WELCOME TO

The Blog

Real Weddings, Wedding Photography Alison Edward Real Weddings, Wedding Photography Alison Edward

Enchanting Megginch Castle Wedding

Megginch Castle is a superb new elegant wedding venue with a famous past. Nadia & Steven loved the beautiful courtyard and expansive grounds.


Megginch Castle may be a superb new elegant wedding venue but once upon a time, a long long time ago (well actually in the 90’s) the castle’s historic courtyard hosted movie stars, including Liam Neeson, for the filming of the 1995 movie Rob Roy.

The Wedding Ceremony

Nadia & Steven chose Megginch Castle for their wedding after COVID meant they re-evaluated their original plan to elope to Spain. They loved the beautiful courtyard and chose the light conservatory for their ceremony but they could have chose the chapel or the gardens.


Want to know more about my photography?


Places to Explore

The castle is a hidden gem, I love little adventures and Megginch had lots of great places to explore. The conservatory links the courtyard via the grand ballroom to the gardens with it’s 1000yr old yew trees, fun topiary, fountain and expansive lawns. There are also horses to go say hello to and a tiny chapel in the groups which can be used for religious ceremonies.   

Surprise, Surprise!

Nadia and Steven’s guests were entertained with croquet and the big surprise of the night was when the waiter fell over and then got up and started singing. Nadia had told us that it would be happening so we were waiting in anticipation for him to fall. As a guest ran to help the poor fallen waiter, he jumped up and started singing and caused a lot of hilarity. Everyone loved the impromptu performance, guests were standing on the chairs, dancing, swinging their napkins around their heads. Danielle and I ran around the room having far too much fun capturing it on camera to make sure the fun was bottled up for Nadia & Steven to look back on and laugh.

 

The Magical wedding Team

Venue – Megginch Castle

Event Management: Jan Deegan Next Step Events

Officiant – Margery Bambrick

Photographer – Ali Jay Photography

Videographer - Danielle Watt

Hair stylist – Hair Ups

Make-up artist – Christina Grace

Nadia’s outfit – Pronovias - San Patrick

Cake – Celebration Stations


Are you Planning a wedding at Megginch Castle?

Get in touch today, I’d love to be part of your amazing wedding team.

Read More

Georgia & Julian’s St. Andrews University Wedding at The Old Course Hotel

Check out Georgia & Julian's beautiful and relaxed wedding at St. Andrews University, held at the stunning Old Course Hotel. It was such a privilege to capture their special day.


St. Andrews University’s most famous couple may be William and Kate but Georgia and Julian also met at the university and not being royals they could have a super fun wedding with all their mates. They had their ceremony at the exclusive St Salvator’s Chapel followed by a fun filled reception at the Old Course Hotel.

 
 

To get married at St. Salvators you have to be affiliated to the university so as alumni Georgia and Julian got to use the chapel and the adjacent quad area for their photos. 


Want to know more about my photography?


It’s a short distance to the Old Course Hotel which is one of my favourite venues with a brilliantly attentive team, stunning views, multiple beaches and a famous mini bridge to explore for photographs.  

They loved their time in St. Andrews so when it came to choosing where to get married, they wanted to bring everyone back to the town to celebrate. For many of their friends, who they’d met at University it was also a chance to have a bit of a reunion and The Old Course Hotel was the perfect setting for a very good party and bouncing ceilidh.

St. Andrews has many famous landmarks but the little cute stone Swilcan Bridge is possibly the most famous so Georgia and Julian wanted to head there for photographs, especially as they could also get their university halls and the hotel in the background. The hotel organised a car to take us along but you can easily walk there if you fancy a wander. Georgia and Julian got a lift along to the bridge and they chose the pretty hotel garden and the university quad for pictures but I would also highly recommend a trip along to the beach if you have the time!


Are you Planning a wedding at the old course hotel?

Read More

Barnbougle Castle - A Unique Castle Wedding By The Sea

Barnbougle Castle is a beautiful picturesque exclusive use wedding venue near Edinburgh with panoramic views over the River Forth and an exclusive beach. Check out Louisa & Jonny’s wedding at the castle.


Barnbougle Castle

Louisa & Jonny chose the uniqueness of Barnbougle Castle for their wedding.

It is a relatively new venue which takes on a limited number of weddings each year.

You get exclusive use of the castle and it’s grounds which are tucked away within the beautiful Dalmeny Estate which sits on the Forth Estuary, just outside Edinburgh.

Castle With A View

There has been something on the Barnbougle site since the 13th century.

The current castle was reconstructed in the 19th century and refurbished very recently to become a new venue for Roseberry Venues.

It sits on a rocky terrace projecting it out slightly into the estuary.

Louisa and Jonny had a beautiful day for their wedding so chose to get married on the terrace.

The terrace wraps around the castle and has panoramic views over the river and the islands in the Forth.

Layout

The castle has such beautiful features including the grand stone spiral staircase which links the Scottish Library to the Banquetting Hall on the second floor and up to the third floor where there is a bedroom and access to the minstrel’s gallery above the hall.

The Scottish Library

If the weather is not so desirable you can hold your ceremony in the stunning Scottish Library on the bottom floor of the castle.

The library connects to the terraces and some smaller rooms which can be good if you need a quiet space.

Louisa and Jonny used this area for guests to enjoy drinks and to cut their cake.

Just along the corridor from the library there are some bookcases which hide the toilets and are a very fun feature.

Banqueting Hall

On the second floor the banqueting hall with it’s stunning barrel vaulted ceiling has to be one of the most fantastic reception space’s I have seen.

I noticed guests enjoying the view from the windows which looked out over the Forth River.

During the reception I was able to creep up into the Minstrels gallery on the third floor which gave me a brilliant view of the whole hall and all the guests enjoying the speeches.

You could even do a speech from the gallery if you wanted something a little different.

Getting Ready

On the top floor of the castle they have a beautiful room where you can get ready if you wish to.

Unfortunately you can’t stay there over night but it would be a lovely fun place to get ready and watch your guests below enjoying the terrace and views.

There are plenty hotels nearby such as Orocco Pier or Dakota. Louisa chose to get ready at her home.

Dakota is a beautiful hotel nearby with an excellent restaurant and cocktail bar but when I have photographed wedding prep there the bride has asked to use a lovely bar area near the entrance of the hotel for their hair and make up as the rooms are very very dark. This is always something worth thinking about as your hair and make up team will struggle in a dark environment.

Orocco Pier is located within the old village of South Queensferry and is a beautiful place to stay with fantastic staff, delicious food and great cocktails.

Linda Keys

I have a some favourite suppliers who I recommend to clients and Linda is fabulous, she’s a beautiful gentle kind celebrant who brings so much heart and feeling to her ceremonies.

She had built such a beautiful relationship with Louisa and Jonny and the ceremony was so personal to them. You can find her over at Agnostic Scotland.

Private Beach

There is a private beach a very short distance from the castle. We went down at sunset.

It was a beautiful private place for Louisa and Jonny to explore together and a great place to get some beautiful photos with the castle and the estuary behind.

Location

Barnbougle sits just to the north of Edinburgh between Cramond and South Queensferry within the Dalmeny Estate which is a popular place for a nice walk.


Are you Planning a wedding at Barnbougle Castle?

Get in touch today, I’d love to be part of your amazing wedding team.

Read More

AS FEATURED