Archibald Photography Blog

Vicky & David knew each other through mutual friends for years before they got together.  As Vicky told us “It wasn’t until Dave got his hair cut in to a skin head that I really began to notice him at T in the Park in 1998.  I told my friend Lorna that I quite liked him and Lorna then told her brother Neil – Dave’s best mate.   They both hatched a plan to get us together one night at Pressure at The Arches in Glasgow on May 1999.  Neil in particular wasn’t very good at matchmaking as I left The Arches thinking it was Neil who wanted to go out with me and I wasn’t very keen on that.  However, things were clarified the next day and Dave phoned and asked me out on a date and rest is history.  We got together on 28th May 1999 and got married on 23rd May 2009 so it was almost ten years from our first date to the day we got married. Slow and steady wins the race and all that!”

Dave proposed to Vicky when they were on holiday in Australia for Vicky’s 30th Birthday in November 2007 and her parents were with them. Vicky said “Dave and I went on our own mini break up to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. We had a fantastic 5 days and on our last night decided to have a meal at the hotel beside the infinity pool. Looking back, Dave was a bit fidgety and nervous but I never suspected anything. At the end of our meal Dave asked what I wanted to do now and I suggested a walk along the beach. Little did I know that I was making things easier for him and setting up the perfect spot for him to propose. After a short walk he crouched down and I thought he had just decided to sit down and was going to get more drinks from the hotel bar, however, he only went down on one knee and when I realized what was happening I went in to hysterics, laughing uncontrollably, so much so that he had to restrain me and ask me to be quiet in order that he could ask the all important question. When I managed to stop laughing, I then started crying and Dave had to once again sort me out and then he popped the question. The first thing I said was “have you asked my dad if its okay?” and he said yes, and rather than me say “Yes”, I then said “When did you ask him”, “When were you on your own with my dad” – eventually Dave, firmly but fairly explained that the finer details really weren’t relevant at this stage and would I just give him a simple yes or no. I shouted Yes and the rest is a bit if a blur! I was totally taken by surprise as we had never discussed marriage before.”

Vicky got her Jenny Packham dress from Pan Pan Bridal in Edinburgh.   She told us “Li Gorman, who owns the shop, was fantastic and never put any pressure on me to buy a certain dress and I just felt really comfortable in her hands and she was really honest about what suited me and what didn’t. My mum and I enjoyed the whole experience so much that my mum got Li to make her an outfit as she designs her own stuff as well as selling other bridal designers. My hair band and bracelet were vintage accessories which Kirsty Taylor from Flo & Percy sourced for me. I absolutely loved them and although we had to do everything via email as Kirsty is based in London, she kept me up to date with the designs, etc, every step of the way. My headband was a real talking point on the day.”

Vicky & Dave chose Cornhill House purely on feedback from friends who had been at weddings there.  They liked the idea of being able to get married there as well as they don’t go to church and so a church wedding was out of the question.   They booked the date and the venue without ever having been there which may seem to some a bit of a risk.  But the couple  wanted to keep the wedding fairly local and Cornhill seemed like the obvious choice.

When Dave & Vicky finally managed to get to Cornhill House and view it, some weeks later, they were really impressed with what they saw and knew they had made the right choice.  As Vicky told us “Mae Fraioli put us at ease and filled us with every confidence that we would have the wedding we had dreamed of without any hitches and she was true to her word.  The whole of the staff team were very personable and you felt as if they were helping because they wanted to and not because they had to.  The day ran with military precision and we were happy to go with the flow as the hotel staff were the professionals and knew what they were doing.  The day went without a hitch and our guests are still talking about the food – especially the bangers & mash that we had at night instead of the traditional buffet.”

For flowers, Vicky said it was only ever going to be Floral n Hardy in Lanark.  Lisa and her team at Floral n Hardy were the second thing that Vicky booked after the venue!

For hair and makeup, Vicky used a company called Sparkle who are two girls, Catherine & Kirsten, and both do hair and make-up.  Vicky told us “they were great and loved the fact that we were all quite relaxed about what we wanted to look like so they had a free reign”.

Other suppliers on the day who were worthy of mention by the couple were their stationers, Fairycake Cards, were “very helpful and great value for money”. They also used Berry Scrumptious for some pre dinner nibbles and delicious “Bride and Groom” strawberries – apparently Claire who runs the company was very patient and understanding when Vicky kept changing the numbers!
A special mention by Vicky & Dave also goes to Walker Slater in Edinburgh who made Dave’s suit as he felt like royalty in it.

Vicky told us that they chose Archibald Photography because our website showed the kind of images that they wanted.  Vicky also said our website “said that Mark preferred natural photographs and we just felt that he would cater for our needs and not have everyone standing on ceremony for hours on end. After we visited your studio and met Mark and yourself we instantly felt that we would be comfortable on the day. I really don’t like getting my photo taken and the thought of the “photos” at the wedding was filling me with dread but all those feelings went away after our first meeting. Mark was fantastic on the day – he blended in just like a guest, many people actually thought he was a guest – the fact that he didn’t use a flash meant he could capture moments without anyone noticing. His attitude on the day is to get the job done as quickly and as painlessly as possible to allow everyone to get on with enjoying the day and that is exactly what he did. The end result was really natural photographs that totally capture all the elements of the day and we couldn’t be happier with them. I’ve shown them to many people and all have said that they have not seen such beautiful wedding photographs – not just because we are in them, but the colours, natural expressions, etc, make them appear so different from any that they had seen before. And of course the aftercare by Donna has been wonderful – nothing seems like a hassle and you want to ensure that the end product is exactly what we want and not what is easiest for you to design.”

We asked Vicky what her favourite image from her wedding was – “There are so many but I think the one that really stands out for the people in it and the background is the one of all of Dave, his best man, the ushers and Neil the toast master. They are striding up the gardens with Tinto in the background – they look like a scene out of reservoir dogs. It’s a very powerful image but fun at the same time.”

Vicky’s Mum and Dad’s best friends, Drew and Alison, gave them their cake as a wedding gift. The couple chose Special Days in Uddingston to make the cake and it was delicious.

When we asked Vicky what the best bit of their day was, she told us “just spending it with all of our friends and family was really special but walking in to the reception to take our seats for dinner was fantastic – everyone was cheering and clapping and stamping their feet, the noise was incredible.”

Vicky and Dave generously decided not to give out favours but put the money to better use by giving it to charity.  As Vicky told us “Neil, our good friend and toastmaster, is in the army and has been in Afghanistan and his stories coupled with what you see in the press helped us decide to give our donation to the “Help for Heroes” campaign to help all of our service men and women who have been injured in combat. We gave a donation and also bought Hero Bears to give to the children who were at the wedding.”

The evening entertainment was provided by the band Corra.  As Vicky said “they were great and played the type of music that we wanted with no “Loch Lomond” at the end of the night or Robbie Williams! They did a bit of everything which kept the dance floor busy. We’ve had a few people ask for their name and number so I reckon they went down well.”

As with all wedding days, there were some funny bits for the couple. One moment for Vicky was “waking up at my mums on the morning of the wedding to find Lorna & Lynne, my bridesmaids, doing some kind of mad Jane Fonda style work-out to motown music to get them “pumped up” for the day ahead.

Vicky and Dave also had a bit of a laugh when the whole top table did a mexican wave and only one of the guest tables noticed. They then started whooping and cheering and everyone started cheering at them instead of the top table!

We asked Vicky and Dave how they would sum up their day.  One word was their response “MAGIC!”