On the same day as the 'other' Edinburgh wedding of Zara Phillips, at the end of July, I visited the
Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens for the second time that year. The last time I was here was in early February and, although the format of the day was not too dissimilar, the weather couldn't have been more different. The last time I was here, for
Allyson and Martyn's wedding, it was, quite literally, barely above freezing. This time, however, I was wishing I had worn my shorts. Could I get away with that, working at a wedding? I doubt it...
Gillian wasn't bothered about having any pictures taken of her beforehand so I started my day at the gardens themselves (rather, in one of the cafes in the gardens - I had to prepare for a busy afternoon). I was there very early to take a few scenic shots and ascertain the format of the day by speaking to the staff there but, even at that early hour, guests for the wedding were starting to arrive. The problem was that Gillian, in an effort to make sure that none of her tardy guests were too late, had not been entirely truthful about the time of the ceremony on the invites to get people to the gardens early enough. Unfortunately I don't think she guessed that many of the guests had already factored in extra time and arrived super-early. Still, wandering around some gardens in the bright sunshine wasn't much of a hardship for them.
As in February, the ceremony was outside in the fairytale setting of the John Muir Grove - a stand of magnificent giant redwood trees. Having had the pleasure of witnessing a few weddings in this spot I think it would be right at the top of my preferred places to me married (if I ever needed to think about that kind of thing again, that is). Ironically, especially as I am always harping on about the bad weather and lack of light at weddings, the ceremony was quite tricky to photograph because of the very strong sun and, subsequently, dark shadows. I can often combat this by using a little bit of my flash to fill in the shadows, or by repositioning people, but neither of these were an option for me unfortunately. The saving grace in these circumstances was that there was plenty of space around the grove for me to sneak about to try and get a good angle unnoticed.
After the ceremony Gillian and Scott were piped back up the aisle by a pair of excellent pipers who were also guests at the wedding. They played a heck of a lot more than many so-called professional wedding pipers and having the sound of two pipers was extraordinary. The drinks reception was supposed to be inside the Caledonian Hall but, because of the gorgeous weather, everybody just stayed outside and made the most of the fantastic surroundings. I spent much of the day feeling very contented that I was at a venue such as this on a sunny day rather than one of the many venues without any outdoor space!
Throughout the afternoon Gillian and Scott had arranged for a band to play on the lawn and I feel that they need special mention. I can honestly say that I do love the slightly more traditional string quartets (I actually worked with the
Pleyel Quartet recently and they were brilliant!) but this band were just out of this world. They were called the
Banjo Lounge Trio (even though there was 4 of them) and their style is quite hard to describe - they describe themselves as Bluegrass Lounge Pop. All I can say is, if you want to spice up your wedding afternoon then I just couldn't recommend these guys any more highly.
When we were all baked enough we began the long procession, led again by the two pipers, up to the John Hope Gateway which is the main entrance to the gardens. Upstairs they had converted the cafe into a wedding dining area and it was remarkably nice with a very woody earthy feel to it. Although I wasn't there when it was dark apparently it becomes even more spectacular as the pond and sloping gardens that face the broad decking next to the cafe are all lit up.
0 comments:
Post a Comment