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A wonderful 3 weeks.
Posted on August 29, 2010
It has been another busy time over the three weeks since my last update. In that time I have had the pleasure of covering three very different celebrations.
Carl & Helen
It started with the wedding of Carl and Helen at the fantastic surroundings of Dryburgh Abbey. I am embarrassed to admit that even though I have lived only about 10 mins drive from the abbey for the last 5 years I have never visited it. Its a stunning place, it’s a ruin but there is enough of it remaining to make it interesting. After the ceremony we all moved to the exquisite Roxburgh Hotel near Kelso for the reception.
The day included a surprise for Helen of having the rings delivered by Barn Owl and a surprise for all the guest of a firework display in the evening.
Carl and Helen are just the nicest folk you could meet and even sent me home with a handful of what I am told by my wife is the most delicious fudge ever made.
Raj & Rajneet
Next up was a trip to Glasgow for my first Sikh wedding. Wow, what a day. It’s so interesting to experience how different cultures go about the process of marriage. This was just a beautiful day, even the weather was stunning. Raj and Rajneet both looked amazing and the sheer spectacle of the whole day was something I will never forget. From the brilliant colours of the clothes to the fantastic bling of the Bentley, from the grandeur of Mar Hall to the deliciousness of the indian food it was just a great day and reminded me of why I love my job so much.
I won’t begin to explain what an assault on the senses an Indian wedding reception is, you have to experience it for yourself. I have never been to such a large reception which had such a feeling of family and friendship. Lovely.
Stephen & Amy
This brings me to Stephen and Amy’s wedding yesterday at The Marine Hotel and Spa in North Berwick. The structure of the day for my part was interrupted by pesky showers but this in no way dampened the spirits of the guests. There are some weddings when you just know that the band is going to have no trouble getting folk up and dancing and this was one of those weddings. Everyone was in such high spirits and all were clearly happy to be there for Amy and Stephen. I wish I had friends as good as theirs. Now, I am not really much of a crier but even I was fighting the tears during these speeches. They were really beautiful and obviously heart-felt. There were guys a lot bigger and tougher than me (yes they do exist) filling up.
The highlight of the evening for everyone was the surprise which Stephen had arranged for Amy. He and three friends made a grand entrance to the dance hall with their bagpipes skirling. The room went wild and Amy looked like the proudest wife in the world. It was just awesome.
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Matteo & Sarah
Posted on August 10, 2010
Last weekend’s wedding was something pretty special. Sarah and Matteo travelled back from Italy to Sarah’s family home amongst the beautiful scenery of Teviothead. The weather was fine and Sarah’s family made a wonderful job of readying the farm for the influx of visitors from around the world.
My day began by joining some of the ladies, including the mothers of both bride and groom, at the hairdressers in the morning for the usual pampering and preening.
Then I headed to the family farm for the final preparations.
Even little Tala got in on the act and was scurrying around during the service which took place in a marquee in the garden.
Although unable to make it over to Scotland, Matteo’s grandmother didn’t miss out; she joined the celebrations via webcam from her home in Italy.
The reception tables had an almost home-made feel with menus of recycled card and a colourful lucky crane for each guest. One super touch was that Matteo and Sarah made a donation in the name of each of their dinner guests to the The Multiple Sclerosis Society.
After the speeches it was time for the Scots among the guests to show the Italian visitors what a Borders wedding is all about. I have to say they took to the céilidh dancing like they had been doing it all their lives.
Before the night was over I couldn’t resist getting Sarah and Matteo out onto the turf of her beloved Hawick Rugby Club for some shots.
What made the day so special was the lack of pomp or pretention. It was clearly a family occasion and everyone who attended was made to feel really welcome, including me.
Thank you Matteo and Sarah and we wish you a happy life together!
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Jamie & Kirstie
Posted on August 1, 2010
On Friday Jamie and Kirstie’s wedding brought me to the magnificent Dundas Castle near Edinburgh. What a fantastic place to get married it is too.
