The blog of award winning scottish photographers, Archibald Photography. Real life wedding photography stories and recommended suppliers from weddings in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Scotland and destinations overseas.
Back in January 2010 when the winter snow was melting fast, Kirsty and Melvin got married at the fabulous Glenskirlie Castle. In the heart of Central Scotland, Glenskirlie Castle is a sumptuous boutique style hotel with a great team of staff who ensure a wedding day runs extremely smoothly.
The snow had turned to a freezing drizzle discouraging anyone from venturing outside but the amazing interior of Glenskirlie Castle meant that Mark was able to provide Kirsty and Melvin with a stunning set of images telling the story of their wedding day. Kirsty looked gorgeous and reminded everyone of a Greek goddess – Melvin looked pretty good too!
Kirsty and Melvin met at work on a management assessment day. Kirsty told us, “Melvin was thrilled when they explained that part of the day would be role playing and replied ‘I’ll be Russell Crowe then!”. After Melvin asking Kirsty’s father in a traditional manner, Melvin proposed to Kirsty on Christmas day.
They chose Glenskirlie because they said, “it was beautiful, the food was amazing, the staff were attentive and the honeymoon suite was stunning!”
Kirsty’s dress was by Ellis Bridals bought in Signature in Glasgow. It was the first one she tried on and she said, “When my bridesmaid shed a tear I knew it was the one for me!” Kirsty’s hair was done by Bensons in Lanark and her make up by Esther. Melvin chose his outfit from Mackenzie Menswear, Glasgow
Kirsty wanted her flowers to tie everything in and the bridesmaids were in red so after one visit to Gifted in Carluke everything was sorted, “no hassle at all”, Kirsty told us. Kirsty and Melvin’s cake was purchased from Marks and Spencer.
Kirsty and Melvin told us they booked “R4. The best band ever!! They did say our wedding was one of the best they had ever played – the dancefloor was jumping all night!”. The couple’s first dance was the Proclaimers ‘I want to spend my life with you!’ Kirsty told us, “It was a jolly, upbeat song and the words were relevant to us”. They also had a magician who was incredible, Mick Magic – he kept the guests entertained during the bands break.
Kirsty told us, “My dad loved Mark’s work when he was searching the internet and then when we came to meet you both we were really impressed with how little time was going to be spent having photos taken – It was my idea of hell spending hours getting photos taken – I loved how natural Marks photos were”.
“I think my favourite picture”, Kirsty told us, “is the picture with my mum and I – we both look really happy!”
Kirsty’s niece also featured in their special day, Kirsty told us, “She played the piano to a lovely piece of music as I walked down the aisle.”
Melvin and I loved every moment but Kirsty confessed that she loved getting ready and feeling pampered in the morning. Both Melvin and Kirsty told us they had experienced, “The Perfect Day.”
We love accepting a delivery from our wedding album company Queensberry but it’s quite hard to pass these beautiful books onto our customers and not hang onto them for ourselves! With a Queensberry wedding album, we are completely free to create a one-off piece for a client as each book is handmade to order.
You only see the true beauty of a wedding story when you receive the final printed book and with Queensberry, we can present a wedding story in the most beautiful way possible. Each Queensberry book is a completely unique story.
We have just delivered Becky and Godfrey’s finished wedding album to them from their beautiful day at Glenapp Castle a few months ago. Everything about their day (and especially Becky’s Vera Wang dress!) was carefully chosen to be classy and timeless. Their choice of the beautifully tactile ‘earth’ contemporary leather was the perfect presentation for their wedding story.
Godfrey and Becky sent us a wonderful email of thanks saying:
“It’s difficult to put into words what it means to us. The album itself is a beautiful work of art. The cover (indeed the whole album) is stylish but also has the classic feel of antiquity. The layouts are exactly as we had hoped for and against the white background with the black border the prints really come to life. We will treasure it forever. We are so pleased that Mark was able to capture those magical moments of our day and that we are able to immortalise them in this album. Mark must be very pleased with the final result as it shows off his talent so extremely well.”
Thank you Godfrey and Becky for your lovely words – Mark loved working with you and we hope we can stay in touch and get together when you are next in Scotland.
We get to meet and become friends with some great couples in this job. Lynne and Paul were no exception to this and Mark had such a laugh with this pair when he photographed their wedding at Dunblane Cathedral with a reception at Glenbervie House Hotel. We both hope we stay in contact with them and perhaps meet their new puppy, Blue, sometime!
