pride month

BOHO-INSPIRED SAME-SEX EDINBURGH ELOPEMENT

You might have already noticed that Gerlof from Geebz Photography and I love to stir some photoshoot excitement every now and then, therefore it is with great pleasure that I would like to present to you the extraordinary work of all those involved while celebrating #pridemonth #loveislove #lgbtq

We all decided that while we’re waiting for the big and exciting changes to happen, we could get creative and that creativity once again lead us to produce something magnificent, but I’ll leave this for you to judge 😊

Another motivation for us was the success of our Autumnal Photoshoot in November 2020 and we simply knew there was so much more we could do, therefore in this blog I will present to you our spin on a spring boho style city elopement in some of the most picturesque locations of our glorious capital city of Edinburgh, so allow me to take you on a journey in the next few paragraphs…


HAIR AND MAKEUP

For hair and makeup, we were inspired by natural makeup and free flowing locks. It was very important for us to ensure that hair and makeup wasn’t too busy, too heavy and too arranged – our aim was to achieve a very natural look for an outdoor wedding. I think that the team behind Bryony Quate Hair and Beauty Couture managed to pull of this inspiration so perfectly, don’t you think?

Bryony jumped on board with us as soon as I said that we were working on a bridal photoshoot and I wouldn’t expect anything less from this top-class team!

What stuns me about working with Bryony and her team is how they manage to create an atmosphere of celebration at the point of morning hair and makeup – Bryony’s team is young, fun and vibrant and immediately uplifts the atmosphere in the room and deflects the nerves among the Bridal Party!

Did you know that Bryony’s team also do beautiful hairpieces for your special day? Give them a follow to find out more!


OUTFITS

Mette from Freja Designer Dressmaking is absolutely outstanding – not only did she supply us with those two beautifully complementing looks, she actually made them from scratch for this photoshoot, now that’s dedication!

Mette – the designer says: “I was delighted to be invited to take part in this photoshoot with this amazing line up of suppliers. I was told it would be a same sex wedding, taking all the good from micro and outdoor weddings and in a beautiful setting. I wanted the brides to wear something which was modern and easy to wear on the hill, but which had some elements of traditional bridal wear and feminine details. The dress was made of beautiful guipure lace, it was soft and contemporary, the skin showing through the lace. I felt the sequins would add a little bit of sparkle in the sun, without looking garish. The trouser suit, had the traditional corset style top and illusion neckline with lace motifs on the skin and drapes on the back, again similar to a veil but in a new and contemporary way. I am so pleased with the photographs and felt it all came together to the same vision"

In the initial conversations with Mette, I only suggested that we wanted two distinct, yet complimenting looks for this same-sex elopement photoshoot. We didn’t want long trains as majority of the photoshoot was planned for the outdoors and I suggested a tea-length dress and a jumpsuit, Mette just jumped at this idea with excitement and run with it. Don’t you think she’s exceeded the brief? Make sure you follow Freja Designer Dressmaking today!


VENUE

The dream was to have the entire photoshoot at the Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur Seat, which we had the pleasure of featuring on the day! Having been in this wonderful and creative industry for many years now, I knew we couldn’t bank on the weather (especially this year!), so I ensured to work with one of my highly recommended wedding venues to have another unique backdrop to our photoshoot!

Therefore, we started our day at the SkyBar of the Doubletree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre and featured our ceremony and drinks reception shoot against the absolutely breathtaking and uninterrupted backdrop of the Edinburgh Castle. If you haven’t been to the SkyBar before, you should definitely check it out, they regularly host ticketed and bar events there mid-week to experience this unique location.

We then proceeded to climb Arthur Seat… well… not exactly, we settled on St Margaret’s Loch and the beautiful hill there overseeing the Auld Reekie! This is where the weather cleared, and we got to enjoy true Scottish spring and the iconic city views in the distance. The scene was romantic and simply perfect for a city elopement wedding!

