Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Laura & James’ Vintage Style Wedding | Glasgow University Chapel | 29 Royal Exchange Square

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

A few weeks ago, Mark was at the wedding of Laura and James for their ceremony at the University of Glasgow Chapel followed by a reception at the stylish 29 Royal Exchange Square.  Laura and James met when she was just 17 and James 18 through a friend while at a gig. James proposed to Laura on their 5th anniversary of dating. He hired a suite at the Golf Hotel in St Andrews, which is a place with special meaning to the couple. James proposed with a plastic cat ring on top of a cupcake and they went to pick the real ring the next day!

Laura has a figure to die for and choose a gorgeous vintage style dress by Suzanne Neville.  Laura wore Mirabeau by Suzanne Neville, a designer at the forefront of British couture wedding design.  Her dresses are well known for their perfectly structured bodices and Laura’s choice of dress had an elegant style reminiscent of vintage French cafe society in the 1950s.

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Laura had a vintage style headpiece made for her by William Chambers Millinery who have just been nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year in the Scottish Fashion Awards for the third year running.

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Other suppliers worthy of note were:

Rings – Laings

Bridal Shoes – Irregular Choice

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Bridal Accessories – Laura’s gloves were vintage, her earrings and garter were from Etsy and a feather shrug was purchased from Ebay

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Hair – by Mark at Graeme Reid Hair

Groomswear – Slaters

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Wedding Cake – Special Days Cakes

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Flowers – Ruby Flowers

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Bridesmaid dresses – Karen Millen

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Evening Entertainment – Fat Sam’s Band who Laura said “were absolutely fantastic!” As Laura told us “my different groups of friends all bonded over dancing manically to the swing music”  Laura and James danced their first dance to ‘Kiss’  by Dean Martin because it “felt just right and had a classic old feel”.

Wedding photography at University of Glasgow Chapel and 29 Royal Exchange Square

Laura told us that she chose Archibald Photography because “the quality of photographs was very high, I really loved the reportage sort of style, and we both felt really comfortable with Mark and that we clicked with him.”

Laura had many favourite parts of the day.  As she told us “I really enjoyed getting ready with the girls in the hotel. My own speech was impromptu and I’m glad I did it. The band were absolutely fantastic and I really enjoyed seeing all my different groups of friends get on really well; here was a really laid back atmosphere all day. We weren’t allowed confetti at the church, but my family surprised us with it as we left the reception at night! I really enjoyed spending a short amount of time alone with James in the car after the ceremony, as it went down Kelvin Way on a sunny day with some champagne and my bridesmaids also surprised me with candles and rose petals in the hotel room at night. Walking down the aisle was so nerve-racking at the rehearsal, but lovely and exciting on the day.”

Laura and James’ day went very much as planned but amusingly, as the car was open topped and the couple had to go through the centre of Glasgow (down Argyle Street and up Queen Street), they got a lot of clapping and cheering.  As Laura recalled “one particularly memorable drunk shouted ‘quality’ at us.  Then on the way home, the car had to move up the street a bit whilst waiting for us because some drunks tried to get in it – I’d probably pick a more discreet car for going home if I was to change anything! My dress also was completely filthy at the end of the day, but that was OK. I lost my gloves, feather shrug, and one stocking by the end of the night!”

Laura would sum up the whole experience as “just exactly as I had imagined it would be. It was remarkably stress free, and I felt so comfortable leaving Mark alone to do his thing with the photos because I knew they’d be great, and they were. Really lovely and happy.”

Here are some of our favourite images of their day:

Andrea and Kevin | wedding photography | Ardanaiseig Hotel | Argyll

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

It was quite a journey getting there but it was worth it. With heavy snow on the way, I booked into a B&B and set off a day early for this wedding in December 2009.  It took about 7 hours to negotiate the narrow Argyll treacherous snow covered roads to reach Taynuilt.  Kevin & Andrea had chosen the Ardanaiseig Hotel near Taynuilt for their winter wedding.

What a setting! Stunning in any weather, this location was simply magical for wedding photography in deep snow.

