10 Years
The final few months of 2019 were so full on that it wasn’t until the Christmas break that we really had a chance to stop, reflect and appreciate that a brand new decade was about to begin. From the rise (and rise!) of Humanist ceremonies to house party style destination weddings, we’ve seen a few changes during the last 10 years of photographing, and now filming, weddings in Scotland.
The last time we wrote a blog post looking back over the years was in 2017 when we celebrated our 10 year business – and also our wedding – anniversary (2007 was a big year here!). At the time, the Doomsday Clock had just been changed, and world leaders were being urged to “calm rather than stoke tensions that could lead to war”. Sound familiar?
While, politically, we’d love to see a different story being written, we are optimistic for what the next chapter, and future generations, will bring. Hearing voices including those of Greta Thunberg and Autumn Peltier being raised and amplified across the world, and seeing the amazing things being achieved by grassroots organisations such as Help Refugees, gives us hope.
Closer to home, our jaguar-loving 6 year-old gives us daily reminders that we all need to do more to tackle climate change and preserve the habitat and diversity of the earth’s incredible wildlife. Grocery shopping takes forever, as she scans the labels for palm oil. The plastic toothbrushes are out and bars of soap are back in. Is it just us, or is anyone else looking forward to the day that these kind, awesome humans run the world?!
We’ve also seen shifts and changes in our work, and in Scottish weddings, over these past 10 years. More and more of our couples are choosing to have a Humanist or interfaith ceremony, that truly speaks to their beliefs and their individual story. The house party vibe is very much here, with many folks choosing to gather their people from all over and celebrate in an amazing, and often more intimate feeling, space. Because less travelling between venues equals more party time!
And while we will always love chasing the light, we’ve come to appreciate that the thing we love most about photographing weddings is capturing connections. Whether it’s the tight squeeze from the granny with the shiny eyes or the pre-wedding bants among friends. There are so many different kinds of love. To get to see, share in and capture them all is something that will never grow old.
The thing we love second most is dance offs by the way… seeing people laughing and dancing and just having the best time together rocks our world.
This has led us to a new love. For a few years we’ve been playing around with video and film, first on our travels and at home, and then in our commercial and adventure photography.
One of our highlights last year was filming and photographing the very first Great Adventure Race, hosted by Gleneagles. It was a little challenging in that it involved Jay running up, and then back down, a snow-covered munro carrying all of his camera gear (about 10kg worth!). Meanwhile, I was with the team on the ground, making sure we didn’t miss anything while folks canoed, ran and cycled their way to the finish. It was exhilarating and fun (and more than a little nerve-wracking!), and we can’t wait to do it again this year. Note to Jay – you better get in training. You’re on the Ben Vorlich shift again!
Another big highlight of last year was making our first wedding and elopement films. At the moment, we’re focusing on short, creative films, and what we’re discovering with these is that we are being completely led by our couples and their wedding. From a high energy, music video style edit through to an elopement story with an art film feel, it’s been wonderful to see where the day and the individual couple’s story leads us.
I have no doubt that our film options will continue to grow and evolve in the future, but for now we’re taking a limited number of Photo + Film bookings, and focusing on these short, creative films. As always, we’re putting our hearts, souls and a whole lot of love into our work, and for that reason we have to be careful not to crowd our diary, and lose the love for what we do – because that would show both on the day and in the end results. And it’s way too important a day for that to happen!
If you’d like to know more about booking our Photo + Film option for your wedding or elopement in Scotland (or in Europe – we love to travel!), just shout. We’d love to chat!
