I’ve always been a bit of a Francophile so it was a lovely added dimension when Arthur and Nicola asked me to photograph their wedding at The Western House Hotel in Ayr. As Arthur is French they had lots of relatives coming over from France for the wedding so it was great to hear all those accents and see if I could remember any of my basic French!

Nicola wasn’t too bothered about the early part of the day so I started about half an hour before the ceremony. This gave me time to get a few shots of people arriving and check the set up for the wedding which had moved outdoors due to the fantastic weather!

As always, I cover the ceremony naturally, as it happens, with lots of candid’s of the bride and groom and the wedding ceremony. Afterwards, we headed over to a lovely area with some mature trees to take some group photos. I’d spotted this earlier in the week when I did a recce of all the locations and it made for a great backdrop as well as providing a little shade from the sun which was surprisingly strong for April.

I always like to keep group shots to a minimum so as not take up too much of the bride and groom’s day. I also do a few walking shots so they are less formal and more natural. After that I was able to spend some time with Nicola and Arthur on their own getting nice relaxed shots of them together. My approach is to just encourage them to be themselves and enjoy the moment so they don’t feel they are being photographed. The grounds at the Western House Hotel offer a great variety of settings, so I was able to get shots of them walking along together and some as they leaned over the wooden bridge by the pond.

The speeches proved to be very entertaining. I’ve photographed hundreds of weddings over the years but I’m always amazed at how different each one is. Arthur’s best man teaches drama, so instead of a best man’s speeches we were treated to a bit of improvised theatre using some of the guests as actors!

After the meal, there was still some great evening light so I suggested to Nicola and Arthur that we popped outside to get a few more shots of then together. The time of day can make a huge difference to different locations and the softer light was perfect for the front of the hotel.

When I popped back inside, all the children were on the dance floor. so I got some great shots of them playing before Nicola and Arthur took to the floor. After their first dance, everyone joined them for a ceilidh which went surprisingly well given that some of the French wedding guests had never done Scottish dancing before!

Venue – Western House Hotel

https://www.westernhousehotel.co.uk

Celebrant – Anne Wilks

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064821452816

Dress – Wed2Be

https://www.wed2b.com/bridal-shops/scotland/glasgow/wed2b-glasgow?utm_source=GMBListing&utm_medium=organic

Kilts – Slaters

https://www.slaters.co.uk

Hair – Blushed Bride

 https://www.theblushedbride.co.uk

Flowers – Stems and Stalks

https://www.stalksnstemsglasgow.co.uk

Cake – 3D Cakes

 https://www.3d-cakes.co.uk/birthday-party-cakes.html

Band

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