Wedding Photography at Atholl Palace Hotel
Before April 2019 I had only visited Scotland once before. It was a lovely long weekend away to Edinburgh with my husband. So when an old friend asked me if I would do her wedding photography at the Atholl Palace Hotel in beautiful Pitlochry I jumped at the chance!
Jeni and Peter used to live in York, and I worked with Jeni. Jeni contacted me when her and Peter got engaged to ask if I would photograph their engagement shoot? Yes absolutely!
Engagement photography
Engagement photography shoots are normally between the couple and their wedding photographer. But as Jeni and Peter were moving from York they wanted some photographs of them enjoying the area they lived in. Engagement photoshoots are a great introduction to your wedding photographer and how they work. I’ve written a blog on engagement photography and why I love engagement photoshoots which you can read here.
We visited a quiet public footpath along the River Foss just round the corner from where Jeni and Peter lived at the time. This led onto an open field so it was perfect for them to bring along their dog as well. We spent about an hour here practising some typical ‘poses’ that I ask my wedding couples to do, along with some lovely photographs of them with their dog as well.
Jeni & Peter’s Scottish Wedding
Jeni & Peter’s wedding day soon came around. The Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry, Scotland was host for their special day so myself and my second shooter (my husband on this occasion) decided to take advantage of the Easter weekend and made a long weekend of it. Wow what amazing weather we had, and the drive up to Pitclochry was absolutely stunning! We went to explore the venue and church on arrival, picking out the best spots for photographs on the wedding day.
Wedding Photography at Atholl Palace Hotel
I met with Jeni and her really chilled out bridal party in their hotel room on the morning of the wedding to photograph the finer details such as bouquet, jewellery and having their hair and make up done. Photographing bridal preparations is one of my favourite parts of the day to photograph. The hustle and bustle is exciting and it gives me a chance to get to know the bridal party and normally parents as well at this point. It also gives me the chance for some creative photographs with the jewellery and bouquet, little details that maybe won’t be remembered as well as other things such as the dress, so I like to make sure that I photograph very detail as well.
Peter and his groomsmen were also in the venue at the time, so I took the opportunity to photograph them as well before making their way down to the church, which was just a short walk down the hill from the venue where my second shooter was waiting for them and ready to photograph the guests arriving for the wedding ceremony.
Jeni and her dad arrived to the church in an elegant horse and carriage, which then proceeded to take her and her new husband around the village of Pitlochry before making their way to join their guests back at Atholl Palace for the wedding reception.
We took full advantage of the weather and the beautiful grounds for the couple’s requested group photographs and newlywed photographs before heading into a separate part of the hotel for their wedding breakfast and reception party, which hosted a band and traditional Scottish Ceilidh dancing – an absolutely fantastic atmosphere and perfect way to end such a fabulous wedding day.
