Jo & Craig's Wedding Story
I met Jo & Craig about a year ago in a small Italian restaurant in Edinburgh to discuss their wedding. When they told me their plan to get married at Jo’s family house in the Scottish Borders, I wanted in. Simply because I knew it would be a very emotional day in the utmost personal venue. Generally, a wedding story has three main characters: the bridal couple, the venue & the family. Therefore an essential part of my approach is to know each of them.
Connect with the bride & groom
To capture a wedding story accurately, I need to connect with my clients. Hence I have a pre-wedding consultation included with all my collections. Furthermore, there is even a mini photo-shoot exercise for them to feel at ease in front of my lens. In this case, Jo, Craig and I also had an engagement photo-shoot last summer in the Edinburgh streets & parks.
Feel the venue
The Scottish Borders are a well under-rated by many. I have documented some amazing weddings in that region, such as the one of a Russian princess in winter. However, Jo and Craig’s wedding story was not to take place in an old abbey but at Jo’s family house, I first visited it last summer and was immediately smitten by it. The potential was evident: a big Scottish house, great garden with trees, flowers and hedges. As usual, I came back to it two weeks before the wedding to reassess the blossomed grounds. I also had the pleasure to meet Jo’s parents for the first time. Helen and Isaac are two charming individuals I’m sincerely fond of.
Join the family
While the family is a strong character in the wedding story and it is also the one I only get to meet on the wedding day. To paraphrase Forest’s mum, a family is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get. For the most part, this is where my experience as a family photographer helps me a great deal. Like most of the family characters I have met over the years, Jo & Craig’s family and guests have been very amiable and welcoming. There were around one hundred and twenty individuals attending Jo & Craig’s wedding so suffice to say it was not a small gathering in a garden. And yet, each made me feel like a member of the family. The ushers and best man, as well as the bridesmaids, were all a great support throughout the day. Lastly, I will not forget the joyful uncle who sadly missed the tatties at dinner, the delightful aunties, and the cousin who came all the way from Germany to celebrate and rock the dance floor all night long.
Here is a small selection of the photographs I had the honour and tremendous pleasure to capture on the day the K and C families became one. If you are planning to get married at your family house, don’t forget to get in touch!