Wedding Photography Argyll

The weather was perfectly crisp, sunny and the ground was a bed of snow. This location is so beautiful and dramatic that it almost doesn’t seem real.  The backdrop for photography at the Ardanaiseig Hotel was so amazing that the ceremony was performed outside despite being a snowy December day.

Wedding Photography in Argyll

Andrea and Kevin wanted some dramatic photography which really showed off this most stunning of Scottish settings. Rarely have I been anywhere this spectacular and been quite this lucky with the weather.  Another nice aspect of this day was that I got to shoot another Lindsay Fleming celtic dress design.  I have provided all the brochure and website photography for both Lindsay Fleming’s Celtic Spirit Collection and All That Jazz collection of 1920s style wedding dresses.  It was great to photograph ‘Sabina’ one of their celtic inspired creations live on a wedding day.  As an added bonus, Andrea was in the lucky position of being a bride who is also a florist so she provided the gorgeous floral details on the day.

For the newlyweds it was a day never to be forgotten and it must go down as one of my favourite weddings in my career so far.  Here are some of our favourites:

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Wedding Photography Argyll

Lisa and Bill’s wedding photography at New Lanark Mill

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Earlier today we welcomed Lisa and Bill to the studio for a preview of the proofs from their wedding.  Although their wedding took place back in January, this is the first occasion that Lisa and Bill could arrange to be up in Scotland from Bournemouth.  They were keen to see their first slideshow on our large plasma screen rather than online and I am sure they will agree it worth the wait to see the images in their full glory.

Wedding Photography New Lanark

Although it was a damp cold day in January at and there was snow and ice around, both Lisa and Bill were up for getting great shots showing the beautiful surroundings at New Lanark (Lisa in high heels on ice – brave girl!). It was a great laugh at the time and just shows how the weather doesn’t have to affect a wedding day in a bad way. I’m always willing to photograph in any weather and love it when a couple feel the same way! These memories will last forever.

Here are some of our favourites of their day:

Amanda & Graeme’s Wedding Photography at Glasgow University Chapel and Brig O’ Doon

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Last year, we had the honour of photographing the very beautiful wedding of Amanda and Graeme.  Their ceremony was at the University of Glasgow Chapel followed by a reception at Brig O’Doon House Hotel.  Amanda was stunning in every way and Graeme looked incredibly proud to be marrying her.  Here is their album that we finalised for them at the end of last year just in time to enjoy with family over Christmas. The book is a 16″ x 12″ size storybook album bound in a contemporary aluminum cover engraved with their names.

Wedding Photography Image of the Week 02

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

It’s great when the barrier between subject and photographer has been demolished and the presence of the camera has been completely forgotten. I need that to happen for my work to be successful. Natural emotions cannot be posed. They just look false. I’m more interested in a photograph capturing a perfect moment between people than I am in spending hours getting every crease out of a dress. I love this photograph because it conveys a real sense of the relationship between the couple and how much fun they were having.

Wedding photography at Fernie Castle in Scotland

Photography by Archibald Photography Ltd

Taken at Fernie Castle, Fife

Dress from The Bride in Broughty Ferry

Read Anna & Kev’s real life wedding story here

Photography of Beth Morgan Couture Millinery

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

I can’t believe a year has gone by since Mark was first asked to photograph the fabulous collection of hats and fascinators by the extremely talented designer, Beth Morgan.  A year on, Beth asked if Mark would photograph a collection of her newer pieces and so another shoot was organised for just prior to Christmas.

Beth Morgan Millinery Fashion Photography

We originally got in touch with Beth when one of our brides, Pamela MacGregor, wore one of Beth’s bridal creations at a wedding Mark shot in Girona, Spain.  Images from this wedding won Mark the Best Complete Wedding Photographer Award at the MPA Scottish Awards in 2009.  Anyway …. a conversation ensued where Beth said ‘I would love if Pamela could model my full collection and Mark could photograph it’.  We happened to know that Pamela planned to be home in Scotland for Christmas so the dream became a reality.

