Aswanley Wedding Photographer
Years ago I took a photo of Ali at a beach party. Simple black and white picture, slightly blurred. Two things would immediately catch your attention – her big smile and freckles. Apparently that particular picture caught Andy’s eye. She published it on Facebook. Fast forward five years and they just said yes at one of the most amazing venues in the North-East of Scotland.
Ali told me this story on her wedding day, when she was getting ready! I’m not taking credit for their happiness. However, as you would expect, being a contributing factor to these two finding each other made me chuckle a little.
The pressure was on
Ali and Andy’s wedding was very important to me for a number of reasons. First of all there’s the element of working for someone you’ve known for years. The pressure is high as it is. Perhaps a little unreasonably, I felt like I had to give 120% while normally I only give 110% of myself when shooting a wedding. It had to be perfect.
Secondly – there is a number of venues on my bucket list that I’ve wanted to photograph at. Both Aswanley and the Huntly Castle Hotel (which sits next to the ruins of the Huntly Castle) were on that list. I don’t tend to visit venues before I turn up for photos. I also try to avoid seeing other people’s work. It is almost impossible to not get swayed by other people’s work when photographing a wedding at such popular venues. At the end of the day turning up to a place that has been covered multiple times by the giants of Scottish wedding scene makes you feel pretty small and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I guess that’s exactly the feeling I always want to start my day with. It allows me to fully focus on the creative process.
Huntly Castle Hotel – Preparations
Let’s start with Huntly Castle Hotel, which is where both Ali and Andy got ready for their big day.
Imagine a room full of antiques and ship models and rainbows where you can take portraits. Imagine a beautiful old bedroom with a huge bed with posts and curtains and bathrooms with multiple mirrors to get ready in. What a wonderful place.
I’ll bring up a quote by the owners that conjures up the soul of the venue perfectly:
“We dreamt of an old house with thick stone walls, a special place, which through the passage of time had been home to many families before us. We wanted to wake up each morning to the sounds of birds, and fall asleep at night beneath a galaxy of stars. To be surrounded by green lawns, ancient trees and for the lucky few a glimpse of a fawn in the early dawn.”
For more information about the Castle Hotel click here.
The wedding day at Aswanley
After the preparations we headed to Aswanley – one of the most legendary wedding venues in the North East.
In one, short sentence it is a secluded, fortified house with magical gardens and spacious Victorian barn in Aberdeenshire, on the edge of the Grampian Highlands.
So many people before me said amazing things about it. In fact there is only one last thing left to say. Each praise, each compliment is fully deserved.
For more info about Aswanley click here.
There is only one thing left to say about Ali and Andy’s wedding. It was perfect. See for yourself as portrayed by Aswanley Wedding Photographer:
