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.
We’ve received some lovely emails and comments in the last few days thanking us for our work. We do love what we do! Here’s a few to share with you:
From Kate and Mike whose wedding Mark photographed on Saturday:
“Just a quick note to say a massive thank you to Mark for Saturday. We’ve has so many of our friends and family say how great the photographer was and we have to agree! We had a perfect day, thank you so so much. Can’t wait to see the photos, Kate and Mike x”
From Julie and Kenny who had a recent natural light portrait session for their little baby Callum with Mark recently (Mark photographed Julie and Kenny’s wedding a while back):
“It was such a nice surprise to come home from our holidays and to get to see the fantastic photos. Mark has really done himself proud again, especially considering the mood Callum was in that day. We are delighted with the photos and can’t wait to get some of them up in our home. We will be in touch very shortly to order some of the prints……..just need to get deciding!! Thanks again to Mark for providing us with such fantastic momentos of this special time. Julie & Kenny P.S Congrats on winning yet more awards…..I’m sure you are fast running out of space for them all!”
Thanks everyone!
And while, I am on the subject, just how gorgeous is baby Callum?
If you are planning your wedding and are looking for amazing flowers, I would say look no further than Planet Flowers. We love when our couples have chosen to work with Planet Flowers because you can be guaranteed that their floral art will be dramatic, classy or a little different from the norm.
Planet Flowers are a mother and daughter team who have always had flowers in their lives. Mum Rachel had been involved with flowers from a young age as her father was a keen gardener which progressed to her training in flower shops in Australia. Gemma, her daughter, always went along with her Mum to work and so it seemed like a natural progression to also start working in the flower business. After Gemma left school, she trained in Holland and received a Dutch Masters Diploma in floral art and shortly after began work with her Mum, Rachel.
Planet Flowers has now been trading for just over 12 years. After Rachel gained a wealth of experience managing flower shops over 25 years, she decided to start an Event Floristry business that would specialise in event, wedding and hospitality flowers only. Planet Flowers offers a team of highly trained florists that strive to deliver the highest quality of flowers and design without compromising traditional floristry skills. As Gemma told me “We think outside the box and constantly try to inspire our clients to move on with floral design and try something different. We want each and every wedding to have a different look and feel. Each wedding should be unique to each bride and groom – it is their special day so the flower design should be designed just for them. No matter whether it is designing or executing the design we are passionate about our work and we think this shows through to our clients.”
I wondered what their favourite arrangement or event had been. Gemma said “This is such a hard question! There are so many memorable events for all different reasons! One of the most amazing experiences was designing and executing a wedding at Hotel de Paris, Monaco back in 2008. It was a lifetime experience that we will never forget. More recently we designed the flowers for a wedding at the stunning venue Mansfield Traquair in Edinburgh. It was a truly magnificent wedding – it was such a modern, sleek design. For the last five years we have also supplied the flowers for the Queens Summer Party at Holyrood Palace – which we are very proud about – sadly we have never seen a Corgi in the grounds… maybe this year!”
So what do Planet Flowers foresee for the next few years? They plan on continuing to provide the very best in Event and Corporate floristry. They would also love to continue traveling further afield to experience the rewards of tackling the most challenging work. Check out some of their stunning designs on their blog.
One of our favourite couples from last year (Jen and Derek) chose Planet Flowers to provide gorgeous arrangements on their wedding day.
A great wedding image should be one that captures a moment, summons emotion and makes you feel that you are there too. Many clients who come to see us say they feel very emotional looking at our wedding albums without even knowing the couples involved. I love this image of Heather and Arron’s wedding at Balbirnie House – it’s emotional, romantic, intimate and very real.
Working in the wedding industry, we get to work with some great suppliers on a wedding day. One of our favourite makeup artists to work with is Ainsley of Ainsley M Makeup. As a professional make-up artist, specialising in bridal make-up, Ainsley is a master of making brides look radiant, natural and beautiful on their wedding day. As well as coming out on a wedding day to do bridal makeup and makeup for others in the wedding party, such as, bridesmaids and the mother of the bride, Ainsley M also offers makeup lessons for those wishing to do their own makeup either on a wedding day or just to improve makeup application for every day wear. Ainsley has been responsible for the vintage makeup looks for some recent fashion shoots which Mark has photographed – an image from which went on to win him Scottish Fashion Photographer of the Year recently.
Ainsley M is currently running a special offer on makeup lessons. If you visit her Facebook page and click ‘Like’ you will be entitled to a 20% discount on a one-to-one makeup lesson. Ainsley is based on the south side of Glasgow and you can visit her home studio to be shown the art of perfect makeup application.
