone vault between it and the first floor. The family’s living quarters were on the floor above the ground, and during the times prior to the suppression of the Reivers, were only reachable by a ladder which was pulled up from the inside at night. The only windows were narrow arrow slits and the roofs were usually made of stone slate to improve the bastle’s fire-resistance. (Source – http://www.wikipedia.org/)

Rachael and Chris were both away from Scotland for a few years before the wedding which made a ceremony in her parents house surrounded by friends and family even more intimate.  Their evening reception was held at New Lanark which Rachael also loved – she said she could have danced all night.

Rachael had a designer in Napier, New Zealand make her dress; Rowan McLellan.  Rachael told us “I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to order it when I got back to the UK four months before the wedding so I had it made out there. She made my bridesmaids dresses too and they were fantastic. I had been to lots of shops and tried things on but nothing really made me feel special. It was really fun being involved in the design process and tweaking things as we went. I loved the dress I got married in and am only sad I can’t wear it again!”  In fact, one of the couple’s funny moments from the wedding was when Rachael’s Dad stepped on her dress walking down the aisle and by the end of the night the dress had huge holes in it!

Dress by Rowan McLellan

Rachael and Chris followed their religious ceremony with a handfasting ritual.  Handfasting predates other forms of marriage and comes from an Old Norse term ‘hand-festa’.  It is an ancient and very romantic commitment ceremony and usually involves binding together of the hands of the couple.

Wrists are bound together during the handfasting ceremony

Rachael also told us that her florist was amazing.  “She is a friend of my mums, Elizabeth Paterson and is a genius! I know nothing about flowers and just told her I wanted it laid back and pretty and she came up with the most beautiful arrangements and bouquets.”  Rachael and Chris’s mums made the cakes and favours and the couple had many enjoyable months of tasting and testing!

The wedding reception at New Lanark was organised by Helen O’Hara who Rachael said “couldn’t have done more for us”.  She told us “the food, service and flexibility were great.  We had such a fun day and there was nothing stressful about it because Helen took care of it all.”

The private wedding dance

We loved Rachael's stylish dress and accessories

Having a laugh

Normally, we invite couples to our studio after their images are ready for a first initial preview on the big screen to music.  However, as Rachael and Chris live in Aviemore they were somewhat snowed in!  We organised an online preview for the couple and they got in touch to say “Just a quick email to let you know we LOVE the photos! …. Thank you so much – I’m truly taken back at how lovely the pictures are!”

Rachael’s Mum also emailed to say “I’ve had a sneak preview and they are GORGEOUS!! I was worried that with no outdoor photos it wouldn’t work but they are stunning, especially those in the River Room in the Institute with Rach & Chris dancing – they didnt know Mark was there and are over the moon!!”