The weather behaved and the whole day was really special. The happy couple chose to have a humanist ceremony and it was simply beautiful. They even had their guests singing along to Michael Jackson.
In a few days they head off on a dream honeymoon, safari in Africa (I am quite jealous).
One image to show you for now ’till Jamie and Kirstie have had a chance to view whole suite.
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Raj & Rajneet.
Posted on July 27, 2010
Below is a small selection of images from yesterdays shoot with Raj and Rajneet. Shot in the wonderful surroundings of The University of Glasgow. Doesn’t Rajneet look absolutely stunning? Raj aint bad either. They are a lovely couple (despite both being dentists) and I am so looking forward to their wedding in about three weeks.
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Paul & Anjie.
Posted on July 9, 2010
Last weekend I met up with Paul and Anjie for their pre-wedding shoot in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. The sun was shining as always in Scotland. This fun couple really got into it and you couldn’t tell that they had never done a professional photoshoot before. They were up for trying out some more unusual locations so after some time on Arthurs Seat we headed down to the cold, and frankly a little scary, Innocent railway tunnel.
Looking forward to their wedding day as it’s taking place in the beautiful Perthshire village of Killin. Can’t wait.
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Amy, Stephen, Freddy & Woody
Posted on June 21, 2010
Saturday was hot and sunny and brought Amy and Stephen’s pre-wedding shoot. Where Amy and Stephen go, their adorable little boy Freddy and manic black labrador Woody follow. It was a fun shoot with the happy couple choosing an interesting and unusual location. They knew what they where doing as the derelict buildings and brightly coloured containers made fantastic backdrops and were a photographer’s dream.
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New arrival
Posted on May 21, 2010
Well, perhaps there is sometimes a good enough reason for not keeping the site up to date.
This is my new son, born at 02.44 on the morning of the 11th of May and called Cairn.
It’s been a pretty hectic couple of weeks and it’s going to get more so. I missed the real start of this years wedding season because of Cairns arrival but I am really looking forward to Matt and Karen’s wedding at Edinburgh’s beautiful Botanic gardens next week. From then on until around the end of September it’s weddings and civil pertnerships all the way. It’s hard work but there is nothing I would rather do to make a living and I would like to take this opertunity to thank all the fab couples who have chosen me to capture there special days.
Special offer and free wedding show tickets
Posted on March 14, 2010
Saturday and Sunday 20th and 21st March 2010 will be a busy weekend for McBeth Photography as we exhibit at Thee Wedding Show at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. The Show is always a fun event and will include:
- Catwalk shows
- Live band showcases
- Prizes and giveaways
- His and her goody bags
We’ll be providing our best ever wedding photography special offer to Show visitors, so please pop along to see us at stand 75a where you can view all our sample wedding albums.
We have some free tickets for the Show to give away, each worth £6.50! If you would like a ticket, complete our Contact form by Wednesday 16th March including your postal address in the Message section of the form.
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Jamie and Kirstie
Posted on March 8, 2010
Jamie and Kirstie had their pre-wedding shoot last Sunday. Kirstie was keen for snow for the shoot but as I set off from home I wasn’t very hopeful. However, when I arrived at their chosen location I realised I need not have worried.
More to follow.
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Interview with designer dressmaker, Mette Baillie
Posted on February 1, 2010
This month award-winning Mette Baillie of Edinburgh-based Freja Designer Dressmaking tells us all about her business, and has a special offer for McBeth Photography customers:
1. You’ve been designing wedding gowns for ten years. What changes have you seen in that time?
I feel people are becoming more adventurous and individual. When you look at wedding pictures from 15 years ago you can say exactly what year they got married; there was one style with a few variations for that year, or couple of years. Today, it’s much more individual. Brides take inspiration from different historical periods, or another theme to influence their wedding dress, and they try to get this theme to tie in with the whole wedding.