Ainsley M trained at London College of Fashion in 2002 when she lived in London. She knew from the first day on the course that this was what she wanted to do and so after returning to Glasgow, she started ‘Ainsley M‘ in 2003.
I asked Ainsley what her favourite look is to provide someone with and she told me “I really love a 40′s look, alabaster skin, dark brows and red lips. I think pale skin is so beautiful and such a welcome relief from oversprayed brides.”
I was interested to know what sets Ainsley M apart from her competition. She graciously said “I have quite a few friends who are ‘the competition’ so need to be careful here! The majority of my work now is word of mouth as opposed to advertising. I absolutely love my job and get very passionate about it, I think my brides like that. Winning two VOWS Awards (2007 and 2008) has helped too as it demonstrates great customer service plus someone they can trust to turn up on time and do a great job.”
So where will Ainsley M be in 5 years time? “Doing exactly what I’m doing now. Making women beautiful and loving every minute of it.”
Make sure you visit her Facebook page to take advantage of the 20% off a makeup lesson offer.
Here’s an image of the gorgeous Lisa on her wedding day having had her makeup perfected by Ainsley:
Phew! Just coming down to earth from last night’s Scottish Master Photographer Awards held at Dunblane Hydro. Mark was bobbing up and down out of his seat receiving 4 Certificates of Merit (in Contemporary Wedding, Monochrome and Fashion categories) , one Award of Excellence (in Fashion category) and the prestigious overall title of Scottish Fashion Photographer of the Year 2010. Just think of the studio space required for another 6 certificates and a trophy! Here’s the images and the awards they were given:
This image awarded Mark Scottish Fashion Photographer of the Year 2010
This image was from a fashion shoot carried out for Lindsay Fleming Couture showing the new additions to their range of 1920s vintage inspired wedding dresses ‘All That Jazz’. The vintage style makeup was provided by Ainsley M, vintage hair styling by Volume Hair and the gorgeous accompanying headpieces by Baba-C Designs.
This image won Award of Excellence in the Monochrome Category
This image won a Certificate of Merit in the Fashion Category
This image won a Certificate of Merit in the Fashion Category
This image won a Certificate of Merit in the Contemporary Wedding Category
This image won a Certificate of Merit in the Monochrome Category
Just had to share with you the most amazing note we received by email from Godfrey and Becky, whose wedding Mark photographed at Glenapp Castle on Wednesday. Have we mentioned that we love what we do?!
“Dear Donna and Mark,
Barely 24 hours after the event and I am still extremely emotional when I think about what we have achieved.
I was delighted that Mark was able to attend our very special day and to take part in the events we had organised. Please do include the shots of Mark and his attempts at imitating “Dirty Harry” within our portfolio. It was nice too that our harpist Patricia Roberts was able to participate in the falconry display. Both Mark and Patricia were considered simply as extra invited guests and it was lovely the way everyone gelled together and relaxed into the proceedings.
After Mark left there were some very emotional speeches behind closed doors, a five course Michelin starred dinner situated within a fairy tale dining room and a spectacular finale with the superb fireworks display. Would you believe that they even coordinated it so that the fireworks matched our adopted colours of blue, green, purple and white!!
Thank you for being so relaxed and fun during the day. I had described our previous meeting to Becky and I knew that she would quickly warm to you. It is clear why you are as successful as you are and I would like to think that you would consider us as your friends.
Can’t wait for the images. We discussed it on the way home and we fully appreciate that having at least seven other amateur photographers on the day makes no difference whatsoever. I know that you will do us proud.
As for when we can attend your studio for a viewing, Becky has all but used up her annual leave allocation so this meeting would almost certainly have to take place at a weekend. It would be truly special if Mark could be there but obviously “business comes first”. I think I’ll have to re-stock on my supply of tissues before then!
Off on honeymoon tomorrow morning so the ride hasn’t stopped for us yet.
Speak soon,
Godfrey”
Of course Mark will be there for your preview – he wouldn’t miss it for the world. Hope you have just as equally as amazing honeymoon!
Well, where on earth has the last year gone. On this weekend last year, we were photographing the wedding of the lovely Helen and Rob at Norton House Hotel and with what seems like a blink of an eye, we are suddenly at the point where they will be celebrating their one year anniversary.
It was an incredibly sunny day in June last year when Mark recorded the emotional wedding of Helen and Rob. These guys are such lovely people and for Mark, it was just like recording the wedding of two great friends. Rob and Helen chose the Garden Suite of Norton House Hotel for their wedding. The garden suite is a stunning contemporary room with fantastic natural light due to the large amount of glass used in it’s design. The floor to ceiling windows overlook a Victorian walled garden with amazing foliage and the venue provided just the right relaxing environment for Helen and Rob’s intimate day.