We delivered Lynne and Paul’s leather bound wedding album to them last week and they emailed to say:
“Just a quick mail to let you know that the album arrived this morning and it is fantastic. We’re both so so pleased with it and Lynne is, as I type, on her way up to Kinross to show her mum! ….. Can we say again a massive thank you to both yourself and Mark. It’s been an absolute pleasure dealing with you guys and you’ve made everything so simple and fun, exactly what we knew we’d found when we met you. We are just so proud of the album and will be showing it off to anyone and everyone. If there’s ever anything we can do to help with recommendations, references etc then please, just let us know.”
Been such a busy couple of weeks that we haven’t even had any time to update the blog. One of the thing we have been busy with is the design and print of Nicola and Liam’s wedding album. Married at Western House in Ayr, they opted for a square format navy leather bound coffee table style storybook album with their names embossed on the cover.
Having received the finished book, Nicola emailed to say “So nice to see the photos we love looking the best they can and it totally tells the story of our day. Can’t wait to show it off to our friends and family.” Here’s a peek at their finished album:
You can read the full story of their day including how they met and what suppliers they worked with here:
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.
Everything about Sam and Marty’s wedding, from the start, was plain cool – from Sam’s vintage style wedding dress and bespoke fascinator to Marty’s genuine Stetson fedora hat and pocket watch. They were married in the luxury boutique hotel Malmaison Glasgow, a one time Episcopal Church and you can read the full story of their day here.
They have opted for a black leather understated but fantastically timeless wedding album to display their favourite shots from their wedding day and below is the finished story of their day:
It’s been a week of catching up on album designs and sending lots of lovely books to print. Towards the end of last year, Mark shot Alison and John’s wedding at the ever stunning Dalhousie Castle near Edinburgh. John and Alison settled on a black leather bound square format album to show their favourite images of the day and we’ll be shipping it out to the Middle East for them to enjoy soon. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview (but you know it will be so much better when you hold it in your hands for the first time!)
This week we have been finalising Sharon and Scott’s wedding album from their big day at New Lanark Mill. We will never forget Sharon and Scott’s first preview of their images as Sharon held her hand across her mouth for most of the slideshow unable to believe it was her in the images! Sharon – you looked gorgeous on your wedding day and the photos prove it.
We often talk to our customers about the longevity of excellent photography; it’s not just for now or for this year, you still need to love your wedding images in decades to come. We want you to have an album that you will love and can pass down to future generations as the complete story of your day. If you make a good choice when selecting a photographer then images will become more important as the years pass. How awful would it be after a fantastic wedding day to have regrets about your photography.
There are two photographs in my possession which are incredibly important to me. One is my parents wedding photograph from 1970 (a relaxed image) and the other is my Nana and Papa’s wedding photograph from 1942 (a stiff, formal studio shot!). I wish there were more – an album of the day would be incredible.
Elisa & Ian met at work when Elisa took over Ian’s job as he got promoted. The couple were friends for a while before they started going out and both resisted for as long as they could before the inevitable happened! They were together for 10 years before they got married.
Ian proposed to Elisa in Japan on a holiday of a lifetime that the couple took to celebrate Ian’s 40th birthday. On the last day of the holiday, to Elisa’s surprise, Ian proposed. It had been a long day and they were in a restaurant sat side by side; they hadn’t eaten all day so Elisa was quite hungry. As Elisa told us “Ian kept trying to tell me something and I carried on eating saying “I’m listening, go on” but he wouldn’t say anything. Then he got impatient and said “… will you stop eating, I’m trying to tell you something!!”. I remember thinking “Oh, this had better be good” and turned to face him, then he proposed. So it was worth interrupting my dinner for!”
The couple decided early on that they wanted a really intimate wedding with immediate family only, and that they wanted to make an occasion of it for everyone. After discounting locations like New York (“too conveyor-like”) and Mexico (“too much preparation eg chest x-rays etc required!”), they decided on Scotland because they both love it. As Elisa’s parents live in Chile, they wanted somewhere with a bit of history. They both liked the idea of splendid isolation, but needed to be reasonably near an airport to get everyone there in one piece. In the end, they settled on Shieldhill Castle Hotel. They were greeted warmly and instantly liked the history (including alleged ghost), the setting and the owner’s dog Muttley! As they settled on a midweek wedding, the couple virtually had the place to themselves and it was pretty much exactly as they planned it.