Beth Morgan Millinery Fashion Photography

Beth Morgan Millinery Fashion Photography

Hat and fascinator creations by Beth Morgan Couture are often worn to high society events and her bridal collection is also stunning.  Some of her designs have been worn to Buckingham Palace, to Royal Ascot and on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Beth Morgan Millinery Fashion Photography

Beth Morgan Millinery Fashion Photography

Beth offers a really friendly, down to earth service where she is always ready to help, answer questions discuss styles, source new fabrics and generally make the impossible possible!  She will send feather and fabric samples and email mock up images of any number of designs;  she is not happy unless the customer is happy!  You can contact Beth by email beth@bethmorgan.co.uk or via her website www.bethmorgan.co.uk

Some of Mark’s images and an interview with Beth Morgan have now appeared on Love My Dress blog – an excellent style diary and wedding blog of “all things glamorous and extremely very gorgeous”.

Here are some of our favourite images from the shoot:

Vintage style wedding photography at Malmaison Hotel, Glasgow

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Some of you may have already seen the wedding of Sam and Martin featured on Annabel’s excellent blog LoveMyDress; a style diary related to weddings, art and fashion.  We also wanted to share it with you here as Mark loved photographing Sam and Martin’s vintage inspired wedding.

Sam and Martin met in the early 90s on a night out at the cinema with mutual friends.  Sam was only 14 and Martin was 16.  They liked each other but didn’t get until together a few years later (after lots of flirting and parties) at Sam’s 17th birthday party, where she rather unromantically and drunkenly attached herself to Martin for the evening! After that the couple were just inseparable and got married shortly before their 15th anniversary as a couple.

Martin and Sam got engaged whilst sitting in a quiet corner of the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.  They had gone on holiday for Sam’s 30th so it ended up being a double celebration in the end!  Martin didn’t say anything, he just took the ring out of his pocket and put it on Sam’s finger.  Sam told us “he was super cool about it – I was very emotional and had to run into the loos in the Rockefeller Centre to fix my make up!”

The couple chose the Malmaison at the very last minute after the venue they had originally booked went into administration and cancelled their wedding with 4 weeks to go!  Sam had been to Malmaison for a business meeting and thought it was a cool venue and well suited to their small wedding, so they went to visit and booked it on the spot.  As Sam said “the style of the building and sumptuous decor was perfect, and looking back we were much happier with it as a venue and wished we had booked it from the beginning.”

Malmaison Hotel, Glasgow

Malmaison Hotel, Glasgow

Sam and Martin’s day was a huge success and they couldn’t have asked for more.  As they told us “the rooms were set up exactly to our specifications, and the staff were attentive and efficient with our guests.  We dealt with Marie Kelly who was just fabulous – she tailored the event exactly as we wanted, and suggested a great menu.”

Sam’s hair was by Debbie at Taylor Jax in Paisley – Sam simply showed her some images she had found online and she did the rest.  According to Sam “I never thought I could do ‘big hair’ but she did an amazing job.  I did my own make-up as I knew exactly what I wanted (and it gave me a reason to run amok in Fraser’s cosmetics department!).”

Vintage inspired bride

Vintage inspired bride

Sam wore a Benjamin Roberts gown from Diane Honeyman in Ayr. “They were so helpful and really know their stuff in terms of finding a dress to suit the bride’s body shape. They let me try on a ridiculous number of gowns before I came back to the one they had picked out for me in the first place!” Sam recalled.

Sam’s main accessory was a satin, tulle and wire head piece from Trina at Baba C Designs.  Trina did a bespoke design for Sam which she was absolutely over the moon with – it was a real ’statement’ piece’!  Sam also had a really nice bespoke touch on her shoes which was a stamp showing the wedding date on the sole.  The shoes were Diane Hassall, bought from The Accessory Boutique.

The gorgeous bride

The gorgeous bride

Martin was a very cool groom wearing a fedora hat – it was a genuine Stetson, bought online from Village Hats and he looked super smooth!

Wedding Fedora Hat

Wedding Fedora Hat

Sam chose Flowers by Cherry Blossom as the florist and found them really enthusiastic and “totally up for providing the unusual flowers I wanted”.  Sam told us “the bouquet and arrangements were unstructured looking, just as we wanted, and complimented the style of the wedding perfectly.