Would you like to find out more about the fabulous team behind this photoshoot? Make sure you follow all suppliers involved today!


STYLING

For this photoshoot we were inspired by moody, yet rich and vibrant colours of our Scottish spring! We focused on two scenes, indoor ceremony and outdoor romantic city view picnic scene.

Lynsay Borthwick Weddings and Events once again exceeded our expectations – we’ve asked Lynsay to create the perfect frame for our ceremony view encompassing the views of the Edinburgh Castle. She produced this trendy ivy and rose drooping copper frame for us along with cylinder vases filled with pillar candles.

On the hill by Arthur Seat, she set the scene perfectly with your dreamy picnic scene complimented by seasonal moss, floral accents, carved out wood trunks and earthy finishing touches.

Massive thanks also go to Dawn Stafford from Your Scottish Wedding who stepped in to help us with the setup on the day of our photoshoot – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Do you think the theme introduced by Lynsay fits with the landscape? Make sure you follow Lynsay on Instagram for many more of these gorgeous treats!


FLORISTRY

Once again, we had the pleasure of working with the best of the best in the wedding industry and Kathrin from White House Flowers hasn’t disappointed! Planning for this photoshoot we wanted something different, rich and lively, yet natural looking for our boho idea.

We’ve asked Kathrin to create two similar, yet slightly varied looks for the bouquets and headpieces, in order to give off a slight bohemian vibe.

Kathrin says: “When Oskar approached me to be involved in a photoshoot that celebrated the love of same sex couples , I jumped at the chance. Creating 2 flowers crowns that were the same - but different,  was something I was really interested in doing. Providing complimentary bouquets that were individual but also cohesive, one with pops of spring coral - the other more classic, was also fun. I guess I saw it as a marriage of flowers too. I loved working with this team of professionals again. It makes my job as a wedding florist just brilliant.”

Would you like to be inspired by more stunning floral looks from Kathrin? Make sure you follow her Instagram page today!


PHOTOGRAPHY

Now, let’s focus on the fabulous duo who captured the amazing work of all suppliers involved in this photoshoot!

We had the pleasure not only to be guided by Gerlof from Geebz Photography and Beate from BBPicture Photography on the day, but we’ve also been greatly entertained by them both – you wouldn’t expect anything else though! This is why these two don’t just make your wedding photography a tick box task on your special day – they make it a very special and fun event in itself and create special memories to cherish! All of us involved in this photoshoot can assure you of that!

They also don’t only work magic together, but they create some incredibly inspiring and distinct looks – don’t you think? Now, if you haven’t followed these guys on social media yet, you must do so!


VIDEOGRAPHY

We didn’t only settle on photography – this time we decided to involve a videographer to show behind the scenes footage of this truly beautiful elopement wedding photoshoot in one of the most picturesque locations!

You might not know this, but Daniel from Fern Photography is venturing out with a new string to his bow – videography!

It was amazing getting Daniel involved in our photoshoot and the scenes, views and settings he’s captured for us in his short trailer video showcase the beauty of all of our work! I am excited to learn more about the new videography element from Fern Photography and if you haven’t followed Daniel and Matt on their social media channels yet, you must do so now!


ACCESSORIES

The wonderful team at ScotlandShop came to the rescue when we realised that Spring this year is very much unlike anything we’ve seen in the past few years!

Anna, Susan and Monja couldn’t have been more helpful – when I approached them about getting involved with the photoshoot, they invited me to their shop in Queensferry Street where they presented me with a vast variety of choices to keep our Brides warm on the photoshoot day!

We could choose from wraps, shawls, scarfs and structured jackets and we made sure to feature them all in our photshoot!

If you’re looking for first class wedding accessories, kilts, jackets, handbags, brogues, tartan high heels and much more for your special day – look no further as this shop offers a range of high quality items produced locally in Duns in the Scottish Borders! Are you not following them yet? Here’s their Instagram page for you to check out today!


