Ardgowan Estate, Scottish Wedding Venue

Ardgowan Estate is one of the most magical and fascinating places I've ever visited. And it's a stones throw away from where I live! A few months ago I was invited to meet Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart who gave me a quick tour of the place. It would make the most amazing wedding venue with so much to explore, more details about that right here.

I recently returned with my camera where I was given the freedom to explore. I walked into many of the grand rooms that looked out on to the estate. I was completely in awe of the place as I unearthed many of its hidden treasures that revealed some of its history. I ventured outside and stood at the door to the ruined chapel, imagining the people who once walked in and out of its grand entrance. Through the gardens, across the lawn and through the woodland. Ardgowan Estate has a heartbeat that's ready to come to life again and is about to begin another exciting journey. But right now, explore with me through the collection of images I captured. (oh and if you scroll to the bottom, you can see some aerial footage shot with a drone of the estate, amazing stuff!)

Ardgowan Estate from Ardgowan Estate on Vimeo.

Aerial film by Quantum Altitude Vision

Gillian & Paul's Engagement Shoot

It’s fair to say that Gillian and Paul were a little bit nervous ahead of their engagement shoot. The only way to fix that is of course, coffee and a good old chin wag! So that’s exactly what we did down at Cafe Riva in Inverkip Marina. It had been a while since we had last sat down and talked about the wedding so it was really lovely to be able to talk about all sorts with them again.

After lots of coffee and wedding words, we eventually set out to Inverkip Beach. I wanted to do a mix of on the beach before heading into the woods. Gillian and Paul were amazing, eventually taking to it like ducks to water. I think they had a pretty fab time and so much lovely light in the woods to be had too!

Here is a small selection for you all to enjoy.

Gayle & Rob's Engagement Shoot at The Sugar Sheds

This shoot seems so long ago now given that Gayle and Rob are now married! But what a perfect place for it given that Rob works just across from the Sugar Sheds in Greenock. I love this place so much as having grown up in Liverpool, it's a building not too dissimilar from those in my  home town and with a similar history too. Its rustic brick walls reveal lovely colours and the huge cast iron doors make a fantastic backdrop.

I had so much fun with Gayle, Rob and their son Robbie. How glad was I that Robbie came along as he showed his mum and dad how to pose and was constantly telling them what to do! His cheeky smile filled my camera with some fab images and just made me realise how much I love what I do.

Here's some of those images for you to enjoy. Watch this space for their wedding which will be featured here very soon.

The chase was most definitely on

The best types of family shoots are those where there's no pre-conceived ideas of having to stand still, face the camera and say 'cheese'!!! I've come to hate that word very much. Because let's face it, pretty much everyone (who isn't a photographer) has more or less that expectation of a photo shoot, right?

Well not where I'm concerned. Kids are kids. They rarely sit still if asked, never smile when you want them to and always want to do whatever the hell they like! Trust me, I have three little rascals of my own, I should know.

When it came to the McDougall Family, the grown ups told me they didn't want to be in the photos and so I just had the kids to concentrate on. Cara and Jaimie were absolutely fabulous with Cara wanting to pose for the camera every time I pointed it at her. Meanwhile Jaimie just wanted to run and run and run and run some more. But he absolutely loved his big sister.

Lunderston Bay, near Inverkip, deep in the woods was where we chose to explore and err...get very very muddy! Here is a small selection of what we got up to.