Happy Anniversary guys! Here’s a few of our favourite memories of your day:
Rosa and Barry met whilst on holiday in Mailia in 2002. Barry proposed to Rosa on 22nd December 2007 having booked for a surprise overnight stay at the Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh. Barry ended up popping the question in the honesty bar at the hotel – after two ‘failed’ attempts at asking Rosa earlier in the day! The couple were sat on a sofa and Barry lent down (Rosa thought he was tying his shoe lace) & the next thing she knew he was on one knee in front of her!
Barry and Rosa looked at quite a few venues before picking Glenbervie House Hotel (a 5 star luxury hotel in Larbert, Central Scotland) but as soon as they drove up the driveway, they both knew it was perfect. They loved the fact that you get exclusive use of the house which they said “makes it that bit more special!”. They felt the service at Glenbervie House was brilliant throughout the run up to the wedding and on the actual day of the wedding. Rosa told us “the staff at the venue made sure the day flowed perfectly which allowed me to just enjoy it without worrying about what needed to be done or what was happening next”.
Rosa’s dress was bought from a small independent bridal shop in West Yorkshire called Perfect Daze. As Rosa told us “I originally tried the dress on about a year and a half before the wedding and nothing I saw after that would compare! When I went back to Perfect Daze to order the dress, I was told that the designer, Catherine Jane had gone into receivership and therefore I wouldn’t be able to get the dress. Emma (the owner of Perfect Daze) saw how upset I was and managed to get a final one off made for me! I love everything about my dress and I’m so sad I’ll never get to wear it again!”
Rosa’s veil and tiara were her ‘something borrowed’ (from a friend) and her Mum and Dad bought her jewellery for her, which matched her tiara really well. Rosa’s shoes were ivory pointed toes with a low heel and she got them from the Westend Wedding Boutique in Glasgow.
Millennium Hair Design in Wishaw did Rosa and her bridesmaids’ hair and Rosa commented “the girls in there were fab”. Rosa’s make-up was done locally to the Glenbervie at Airth Castle Spa.
Flowers were provided by Alison’s Flowers in Stonehouse. Rosa chose neutral (ivory & white) flowers to to work with their chosen colour scheme at Glenbervie House. Roses and white thistles were the main flowers used to connect the Yorkshire and Scottish backgrounds of the couple. Their cake was made by Barry’s old Home Economics teacher.
Kilts were from Kilt Pin in Falkirk who won Best Groomswear Company 2009 at the recent VOWS Awards.
For entertainment in the evening, the couple had a band called Red Hot Poker Band. Rosa told us that “everyone commented on how good the band were in the days and weeks after the wedding – its was a brilliant night”. The couple’s first dance was ‘Rhythms del Mundo’ – a cuban mix of Jack Johnson’s ‘Better Together’ because as Rosa pointed out “it is better when we’re together!!”
Rosa also spoke very highly of John McIntyres in Glasgow where the couple purchased their rings. Rosa told us that “the service was brilliant. When you purchase your wedding ring’s there you get 10% discount on any further purchases, which is good for bridesmaids gifts and jewellery. I would recommend them to everyone!”
I was interested to find out why Barry and Rosa had chosen Archibald Photography as their photographers. Rosa said “I first saw your photographs when I searched for wedding photographers online and I knew Marks images were just the style we wanted. After visiting your studio and meeting you both we were certain that you would produce the type/style of album we wanted. I love the images of Barry and I walking down the drive with the trees behind us. They are just beautiful, I still can’t believe its us in the pictures!”
For Barry and Rosa, the best thing about the day (other than the marriage ceremony) was having all their friends and family together in one place at one time. As Rosa pointed out “it’s not likely to happen again anytime soon and so really does make the day extra special.” Barry sums up the day as “awesome!”
On any wedding day, there is usually something funny that happens or doesn’t go as planned. For Rosa and Barry, it was the cutting of their wedding cake. According to Rosa “we did under estimate how hard it would be to cut the cake – that was quite funny and made some pretty good photos!”
From our point of view, we loved watching the slideshow for the first time with Rosa and Barry. The sequence of images from their speeches had us all in fits of giggles and we hope their images will provide them with a fantastic lasting record of a fabulous day.
Here’s a slideshow of our favourite images from their day (turn off the volume if at work!):
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.
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.
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”.
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:
In the Autumn of 2009, Mark was at Airth Castle in Falkirk for the wedding of Pamela and Ross.