PLANNING AND HUMANIST CEREMONIES

I said this many times that I am lucky to be surrounded by a network of some of the best Scottish wedding suppliers out there and it is an absolute honour to be entrusted by these fantastic people to plan such an important event like the showcase photoshoot! I am especially humbled to be working with such a loyal and dedicated team on these very creative projects, where we all can allow ourselves plenty of freedom to showcase our best!

This time wasn’t different! Not only did we put together something special, but we had a brilliant time doing it – just like we do at the weddings we all work together on!

Massive thanks also go to our fabulous, stunning and fun to be around supermodels – Holly and Ellie, you’ve not only been a pleasure to work with, but you’ve embraced every element of this photoshoot and it is also thanks to you that we’ve got such an outstanding work to showcase now! Thank you!

On another note, in this photoshoot, I decided to focus on another element of wedding I could work with you on – humanist ceremony. For those of you who haven’t heard yet, I am also a fully qualified and licensed Humanist Celebrant with Fuze Ceremonies and although I can’t offer this most important part of your day as part of my wedding planning services, I am sure I can help many of you elopement planning couples to ensure your ceremony is truly special and meaningful. If you would like to find out more about Humanist Ceremonies with Fuze Ceremonies, follow their social media channels today!

Alternatively, if you’re interested in working with me and my outstanding portfolio of my industry network on your upcoming wedding, chatbox message me on my website today!

Massive thanks to all photoshoot partners - without your enthusiasm, vision and determination this fantastic project wouldn’t have been possible!

📷@geebz_photography

💁‍♀️@bryonyquatebridal

🎀@lbweddingsandevents

👰@ourmodel

👰@ourmodel

💐@whitehouseflower

📌@skybar_edinburgh

💕@fuzeceremonies

👐@yourscottishwedding

👗@frejadesignerdressmaking

🎥@fernphotography_scotland

📷@bbpicturephotography

🧣@scotlandshop_edinburgh

📋@theweddingguru_oskar

PLANNING YOUR WEDDING DAY TIMELINE

Wedding day timeline blog

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*by George Gilchrist-Grodnicki

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Planning Your Wedding Day Timelines

I am asked quite often “when should we start with our ceremony?”

The easiest way to work out your wedding day timeline is to start from the end of the evening and work your way back. This is something that naturally causes many couples worry especially as this is the very first time you’ll be planning such large event, but it needn’t be this hard! Start with a rough timeline, then as you fill in more details your timeline becomes more solid. An adequate timeline will ensure you feel in control of your day, and able to relax and enjoy yourself, while providing all those involved accurate timings, because timings are key to the success of every wedding, right? 

Give me ❤️ in the comment below if you think having an air-tight timeline for your wedding will ensure its success!

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End of the evening

As the timings of your day are worked out from the end of your night, the big question is how long is your entertainment booked for? Speak to your venue to find out when the room hire ends. This gives you carriages time, and from there, after speaking to your entertainment, you can plan when your entertainment starts. Don’t forget to include any extra entertainment i.e. small acts who are also to perform in the evening. For example, at our wedding, the venue licence was until 1 AM, and our entertainment was a DJ, who was booked for three hours, preceded by a live ceilidh/covers band played for three hours. This meant our evening entertainment started at 7 PM.

How long do you think an average entertainment runs for?

A.    6 hours

B.    5 hours

C.    4 hours

Let us know in the comment boxes below

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Comfort break

Now that you know when your entertainment starts, you can start to plan the end of the meal. Do you want a comfort break? Is there turnaround time? Do you intend taking photographs after the meal? Are there any small entertainment acts booked for this time, such a Signing Waiters? Your venue will advise you of any turnaround times, so make sure to ask about this.

Average band setup time and sound check will take around 60 minutes too, so if your band can’t get in to setup during the meal, comfort break might be advisable. Secondly, who wants to be throwing shapes on the dance floor right after a three-course meal?

