Ruth & Josh had found a wedding venue I had never taken photographs at before, Dunglass Estate near Dunbar in East Lothian. Owned by the Usher family who live on the estate the grounds centre around the remains of an old church surrounded by woodland with the family home and large house to rent standing nearby. It is an impressive location and a marquee acts as the indoors area for guests, large enough for separate dinning and dancing, lounge and bar areas.
When I arrived, Ruth was getting ready with the help of her Bridesmaids at the house and after spending a while with her I headed off to the ruins of the church which had been decorated and also sported a string trio. Guests were beginning to arrive and there was time for some photography of the arrivals before moving out front to await the brides minute long drive to the church.
The Bridesmaids led the way down the aisle followed by Ruth with a smile that barely left her face for the entire service. The traditional service had both hymns and readings but was light-hearted and not in the least bit stuffy – helped by the good humour of the Bride and Groom as well as the minister. The Bridesmaids looked splendid, especially during photographs of the signing and the newly married couple eventually left through the church entrance (after a few family shots) to a guard of honour made up of golf clubs and loads of confetti.
There wasn’t far to go for the portraits which happened immediately and we made good use of the sunny day along with the wild flowers and landscaped and spectacular trees (not to mention a classic looking red tractor!). After a short wander we were back at the drinks reception.
Guests chose to take advantage of the warm sun to enjoy their drinks outside and all seemed to be having a great time in amongst the surroundings of the estate as the newly married couple made their way through the crowd.
The Marquee was one of the largest I’ve seem with room to seat all guests in one half with plenty room left over for a lounge and bar area around the dance floor. The couple were piped in to a standing ovation and took their place at the head table for the speeches. With an MC happy to take centre stage the atmosphere was one of much laughter and some touching comments which kept the guests entertained until it was time to serve the wedding breakfast and time for me to leave.
This was only a short wedding for me and I would have looked forward to seeing the entertainment in the evening but I hit the road for the drive home and left them to it…and I’m sure it was good!