A day full of sunshine at the beginning of September last year. This was the second of my three trips to Scotland last wedding season, and I had been looking forward to walking up the road towards Linlithgow Burgh Halls from the main street, with Linlithgow Palace straight ahead and the cobbled stones under my feet.
But first, I met Janine in the rooms of the Court Residence across the street from the Burgh Halls. She got ready surrounded by close family and friends, who were all styled beautifully by lovely Laura Gray Hair & Make Up and her team.
Janine and her Dad then walked across the street to Cafebar 1807 where she met Derek, as they wanted to walk into their ceremony together.
The ceremony room is a bright and airy space with lovely views onto Linlithgow Main Street and St. Michael's church. Janine and Derek included a drink from a Scottish quaich in their ceremony - ordinarily it's filled with Whisky, but they went with a tipple more personal to them ;)
For their couple portraits, we stayed in the historic walled garden. The weather was just fantastic, with most guests using the outside terrace to its full effect. They were a very relaxed and friendly bunch, and even bought me some drinks - though I stuck with Coke Zero :)
The evening started off with a slow number to a Neil Young song. Just perfect! Also, their DJ saved my second flash from falling during their first dance (which I had balanced rather precariously on his mix deck). Luck was certainly on my side, but Janine had also picked very friendly and helpful vendors. I bumped into her florist Leigh from the Queensferry Flower Company several times during the morning, as she kept twiddling with the flowers to ensure they were just perfect.
A heartfelt thanks to this genuine and lovely couple... a perfect late summers day, a perfect wedding.
"Hi Mareike, we got the photos today and they were fabulous. Thank you so much for capturing our day xx"
- Janine & Derek
