Raymond and Marina, Wedding Photography Dunfermline

I’ve been so lucky with all my clients, not one of them has been difficult or bad tempered, Raymond and Marina were certainly neither of these , you couldn't meet nicer people. Not only that, Raymond used to be a drummer with Big Country, my favourite band of all time. If I didn’t have a mortgage to pay, I’d happily photographed their Wedding free just for that reason!!

Anyway, it was to be in Dunfermline, Forester park resort , we had been there a few weeks back to check the location out and it had the potential to be stunning. We always knew it would be dark, the service was not until 4pm and it is almost mid winter so outside shots were never on the agenda. However, in Blairgowrie the weather was fine with blue skies so I was hopeful that we might get a few outside shots. That was not to be, Dunfermline was coated in thick mist all day – bummer!

I went to Keavil House Hotel where they were all getting ready.



I found Raymond being assisted by Willie the best man


Marina was in her mothers room with the 2 bridesmaids, she was not really decent enough to be photographed so I stuck to the dress and various other bits and pieces.

Raymond is such a romantic at heart, this is the room key that he had given Marina

We all headed up to Forester Park where Raymond was steadying his nerves.

Christmas is a big thing here at Forester Park and Raymond and Marina wanted it to be part of their big day.

Marina arrived with her Mum who was to be giving her away.

The service was conducted by Reverend Jesamine from Dunfermline Abbey, we had met once before a few weeks back for Gary and Kellys Wedding and he remembered me by name which was nice. He is a really nice man and he does have definite rules on photography during the service, I managed to negotiate with him to let me take 2 photographs during the service.
After the signing, time was really short and we had a bit to get through so I had to drag Raymond and Marina away for photographs, I hate doing this to the guests and try to make it as quick as possible but they were both really up for being photographed, Marina had modelled before and it showed through.

We started off by the piano, being keen to push the boundaries and also to link in to Raymonds musical skills I persuaded her to get on top – with a little help!



Somehow or other we found ourselves in the Gents locker room!

Then it got worse, we found the showers, I was just doing as I was told – honest!

Raymond wanted to show off his chiselled jaw line so a bit of hard flash and classic Rembrandt Lighting.

Raymond and Marina, you were truly great to work with. Please do keep in touch and lets get together once you move back to Scotland. Your disc will be with you early next week.

Claire and Callum – The Lonach Hall, Strathdon, Wedding Photography by Angus Forbes

Such a pity it was chucking down as I drove over Glanshee to Strathdon and the Lonach Hall for the Wedding of Claire and Callum last Saturday. It was always to be expected, its November after all but I was hoping for a freak good day. I arrived early as usual and found Claire and her helpers in the hotel bedroom getting ready, a quick round of hellos then off to scout the area for locations.

The origins of the Lonach Hall date back to 1823, when King George IV honoured Charles Forbes with a baronetcy - Sir Charles Forbes Bart of Newe and Edinglassie. Later that same year, to mark his son John's coming of age on 15th December, a bonfire was lit on the Lonach Hill, and the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society was founded to preserve the Highland dress and the Gaelic tongue. In 1836, the Society agreed to hold a Highland Gathering. So many people called Forbes seem to come from this area I felt quite at home!


Guess where I found Callum!
 
I managed to drag him away from the bar for a quick photograph before things got too busy.


Claire and her bridesmaid Elissa arrived, they both looked stunning and more decent than the last time I had seen them!


Meanwhile Callum was waiting patiently for her arrival – I think at this point he had just caught sight of her. 





After the service there was a quick drinks reception but it was getting very cold and windy so we headed in for photographs.

Can you see how cold she was, very brave of her to be outside

We headed back inside for more photographs.
 


Claire and Callum had organised a caricaturist to keep people entertained for a while, Claire had to have hers done.  
The first dance – music was provided by Smooth Cat Disco  although after the 1st dance the Ceilidh band got everyone going

I like to get in about the action at the dancing but it can be dangerous – I was knocked over twice that night.

Even more great feedback – blushing now!

