Mid Summer Delight

I really could share all the photos from the wedding I did last midsummers day for my beautiful cousin Naomi and her wonderful husband Bravo. It was held at the home of another cousin just over in Dunkeld and very much a small family affair, with kids and fun and WAY too much food!

...and the view, oh the view, I could sit there and stare at it all day...

Yes, that it Dunkeld Cathedral in the background

 

 I was upstairs putting the signed legal paperwork away safely when the Scottish style dancing to wonderful African music broke out - and had to try and capture the moment before I ran back down and joined in....

Laura & Daniel at Inchyra Byre

Let the weather do its worst!

 

I first met these two by Skype as they were London based, then we managed to find a weekend they'd be up seeing Laura's folks in Glasgow and I'd be down in Edinburgh...so I popped over to meet for a coffee near the station at Queens Street on my way back to Perth, so we were able to do at least some of the planning face to face without anyone having to pay for flights!

...but all the plans in the world can do nothing about summer rain in Perthshire, so as the afternoon got darker and darker out on the lawn, the Inchyra staff and I hatched a plan for what we hoped would be the most efficient system of getting everyone inside the barn while still mostly dry if it decided to come down in sheets, as it was threatening too...

... it did.

It went roughly " Ladies can you please make you way inside and right to the back of the barn as quickly as you can, Bride first!...and then if the younger gentlemen can grab two chairs each and take them into the side room, we'll restart as soon as we can..."

It wasn't very quick, and lots of us got at least a bit damp, but it did mean that I had long enough to make up a few very bad jokes about getting the best value out of every room they were paying for at the venue...and Laura potentially getting two grand entrances!

Folk say that wee disasters like this can make the day, and it really can...everyone was in stitches - including the bride, who was so relaxed and happy throughout and just so excited about the whole thing, that it really could have rained cats and dogs all day, and Laura would not have cared!

The same can't be said for Daniel though...he was properly nervous as we set up, and the lovely cheesy grin below did not really put in an appearance till the paperwork was signed.

Major props too to their great team of pals from London, all of whom donned the kilt for the first time at the wedding, and wore them with pride...though the photographer and I did offer some instructions on how to sit down ‘politely’ in one... if only Kilt Hire firms issued instructions!

Congratulations and thanks to you both, such a lovely warm joyous ceremony!

  

How to go to the loo in a big wedding dress

TOP TIP

Depending on your frock you could try with a bin bag but it can make the dress suffer a bit of static...so another good call can be a long jersey skirt with an elasticated waist used in the same way as the bag- a quick run to a charity shop will find you one if your wardrobe does not provide!

Animals in the Wedding party?

Tangled Ever After

or

79 good reasons not to include animals in your ceremony!

Gotta love some Disney...and yes this is 6 minutes and 29 seconds of your life you won't get back if you click, but there is a slightly serious side to this post too...

I am very happy to have family dogs involved in ceremonies...and last weekend I had a 'Best Pug' and 'Brides Pug' for the first time! But I really am not keen on the birds of prey bringing the rings thing.

There are lots of celebrants who are very happy to do this, so I can easily put you in touch with someone who will, but I'd like to explain my reasoning.

I have only done this once, I was very unsure about the whole idea and to my mind it did not go well...but maybe not in the way you'd expect...

The owl didn't actually have the rings (the best man had them, so that side of it was fake) and it did fly down to the Best man, Grab the chickens foot he was holding, and as he didn't catch the straps to keep it on the glove quickly enough, it promptly flew up to the chandelier and stayed there...

In a cartoon like the one above, this is properly funny, but in real life? Not so much.

The bride, groom and guests were in kinks – except for the few who were genuinely shaking in terror as they hated birds, and especially birds indoors. Despite having been told to be super quiet and not to use flash photography while the wee owl was in the room, everyone soon forgot in the hilarity, and folk were leaning around trying to get a shot of the owl up on high, as the handler tried to lure it down again.

We eventually managed to restore a bit of calm, and a new chickens foot was found, and the owl returned to the handlers glove…only for a huge spontaneous round of applause to start at her success. That was the last straw for the owl, the noise bouncing off the stone walls, and it was actually shrieking in distress as it was taken back outside.

So, all in all not my cup of tea.

Is it animal cruelty? Possibly. Circus act? Heading that way…and unless I find myself conducting the wedding of an actual falconer, next to a mews, with only 5 guests, who is having their pet raptor join in, in a ceremony that is guaranteed to be outside – no matter what the weather does -  I’ll stick with enjoying the Disney version, and not be trying that again!

Steph & Angela; Comrie Croft

FACT: I don't understand the biology of it, but winter brides don't feel the cold like other people.

If you've been looking through my blog a bit (or are about to!) you'll see that I'm not much of a photographer, which is why I get excited when a couple sends me some good photos after a ceremony...and you can see the 'real ones' of this rather magical winters day at Comrie Croft from a 'real' photographer on the link below...but I had to include this one of mine once I found it again, as even though the auto focus has set itself on the wee dude not the Brides, he really was the happiest most excited page boy EVER!

You can see the proper photos and even more of the mad pageboy as well as the beautiful brides at:

http://www.wonderfulandstrange.co.uk/2017/02/scotland-woodland-wedding-photography/

Guardswell Farm: New Events Venue

Delighted to find myself at Guardswell Farm yesterday, conducting the very first wedding to held at the new venue. Properly Exciting!

Andrew & Alina had taken a bit of a leap of faith when they booked a stone shell and some mud with an amazing view early last year...but it paid off, and Guardswell is going to be a great addition to my local venues (pictures of the actual wedding to follow).

As the space is very much planned as more than a wedding venue, the number of ceremonies per year will be limited, as is the on-site accomodation (22 folk just now, but pretty luxurious). I'm sure its location between Perth & Dundee and overlooking the Tay will attract folk nonetheless. I understand that more accomodation will be added as time goes on.

The look they have gone for is very much rustic chic, with a good dash of elegance about it too...clean lines, simple and light, the space also seems very adaptable, but I've not seen it all opened up (big sliding barn type doors) lead directly outside or to huge windows.

Alina & Andrew had chosen to keep the dining and reception area secret until the dinner started, so it was more enclosed than it would usually be, but I could see why they wanted to do that as well...
It really does make an impact when you walk in...

As I understand it the catering and bar plan is that you provide your own, but the kitchen is state of the art (i've been told!) and is set out to accomodate cookery classes and demonstrations too.

They seemed really on top of things, and as I chatted with Anne the event organiser about her work, she gave me a lot of confidence that they have a good approach to things...From the celebrants point of view it's fab...intigrated sound system for music, staff to operate it, and even a spot when I can get changed into my suit and leave my bag of emergency kit!

The space in which we did the ceremony was lovely, quite a long room, but with lots of light and really good accoustics, so no need for messy/ugly microphones or cables.

It did get pretty hot, and I think more ventilation will have to be thought about, but if you weren't keeping the adjoining larger spaces as a surprise, then there are doors that could be opened at the side, which I suspect would increase the airflow significantly.

All in all I had a lovely time, it was easy to find and get to, and the view was just fantastic...though sadly my attempts at capturing it were not! (sigh)

However, you'll find some great ones on their facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/guardswell