Once upon a time, in the fairy-tale land of Strathaven just along from the Castle, there lived a beautiful princess named Ailidh. Hers was an idyllic life full of music and laughter shared with little sister Seonaid and mum and dad Catherine and Ian. She played piano and as she sang along I am almost certain the birds and animals would gather around her and tweet and twerp and join in. I imagine there was lots of sparkle and joy in the Ballantyne house. And lots of Disney DVDs and books! Yes this was my first Disney themed wedding and what a wonderful day we all had. Of course normally in any Disney themed story we would be introduced to the nastier elements of our main character’s life – cue the wicked stepmother, Maleficent, Cruella De Vil or Captain Hook. Truth is, they don’t exist in Strathaven. Word on the street is that they only exist in big cities! In Strathaven, everything is perfect 😉
Andrew and Ailidh are both lawyers and they met on the first day of University. Andrew told how Ailidh stood out on that first day and how he was convinced she was the girl for him – it subsequently took him 14 months to pluck up the courage to ask her out! But ask her out he did and they have been together ever since. They share a passion for life, for Disney, and each other. Mr and Mrs Upton will forever be known as the “golden couple” – Ailidh’s dad Ian reminded us all of the significance of both having the initials AU! Check out your periodic table from standard grade Chemstry if this doesn’t make sense! Of course I think these photographs underline why they are a golden couple. I first met Ailidh when she was the bridesmaid to sister Seonaid as I photographed her wedding to Alasdair. Roles were fully reversed this time around with little sister playing the role of bridesmaid and Alasdair matching Andrew’s original first class usher performance. There is a great lesson in this experience – if something works well why change it? I’m persuading myself that’s why I was invited back! That’s definitely why we were back with the Rev Shaw Paterson in his wonderful Rankin Church and then why we were back in the sensational Lochside House Hotel – set in beautiful countryside outside New Cumnock – an absolutely stunning wedding venue. To be honest I have now had several photographic sessions with Ailidh and her family. It has always been the most rewarding experience and this time around was absolutely perfect. It was also a delight to meet Andrew’s clan and get to see first hand how both families have helped shape our bride and groom into such a wonderful young couple.
The Lochside House Hotel is set in the most beautiful grounds. It has won numerous awards as Scotland’s leading wedding venue and it is a photographer’s delight. Even if the weather doesn’t play ball there are so many nooks and crannies hidden everywhere where we can capture the most amazing scenes.
An eloquence of lawyers ( a new collective noun I learned from dad Ian) and guests had travelled from far and wide to join in the celebrations and I am confident they will return home with wonderful memories from a very special wedding. They got to hear some of the finest after dinner wedding speeches, especially from best man Tipu. He spoke of a friendship with Andrew stretching back to primary school and he spoke with great confidence, comedy and sincerity. Theirs will be a lifelong friendship, severely tested in darker times gone by, but is as strong as best friends are ever likely to be. I have already seen a snippet from the wonderful wedding film produced by Sean O’Donnell of Timeless Productions in Ireland. It took my breath away Sean – great job.
As I left them all in the capable hands of Derek and Laughlin of Derringer, the music and dancing was in full flow. Odds on that Laughlin’s higher falsetto would work well on “A Whole New World” and “Some Day, My Prince Will Come” and he may have left Derek to master “When You Wish Upon a Star”. They really are such a fantastic wedding band!
And one last thing for Andrew and Ailidh – thank you again for the opportunity. It really was a fairy-tale wedding. Here are a few photographs of a spectacular and joyful day and I just know that you will live happily ever after……..
Continue reading