Wedding flowers

Wedding flowers

Martin and Sam had a beautiful chocolate cake from Rainbow Sugarcraft in Peebles and apparently the unusual spiky design has become legendary; their guests can’t stop talking about it. Sam also said “it tasted as great as it looked!”

Wedding cake

Wedding cake

There was no dancing at Sam and Martin’s wedding, just a meal as they were having a very small wedding.  They did, however, make up a playlist for the ipod of lots of songs that bring back memories of all the years they’ve been together.

Sam also commented that they were very pleased with their car. “We wanted a non traditional car so we hired a Maserati Quattroporte from Maserati Chauffuer Drive.   The driver was a lovely chap and even got me to the venue early!”

Bride's arrival

Bride's arrival

On booking Archibald Photography, Sam told us “we saw some of Mark’s work featured in Real Life Weddings magazine and just thought his style was very strong and very much the informal type of images we were looking for.  I had a chat with Mark on the phone and could tell he completely understood what we were looking for, so there was no decision to make really, we didn’t need to look any further.  On the day we had an absolute ball, doing the photos was effortless and Mark was so easy going throughout.  Our guests all commented on the fact he wasn’t telling us what to do or where to stand etc and they thought that was very refreshing to see.

When the photos were ready for viewing we also thought it was really good to come to Mark’s studio and see them on the big screen.  The personal service has really made it ‘an experience’ for us and we can’t wait to do the next bit of choosing photos for our storybook.”

Sam and Martin’s favourite image is one of them looking at each other on the stairs.  As they told us “it’s really different as a ‘wedding shot’ but just captures a nice moment between us, and epitomises the reason we wanted Mark to photograph the wedding – just capturing the moment.”

Wedding Photography Glasgow

Wedding Photography Glasgow

The couple found it hard to decide on one best thing about their day, but in general felt that their ‘fast and loose’ approach to the day was what made it great! As Sam said “we didn’t plan it like a military operation or schedule anything too tightly, and we were able to just go with the flow and enjoy the day as it came.  As a result there was no stress or rushing to keep up and we were able to enjoy every minute of it. We loved our Humanist ceremony.  It was very informal and the celebrant had written a lovely piece describing our relationship over the years.  Some of it was even quite amusing -  it was just really great for the ceremony to be relaxed and informal.  Both of us (well, mainly me!) were grinning from ear to ear for the duration of the ceremony.”

Just married kiss

Just married kiss

There always something on a wedding day that happens that you don’t expect and for Sam it was when she stepped out of the car. A huge gust of wind blew the train of her dress right underneath the car and pulled out the pin that was holding the front of my hair in place.  Sam told us “my dress ended up with a huge black mark on it but I thought ‘to hell with it, no point letting it spoil my fun!” and of course my mum was on hand to fix my hair!”

Overall, Sam and Martin would sum up their day as “just the best fun ever!  Everything we hoped for and more!”

Here’s our favourite images of their day:

Anne & Allan’s Wedding Photography at Cambuskenneth Abbey

Monday, August 31st, 2009

What do you do as a photographer when it really pours with rain?  Hide in the corner with your head in your hands?  NO!  (OK, maybe for a second when nobody is looking)  At Anne and Allan’s wedding in Stirling on Friday we detoured to Cambuskenneth Abbey for some cool architecturally inspired shots.  The rain and wind were trying to outdo each other in the “most annoying element” stakes.  No problem.  Inside the belltower of the abbey it was very dark but had the most amazing pockets of light created by the tiny windows.  We got some incredible stuff in there.

Would we have had such fun if the rain hadn’t helped us look beyond the obvious?  Before we knew it the rain was off and we had the best of both worlds.

Thank you Scottish weather.  You are always on our side if we think about it enough!

Some images captured on the way back from Dunoon …

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

 Mark managed a rare weekend off recently and had a boys weekend away in Glenstriven outside Dunoon.  Quadbiking and a few beers were on the menu.

Here’s a few landscapes caught on the journey back.