Wedding Photography at Shieldhill Castle, Biggar
Elisa was willing to spend up to £500 on her perfect dress but was resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t get much choice and that the dress would likely cost her much more. Then she found the “near-perfect” dress in Pronuptia at a fraction of what what she was willing to pay. As they were having a small wedding, Elisa wanted a tea length dress but one that felt like a wedding dress and not an ivory bridesmaids dress; she told us “I thought I’d be over the top in a huge meringue!”. Flowers for the day were provided by The Flower Shop in Biggar.
Wedding Photography at Shieldhill Castle, Biggar
Wedding Photography at Shieldhill Castle, Biggar
Elisa and Ian found Archibald Photography via a Google search and instantly liked Mark’s eye for pictures. She told us “his casual yet artistic style was exactly what we wanted and we were very pleased with the service.”Elisa and Ian had us design a 14″ x 10″ magazine style album as their main album and a raspberry silk bound smaller album for family.
The best thing about Elisa & Ian’s day was the emotion you get with a small, intimate wedding. Elisa told us “there were lots of tears (of joy of course!), we didn’t stop laughing the whole day through and it felt more like the union of two families rather than just our wedding because everyone already knew how Ian and I felt about each other. We only invited mum, dad and sibling on each side and that was the best thing – no arguments about people we didn’t know, no drunken fights etc”.
Wedding Photography at Shieldhill Castle, Biggar
We asked Elisa and Ian what the funniest part of their day was and Elisa recalled “as I was walking with my dad to the chapel at the back of the hotel I realised my garter was sliding down my leg and was down by my knee. Vicki (Ian’s sister and my bridesmaid) quickly pulled it back up, but not before we got a fit of the giggles! Unfortunately Mark was in the chapel and didn’t catch it on camera but he tried!”
Here’s some more of our favourite images of their day. Elisa and Ian were great for Mark to photograph because they were so happy they just laughed and danced all day!
Please feel free to tag yourself in these images via our Facebook page
At this time of year, we are frantically busy fulfilling all the album orders in time for Christmas. We live, sleep and dream wedding album design and manufacture.
Vicky and David were married this year at Cornhill House outside Biggar and opted for a gorgeous 14 x 10 landscape format album covered with iron contemporary leather with their names blind embossed. All our album formats and designs are completely bespoke to any client. We loved this album so much, we found it quite hard to hand over to the couple!
Vicky emailed this morning to say “We absolutely love it – can’t stop looking at it! Thanks a million for all your help – it’s outstanding.”
Here’s a link to a slideshow of their stunning wedding album which we hope Vicky and David will love forever:
As a little update we have just opened this morning’s mail to find the most lovely thank you card from David & Vicky. It has made our day!
“We just wanted to say a massive thank you for our wedding album. It is the most amazing present we have ever given ourselves and we will be able to enjoy it for the rest of our lives. The time, care and effort taken by you both to ensure that our day was captured perfectly on film and to print was nothing short of amazing. You go above and beyond to ensure everyone is happy! We have loved working with you both and are sad now it’s ended – we feel like we have gained new friends for life. We’ll be back in touch in the New Year to get some framed pictures and til then, don’t go changing!”
I think this just sums up why we love our work as wedding photographers; the ability to make our clients so happy is unbelievable. Hopefully David & Vicky won’t be strangers – we like to continue our relationship with our clients by shooting special family occasions or new arrivals to families.
We have just finished designing Louise & Neil’s Storybook style album from their wedding at Inverness Cathedral and the Drumossie Hotel. Really pleased with the finished results as it tells the story of their day beautifully. Louise & Neil opted for a photofront cover album in 16″ x 12″ size – can’t wait until they get back from Abu Dhabi in July and get to see it in the flesh, we think they’ll love it!
Pamela and Steven got in touch this week to say their wedding album had arrived safely. Pamela and Steven selected an A3 size album from our Digital Artbook range to tell the full story of their fantastic wedding day.
Pamela emailled to say “Our album has arrived – yippee! It’s just breathtaking. Thank you so much! I can’t believe how much better the photos look. Its one thing to see them on the computer, but it’s quite another to see them printed so beautifully on the book – just gorgeous. It’s absolutely stunning and we really can’t wait until the weekend to show it off! The perfect keepsake of such an emotional and beautiful time in our lives, we will treasure it forever. Thank you so much!”
Pamela and Steven have been together since 1996 when she was 16 and he was 19. They met in the local bar in Motherwell and then spoke outside the chip shop – high romance indeed! Pamela thought Steven looked like he could be in Oasis so she fancied him rotten! Since 1996 they have been together through all Steven’s studies – he did 8 years at Uni including 6 months at Stanford University in the US and Pamela’s work in London as a dancer. As they had been partners and best friends for 12 years, there were no wedding nerves, Pamela said she couldn’t wait to get married to Steven!