Ross and Pamela met in a pub in Sauchiehall Street on Christmas Eve which Pamela says is “not the most romantic story I guess!” Pamela told us that Ross would quite frequently tease her by pretending he was going to propose, getting down on one knee and then asking if she’d him the honour of holding his coat while he tied his shoe! So Pamela was surprised after 3 years when he actually did propose when they were on holiday in New York. The couple had a perfect day out on a row boat on Central Park and then Ross took Pamela to Tiffanys and proposed.
They both liked Airth Castle as soon as they saw it and thought that would be the perfect location for their wedding.
The couple had some favourite suppliers on the day including the MC at Airth Castle and the piper from Scotia Pipers. Flowers were provided by Grace Flowers on Byres Road.
Pamela and Ross have lots of favourite images and thought Mark did a really good job of capturing the day. They particularly liked the images of them both immediately after the ceremony, the shots of Pamela’s veil blowing in the wind and all the men in kilts walking across the lawn. The couple chose Archibald Photography because “we liked Mark’s style looking at his previous work. And he came to our flat to visit and show us his work and meet him beforehand which was great.”
In summary, the couple felt they had a “brilliant day”. They were really laid back about it and didn’t try the food or taste the wine or anything until the day but were happy with everything. The only thing Pamela thinks they should have done is learn to dance! She laughed as she told us “that was a bit embarrassing”. Pamela and Ross’s first dance track was You and Me Song by The Wannadies.
Here are some of our favourite images of their wedding:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
We were recently contacted by the BBC’s Saturday night BBC One entertainment series ‘Tonight’s The Night’ with John Barrowman. This dream fulfilment series is returning again this summer and John is looking for more people to surprise. This time John is very keen to turn up to weddings and give a fantastic surprise and a wedding present money can’t buy! They’re looking for brides or grooms who want to surprise their spouse with a special or iconic choreographed dance routine. Or wedding guests, bridesmaids, ushers etc who want to surprise the happy couple with a special dance at the reception. The weddings must be taking place between May and early August this year.
So, if anyone is, or knows a special couple who are Dirty Dancing devotees, ballroom dancing buffs, street dance supremos or disco dancing divas then the BBC would love them to get in touch, as they could help to deliver the surprise of a lifetime. If interested, please email us on info@archibaldphotography.co.uk for details of how to contact the program. Click HERE to contact us.
We were excited to hear of the launch of a new wedding planning business run by a very experienced face on the scene! Joann Scott has worked full-time in planning weddings in hotels, 5 star venues and stately homes since 2000 which has allowed her to build up great relationships with suppliers all over Scotland. Now she has launched a new venture as Joann Scott Weddings to devote herself entirely to planning weddings and events.
Archibald Photography would like to wish Joann Scott Weddings all the best in the new venture. We look forward to working with her closely as one of her high quality suppliers.
Last year, Mark was really overwhelmed to become the winner of Complete Wedding Category of the Master Photographer Association Awards 2009 (Scottish Region). To enter you must submit 10 images from one wedding and the award reflects consistency in technical excellence.
The awards were judged by two fantastic and UK leading photographers - Bella West and Simon Johns. They both provided feedback on why Mark was awarded this prestigious award as follows:
“Mark Archibald’s collection of images defined him as one of Scotland’s most skillful and creative photographers. Within the ten images from one wedding, Mark demonstrated his eye for light, colour, composition, graphic and emotion – all the areas which today’s bride want to see within their wedding photographs. Alongside this, Mark has used the wonderful environment of this wedding and incorporated it within the story. Mark has managed to demonstrate all the elements of a wedding within just ten images.” – Bella West (In 2008 Bella was awarded the most prestigious and respected accolade, that of Fellowship in not one, but two of the leading professional bodies – the British Institute of Professional Photography and the Master Photographers Association – one of only a handful of females to be recognised at this level.)
“A stunning set of images, full of drama and story telling. I liked the informality Mark captured. Observed with a keen eye and great sense of humility.” – Simon John (Simon John is one of the most celebrated photographers in the UK and was awarded his Fellowship of the British Institute of Professional Photography at a prestigious ceremony held at the House of Commons Westminster in 1996.)
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.
It was great to meet up with Laura and James yesterday for a chat about their wedding plans and thoughts on their wedding photography. We caught up at Kelvingrove Art Gallery for a coffee and as the spring was in the air and the sun was shining, I took a few shots of them before I left them. Really looking forward to shooting their wedding in April at the University of Glasgow and 29 Royal Exchange Square. Here’s a few images of them.