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_01

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_03

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_21

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_32

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_39

Images_from_Dunoon_and_Argyll_43

Blogs of Photographers

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

We were flattered to find out we were the featured photographer on the Blogs of Photographers this week.  Blogs of Photogs is owned by Mary Hanson, of Mary Hanson Photography who reviews the blogs of photographers, what a job!  Mary’s review of our site was very complimentary to our site:

“make sure you scroll down a bit to get to the wonderful wedding photography featuring some of the most amazing backdrops (and men in kilts! Love that!) and architecture. Amazing castles and ruins and more… and I love the processing on some of the images, gives them such an otherworldly feel. You can access their portrait work via the top bar links as well, some great stuff here.”

Read it for yourself at www.blogsofphotogs.com - review #118

And no, we didn’t pay them!

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

What a lovely email we have just received from Donna & Warren Palacci after they received their A3 Storybook telling the story of their wedding at the Cross Kirk ruin in Peebles earlier this year.  Donna and Warren had a totally unique wedding at the Cross Kirk ruin which was founded in 1261.  They were blessed with fantastic weather (the gamble paid off since Cross Kirk has no shelter!) and then transferred for a big party to the Memorial Hall in Innerleithen which Donna had painstakingly decorated like a sumptious film set!

“Just received our album and its amazing! We love it, love it, love it. The pictures look even better(if that’s possible) in the album – the design is just superb! Been texting all our friends and family to come and have a look over the weekend. Cried when I saw some of the pictures – it just takes us back to the day like you wouldn’t believe, because the album tells the story so well. Lots of laughing, lots of emotion. Thank you so much to the both of you – the service you provide is second to none! We wish you all the luck for the future and I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon for canvas shots etc when our building site/house is ready for wall pictures.”  Donna & Warren Palacci

Thanks Donna & Warren!

You can view their final album here:

www.archibaldphotography.info/palacci

2007 Wedding Season is now officially over …

Thursday, February 7th, 2008

2007 wedding season is now officially over!  The final wedding of last year was another relaxed affair at Biggar Kirk and Cornhill House.  What a great time I had with Kirsty and Andrew.  One of the perks of my work is that I tend to get people booking me I can imagine as friends.  I’ve often wondered why this is.  I reckon it must come through in the photography.  I think wedding photographs are at their best when they capture people looking like themselves and having a good time.  A lot of the wedding photography I look at really bores me because there is no personality in the faces of the bride or groom.  A lot of the time it looks like the photographer wishes he was at a fashion event rather than a party.

Kirsty and Andrew had a party and I think that comes through in their piccies.  I wish we’d had a bit more time together, but that’s always the way at a winter wedding when the light dies so quickly.  The sun will insist on setting early in December!

 Wedding at Cornhill House, Biggar  Wedding at Cornhill House, Biggar, 3

Wedding at Cornhill House, Biggar, 2

Our new website and snow …

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Hello. Welcome to our new website!  I have to admit I’m not sad to see the old one go. At last I’ve got an art gallery with some of my personal work. Every year I have a couple of personal projects on the go. It’s not always easy getting time to work on them with all these blinking weddings going on (only joking!).

High on my wish list for this year is some better weather than last “summer”. The only thing we didn’t get last july was snow. Scottish weather is one of the reasons I like to work so quickly with people on a wedding day. Who wants to stand about for an hour getting cold while a photographer sticks a bunch of people into a straight line to arrange another boring old picture? As I look out of the office window today the snow is really heavy. I’m reminded of a wedding from a couple of years ago on a snowy December day at Huntingtower Castle (which has no heating). The bride was really late (nearly an hour) and by the time she arrived at the castle the guests inside had icicles hanging from their noses. The groom had to be chipped from his seat with an ice pick (it was lucky the best man had one in his sporran) in order to greet her coming down the aisle. We got some great pictures outside after some champers – thankfully it was warmer out there than in the castle.  Back in the office it took me hours to take the blue tone from the skin of the groom in photoshop.  I’m shooting a wedding at Girona Cathedral in Spain this summer – I kind of see this as a chance to thaw out!