A while back I photographed Alana and Richard at Birkhill Castle, I received this lovely letter today in the post.

Dear Angus,

Sorry this has taken so long to write, but now our Wedding Blessing is also over, we’ve got more time. Just a quick note to say thank you so much for our Wedding photos. They are so amazing, we are really pleased with them. We are so delighted to have found you, and your relaxed manner made us feel so at ease which was seriously reflected in the photos.

Whilst in Paris for a few days after the Wedding, we popped onto the internet to check emails. Having seen an email from you we accessed your blog and though the photos were really amazing. We couldn’t wait to get home and look at all the photos from the day and the evening we got home, after the boys were put to bed, it was the first thing we did. We absolutely loved flicking through our photos to relive our special day. We displayed some after our Wedding blessing service and so many of our guests commented on how wonderful the photos were.

Thank you Thank you once again, hope to catch up soon.

Lots of love, Richard and Alana.xx

Thanks guys, really appreciate you taking the time to write, it was great to work with you and please do keep in touch.

More great feedback

You may remember Linda and Nates Wedding at Norton House Hotel, well they sent this lovely email the other day – thanks guys, you were great to work with.

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Hi Angus

Wow - we love the pics online.. they are fab and a perfect memory of the day. Can't believe how lucky we were with everything! We were delighted with you and many people commented on how friendly and funny you were on the day. We also said ourselves that you were so unobtrusive that we didn't even notice you taking some of the pictures :)

Thanks so much for making such an important part of our day an even greater pleasure...it was fun and the results are fantastic.

We'll certainly place a vote and will heartily recommend you in future. And if we ever get the opportunity to have professional photographs taken again, we'll be looking for you!

All the best

Linda and Nate :)

Family Portraiture Scotland

On Tuesday this week I was in the lovely Perthshire village of Dunning for a photo shoot with Laura and Richard and their 2 boys. We went for a stroll round a local wood, it was not great weather but the colours here in Perthshire at this time of year are stunning and more than make up for the rain and cloud. Here are a few favourites from the shoot.

 

Environmental portraits are becoming quite popular now, for small kids they are slightly less daunting than a studio and with a variety of locations they can be a great way to get lots of different shots in a short space of time. If you’d like to arrange a portrait session like this then get in touch.

Linda and Nate – Wedding Photography, Norton House Hotel

What a change in the weather last Saturday and thank goodness for that, I was back in Norton House Hotel near Edinburgh (after many years) for the Wedding of Linda and Nate, this had been a fairly last minute booking but I had met them both twice and we all got on really well. This Wedding had been a recommendation from Elemental Weddings so thanks guys for that.

I started as usual in the Brides Room, it was busy, lots of people milling about so I fired off a few shots of rings flowers etc.



I also managed to drag Linda away from the Champagne for a few shots of her with her Mother and Sisters.

After that I headed downstairs to see if I could find Nate, I managed to find him in the reception room peering at a lap top screen. Nate is from New Zealand and due to illness his parents were not able to make the journey to Scotland, so the next best thing was to join the proceedings by video conference via Skype. It was 3am in the morning there!
 
I dragged him away from his Mother for a few shots outside, time was marching along now.
Then it was quickly back for the service which was due to start.

Linda arrived looking Stunning

The service was really nice and a bit of hilarity through the proceedings is always good.  Nates Parents were still online watching from NZ

A quick chat and some congratulations from the other side of the world then it was out for champagne.
We did some group shots, quite quickly as it was getting colder then we went for a walk about to get some stunning couple shots. I’d already had a scout about for locations so we were able to get on quickly.

We couldn’t miss a shot of Linda and her Father.

Then the cake shot – we also did the cake cutting here before it was formally done. I like to do a fake shot as well as the real thing just to be safe.

The speeches were very funny, Lindas Dad had us all in stitches and Linda was mortified for a fair part of it. Nate got a bit of a hammering from his best Men, they had many stories from people in New Zealand, at one point I almost felt sorry for him.

And finally, his 2 best Men did a Scottish Haka, it was absolutely hilarious.