Karen & David's Wedding, Carnbooth House Hotel, Glasgow

Nothing do I love more than waking up on the morning of a wedding I'm about to photograph and seeing bright skies with the odd bit of sunshine (not too much sun mind). And today was just that. Another good reason for the weather being great is that it creates even more excitement among the bride and her family and they're ever so slightly more relaxed. This was the case when I arrived at the house where Karen was getting ready, together with her bridesmaids and parents.

Of course there's always that awkward 'where do I look' when I point the camera at people getting ready. My immediate task though was to find some nice textures in the garden and the odd colourful flower to use as a surround to photograph the wedding dress and the shoes. Karen's mum and dad were adamant I wouldn't find anything, but I think I surprised them.

It wasn't long before I set off to St Mary's Church in Kirkintilloch to see David, his son Liam and of course David's best man Kieran. After a few photos I let them gather their nerves and greet their guests. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. Mark Johnston who has to be the most down to earth, funniest and most accommodating person I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I spent half the ceremony wondering what on earth two Domino's pizza boxes were doing sitting beneath the big table, until finally Mark produced them to make a joke about how David had interviewed Karen and subsequently given her the job at the local Domino's Pizza! It's fair to say also that Mark rocked the Ceilidh later that evening!

Earlier in the year I had visited Carnbooth House with Karen and David and back then there was still snow on the ground. It was hard to imagine what a bright June day would look like, but we weren't disappointed. Lots of lovely colours and greenery and textures to work with when we went off to explore for some photos.

The beauty of having such a lovely bright day meant that the wedding guests mingled both indoors and out on the decking. With so much laughter and many emotions going on, it was a delight to float around and capture it all taking place.

So Karen and David, thank you so much for having me share your fabulous wedding day with you and to all your family and friends who made me very welcome. Here is a small selection of what I captured for everybody to enjoy.

Scotland Wedding, National Piping Centre, Glasgow

What can I say about Andrew and Andrew? From the moment I met them over a year ago I've thoroughly enjoyed being in their company. They're full of energy, enthusiastic about everything and are just genuinely nice guys. It's been an absolute pleasure whenever we've discussed the wedding plans, spent time doing their engagement shoot and talking about all sorts of stuff.

The morning of the wedding was so much fun. The guys were getting ready in one of the rooms in The Pipers' Tryst together with their bridesmaids Elena, Leanne & Katrina. Lots of laughs, hugs, smiles and much hilarity, the room was emotionally charged. I kept myself busy with the kilts, the rings, the shoes and the flowers before returning to the room to capture all the fun.

Every time I've photographed a wedding at The Piping Centre, I'm amazed by just how much running around behind the scenes is done by Caitlin and the team. Everything is looked after and this time was no different. Every single worry, panic, request or whatever, was dealt with calmly meaning that Andrew and Andrew could just concentrate on getting ready and then getting married!

It was so lovely to get to meet Andrew and Andrew's friends and family, they all helped make their day a special one. And in some ways I'm a little sad that it's finally happened as I've enjoyed the anticipation of that day for so long. But I am looking forward to meeting them in their new home over the summer. Get the coffee on boys!

A couple of people who helped in some small way and who I'd love you to check out:

Venue: The National Piping Centre/Pipers' Tryst, Glasgow
http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/wedding-events/weddings/
Give them a like on Facebook.

Flowers: Lavender Blue - http://lavenderblue.webeden.co.uk
Give them a like on Facebook.

Here is a selection of images from Andrew and Andrew's fabulous wedding day, enjoy!

Eryn & David's Engagement shoot, Largs, Scotland

Having three children myself I know fine well just what life is like to err...have three children! Life is busy and making time for an engagement shoot seems an impossible task. Whenever one of my couples have kids, I always offer to include them in the shoot so it works as a kind of mini family shoot too.

And that's just what I did with Eryn and David. We went to a lovely local play park in Largs which the family knew well. I wanted them to have fun together as a family with lots of laughs, smiles and giggles and that's exactly what happened. Arryca, Reyd and Hyden had so much fun and I just allowed them to be themselves and run wild, well Reyd and Hyden did anyway! Arryca did what she did best, sit, smile and laugh!

I then took Eryn and David to the far side of the park whilst the kids played on the swings and kicked a football about (don't worry, little Arryca was looked after by Eryn's sister). It's always very difficult to show your emotions (and by that I mean your love for somebody) in front of a camera once you've already lived with each other for a number of years and had kids. But Eryn and David took to it like a duck to water. Twenty minutes of peace and quiet and being child free, time to breath and just be themselves.

Here is a small selection of the images I captured of them all.

Arran Wedding, The Big Wooden House, Scotland

A dreamy Isle of Arran summer wedding at the most incredible Big Wooden House near Brodick.

Charlotte and Darren had the most gorgeous wedding on the Isle of Arran.

It all started with a very early ferry from Ardrossan over to Brodick on the CalMac ferry. I met my partner in crime for the day Dougie from Leading Lines Photography who would be helping me all day. Whenever I have to get a ferry to shoot a wedding, I feel like I'm going on my holidays! We headed straight to the cafe of course for a full fry up to set us up for the day. Once in Brodick we grabbed a quick coffee and chatted about what we were going to do. Dougie then headed to Lamlash to photograph Darren and the boys whilst I headed to the venue for the day to meet Charlotte and all the girls.

As I walked down a narrow lane with trees either side, there it was, The Big Wooden House. Almost completely hidden from view, you'd hardly notice it was there and you can only just make it out from the ferry. It's absolutely breath taking with so many intricate features, in other words, a photographers paradise!

The Big Wooden House was such a lovely and relaxing place to be on the morning of the wedding. People were just wandering about from room to room doing their own thing whilst getting ready for the day ahead. And after a dampish start, we were blessed with a bright and sunny afternoon and so the ceremony was held outside next to the river with a clear view of Goat Fell in the distance. It was a very small and intimate wedding with very close friends and family. Canapés and drinks were served on the lawn whilst the children were kept entertained with games and were free to run about.

Small weddings like this one really give you the opportunity to get to know people and blend in. It was a lovely experience to spend time with everybody and we enjoyed it so much that we went back the next morning and spent an hour with those who stayed at the house. It was hard saying goodbye, but Dougie and I had an island to explore.

Flowers: Eleanour's Flowers, Brodick
Shoes: Le Soulier hand painted shoes
Venue: The Big Wooden House, Arran

Karen & David's Engagement shoot

I was so looking forward to spending time with Karen and David, I'd been desperate to take photos of them both. The location didn't disappoint, Mugdock Country Park, one of the best places to just wander and explore. Now as most of you know, I need my coffee in the morning so that's exactly what we did first! It's a great way to settle the nerves and just chat about all sorts as well as what we were about to embark on.

There are so many areas of this park. We decided upon a short path, beside the lake and then the walk through to the castle ruins. Every time I saw something, I'd stop and take photos. David's son Liam also joined us for the first part of the shoot, he was a wee character and very smiley! Then Karen's mum Margaret kept Liam busy whilst Karen, David and I went off to explore.

At the time of writing this, their wedding is fast approaching, a church ceremony and then on to Carnbooth House Hotel which I'm really looking forward to. Here is a small selection from the shoot.