The planning was easy and Steven let Pamela design the whole day. But the language barriers to organizing a wedding in Girona, Spain sometimes proved funny. One day Pamela went alone to the Barcelona Bridal event without realizing it is really for fashion buyers while she thought it was a wedding fair! It’s one of the biggest Bridal fashion shows in the world and she just walked about in heaven looking at all the dresses and the catwalk shows. Karl Lagerfeld (whom Pamela adores) was there with Rosa Clara. They also found it very difficult to make some of the wedding arrangements as the Spanish are so laid back! A lot of things were left very last minute (i.e. a few days beforehand!) but Steven was a great help with this. He would be on the phone constantly trying to make arrangements happen on time and finalize them – a lot of patience was required! Booking Girona Cathedral wasn’t too tricky as they went about 14 months in advance and asked when they were free. Pamela & Steven had a Scottish priest flown over to Girona but the choir were all Catalan and so a few things went wrong (like when they were going to sign the register and the choir started singing one of the hymns. When they finally started the hymn, they added a long intro so the poor priest started and then had to start again. The hymn was sung so slow that Pamela & Steven were in stitches!)
Every time Pamela bought a Spanish magazine, she was always drawn to Rosa Clara dresses. She felt they were very distinct in their style – either clean, contemporary lines with a fashion edge or traditional Spanish made from beautiful lace. When she opted for a Rosa Clara, she chose a modern design that she had seen in Hola magazine – cotton and taffeta with a low waist. Pamela changed the dress a little to suit her body shape and Rosa Clara were very helpful; she was absolutely delighted with the result.
Pamela also had a bespoke fascinator from Beth Morgan (www.bethmorgan.co.uk). She saw one of Beth’s designs in Brides Magazine and had put it into her ideas/look book. When Pamela contacted Beth, she gave her great ideas and designed a fascinator to go with her dress. Pamela found buying from abroad quite nerve wracking as she wasn’t able to try things on. But again she was absolutely delighted with the fascinator and all the work that had gone into it.
The restaurant who catered for the wedding were El Cellar de can Roca who have 2 Michelin Stars (www.cellercanroca.com) It’s very distinct as it is a very traditional Catalan house with beautiful gardens but inside it’s completely modern (black and white with huge light panels on the walls). The restaurant’s theme went perfectly with Pamela’s wedding theme of contemporary/art deco/black and white. Plus the food is famous, and was amazing!! The restaurant was quite difficult to organize and in the end they got married on a Sunday to accommodate them. The Church were very helpful, even though it’s quite unusual to get married at 5pm on a Sunday.
Mark was asked to provide the photography as one of Pamela’s best friends had used us before and she loved the natural but arty, contemporary results. Mark has said “I had a great time walking around the streets of Girona with Pamela and Steven, making the most of the great architecture and natural light. Pamela and Steven are really into photography which made them easy to photograph. After a summer of photographing in Scotland, it was nice that it wasn’t raining!”
When asked about her favorite part of the day, Pamela said “aside from the service and actually being married, my favorite part was when we entered the restaurant to Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and everyone was standing waving their napkins wildly propeller-style in the air as is the tradition in Catalan. Amazing!!!!”
Having just recovered from the madness that is our Christmas order rush, I thought I would share with others a gorgeous album we produced for Julie and Kenny. They were married at Glenbervie House in July 2008 and came into the studio for an album planning session in October. Julie and Kenny opted to go for one of our hand crafted and unique contemporary matted albums.
I love designing these albums as each can be as unique as the couple’s wedding day. We worked with Julie and Kenny to choose a colour scheme and page layout to suit their tastes. Our cover range includes timbers, premium leather, suede and metals. Julie and Kenny opted for the luxuriously soft sandstone outback leather with their names and wedding date blind embossed onto the cover. Within the design, we included two pages with their favourite images flush mounted to the edge of the page.
Most importantly, what did Julie and Kenny have to say about it?:
“Our wedding album arrived safely last night. I couldn’t wait to get it unwrapped! We really are delighted with it….it’s outstanding! Thank you so much for all your hard work in perfecting the photos and the album itself, we will treasure it always. Now all we need to do is save up to buy a canvas!!! I’m so happy it came before Christmas as we will have so many opportunities to show it off and it will be a nice surprise to show our families when they come over. Wishing you both a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2009!” Julie & Kenny
I’m so happy it came before Christmas as we will have so many opportunities to show it off and it will be a nice surprise to show our families when they come over. Wishing you both a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2009!” Julie & Kenny