2. How would you describe your designs?
I try to get to know the bride and her ideas about her wedding, and then I try to understand how she feels about her body. I always think it is my most important job to make the best dress for that bride, not for any bride that season. My designs also depends on what fabric the bride likes … I love to mix heavy, light, floaty with stiff, see-through with opaque … all of this is what gives my dresses a lot of detail, rather than a lot of added on extras. A lot of people don’t quite understand the service we offer till they have tried it as it is such a different way of buying clothes. When I make a dress for you, you are part of the process of developing the garment, from using fairtrade silks to getting it to fit to the last millimetre. It is very different to when you buy a wedding dress or bridesmaid dress or mother of the bride outfit in the shops. Hardly any companies have production in the UK any longer, so you may want to consider the fact that your wedding garments could be made in a sweat shop in the Far East. I obviously feel it is both the most environmentally-friendly and the most conscientious choice for the modern bride.
3. What is the price range of your wedding gowns?
My dresses come in a lot of different price ranges, because I work with such individual styles. I have made a lovely simple linen dress for a beach wedding, so that would never be very pricey. However the average price for a wedding dress is probably around £1500.
4. What is the most important advice you can you give brides when selecting their wedding dress?
Use the information you have from every-day dressing e.g. if you do not like to have your arms uncovered, do not chose strapless. If you have a special need for certain underwear, then that should be taken into consideration. Other than that I think it is important that you make the most of your figure as it is. If you have bigger hips, try and have some detail on your upper body to draw the eyes to your best features. And then celebrate your best features, don’t get hung up about what you would like to change about yourself.
5. Have you ever designed for anyone famous?
I have a lot of famous people on my books, more so as regular clients, but I have confidentiality agreement with those people!
6. Please tell us a little about yourself, your background and how you developed your business.
I trained as a fashion designer in Denmark. My degree is in haute couture, so it’s about making one of each garment rather than thousands of each style. I worked for a small fashion house in Copenhagen after my graduation and then I worked as a pattern cutter for Marks & Spencer ladies wear. This was when I decided I wanted to set up my own business, making individually tailored designs. I set up ten years ago, which was part-time in the beginning and I was working from home. It was a challenging time … I worked a lot of hours and I had dresses stored all over my tiny flat. Then I got premises in 164 Dundas Street in Edinburgh, and soon the business grew. I now have three employees. We make a lot of wedding dresses, bridesmaid’s dresses, mother of the bride and groom outfits.
7. You recently won the 2009 VOWS award for bridal dress design. Please tell us about your award.
I won the VOWS 2009 and it was a great achievement. We are by far the smallest company in the category, but this means we can keep very close contact to the bride and the whole bridal party and I think that has helped. The VOWS goes into so many aspects of the business, such as concern for the environment, the staff, and the general procedures of having a dress made. However most of all, it is about the service we give to the brides, and the brides of 2009 said we were the best. So it is a great honour that they all took the time out to fill in the form and say that.
8. Do you have any interesting anecdotes from your years as a wedding dress designer?
I have a lovely story from a wedding in 2009 where I had promised to come and help the whole bridal party get ready on the day. When everyone else had gone to the church, I was left with the bride and her father and it started to rain heavily. It was pretty stressful to help the bride into the car without getting her covered in mud, but we managed it and the car drove off. Then I turned around and saw that her flowers were still sitting on the front step! So I jumped in the car and drove very fast to the church, parked badly and ran up the path. I reached the church door just as the bride was about to walk in, and I passed her the flowers. The gratitude in her face was worth it all. She had a wonderful day, and it was lovely to have participated in making it so special.
Next Steps
In addition to wedding attire, Mette designs evening dresses, formal suits, holiday wardrobes etc. Want to know more? Mette can be contacted on 0131 556 5407 or by emailing enquiries@freja-fashion.co.uk or visit her website at www.freja-fashion.co.uk. Appointments can be made to visit Mette’s workshop at 164 Dundas Street, Edinburgh.
Special Offer!
Place your order with Mette before 1st March 2010 to receive a 10% discount! You will need to quote McBeth Photography.
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