If you need help understanding this part of your special day and how much time is good, too little or too much, chatbox message us today.

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Speeches

Next comes the speeches, by allocating maximum of 10 minutes per speaker, you avoid boredom in the room! Ideally, you wouldn’t want to have your speeches for longer than 30 minutes, if you do, speak to your venue, caterer or planner to see about the best times to split them up – the last thing you want is your speeches overrunning if you decided to host them before the meal and having your guests seating hungry for hours.

Traditionally, which by any means is not a norm, speeches are structured in the following format: Father of the Bride goes first, Groom goes second and Best Man presents the closing speech.

You might want to decided if you’re having your speeches before the meal or after and this will very much depend on the public speaking confidence of your speakers and whether you feel your guests should be fed first or after the speeches.

At our wedding had four speeches, including ourselves, which meant our speech times ran into an hour [scary face emoji] (we spoke too long, due to translations into Polish) which meant our speeches started at 5:30 PM.

Are you feeling a little unsure about your speeches and don’t know how to best go about them? Why not book one of our one-off consultations today to help you put a plan together?

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Drinks reception

The drinks reception is an excellent opportunity for guests to mingle, family to catch up, and photos to be taken with the happy couple! Some couples may choose to have entertainment booked for this time, or even couples’ photos to be taken. Speak to your suppliers to understand how long your entertainment or photographer will take, as this will give you the start time for your drink’s reception (otherwise known as cocktail hour).

When we got married, we arranged for a magician who entertained our guests, canapes were served, all while we had family portraits taken and disappeared for our wedding day photoshoot for 1 hour.

This allowed our venue enough time to turn the ballroom round and gave our guests a little mingle and catch up time. Our drinks reception started at 1:30 PM.

Are you planning to head away for your photoshoot? Chatbox message us today if you want to better understand the timings you might need to consider in order to ensure you’re not running late on the day.

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Wedding ceremony

Wedding ceremonies vary dependent on the ceremony style chosen.

On average Civil ceremonies may take between 15 to 25 minutes, religious ceremonies may last around 45 minutes, and humanist ceremonies between 30 to 45 minutes dependent on the ceremony script, reading and the symbolic gestures chosen.

Our wedding ceremony was conducted by a humanist celebrant, we had three symbolic gestures and parts of our ceremony script was translated into Polish. This meant our wedding ceremony lasted 30 minutes, starting at 1 PM.

Let me know in the comments below what style of ceremony you have chosen.

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Preparation time

Finally, this leads on to preparation time, therefore speaking to your hair and makeup artists will help you understand how long each of them needs.

Hair styling may take 30 to 60 minutes depending on the style and hair structure, while makeup can also take 30 to 60 minutes.

Speak to your photographer and other suppliers to understand their timelines for the delivery of their services.

Consider things like, when your flowers arrive; is the photographer taking preparation photos or group photos when you’re ready and dressed; what time is your Dad arriving, etc.

This enables you to build a timeline and ensure you’re prepared in plenty of time.

At our wedding, we each had four groomsmaids, and mother’s hair and makeup. We got up at 6 AM to spend some time together before the chaos of the wedding day began!

Have you considered how much time hair and makeup may take? Chatbox message us today if you need some estimates and recommendations for the best in business!

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Full day timeline

What did you think of the breakdown of your wedding day? Did you know you’d need to consider your timings from the end of the night?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and feel free to use the template below to help you plan your special day!

Evening Entertainment – length of service? (you’d need to check with your entertainment supplier)

Would there be any comfort break after the meal? 30/60 minutes?

Speeches – if 3 x 10 minutes speeches, that’s 30 minutes

Wedding Breakfast – three course is 2 hours

Drinks Reception between 1h30mins to 2 hours (you’d need to check with your photographer)

Wedding Ceremony between 30 minutes to 45 minutes (you’d need to check with your celebrant, officiant or registrar)

Guest arrival from 30/60 minutes prior to ceremony time