Altskeith Wedding Photographs – Simon and Gemma
This year I was looking forward to visiting some exciting new wedding venues and also revisiting some of my old favourites but, unfortunately, it was not to be. Although I am managing to get some new bookings for small weddings later this year (which I am very excited about – I have some really great ones coming up!) most of my clients have rebooked for 2021.
Are small weddings going to be the new normal for a while I wonder? If so then I don’t mind as I have been photographing tiny weddings and elopements for years now and really quite enjoy the freedom and intimacy of them. Needless to say though I do also enjoy a good-sized wedding and thought I should write about one for a change, as most of my posts have been very elopement-based recently.
One of those bigger venues I should have photographed in 2020 was the stunning Altskeith on the shores of Loch Ard. Last year, as in previous years, I enjoyed making some Altskeith wedding photographs on more than one occasion. In fact, in 2020, I worked there in September and then again in October and, unsurprisingly for Scotland, the weather was much the same each time!
Simon and Gemma had recently relocated from Australia and picked Altskeith for their wedding largely because of its location nested in the heart of the Trossachs and Loch Lomond National Park here in Scotland. The large privately owned house is beautifully situated by the shores of the loch and even has its own private boathouse, which is a very Instagrammable spot for your wedding photographs. I know that it isn’t very photography-related but I have to say that the food is always stunning too and I am always well looked after! A fed wedding photographer is a happy wedding photographer 🙂 The fact that the weather outside can sometimes be changeable doesn’t really matter there because the inside is warm and cosy and the ceremony / function room has full-height glass sliding doors giving a wonderful view of Ben Lomond and the misty loch, regardless of the elements.
Simon and Gemma’s Altskeith wedding ceremony was planned to be outside underneath the large copper beech tree but in the end Simon and Gemma ended up having their ceremony indoors, conducted by the amazing celebrant Brian Hawkins. Whether to have the ceremony indoors or outside is always a tough call to make in my experience but having photographed some ceremonies that had to be relocated to somewhere drier halfway through it is often best to err on the safe side.
Myself, Gemma and Simon did still pop outside for a few minutes and dash down to the water’s edge for some quick photographs. As I tell all my clients, we can make some lovely relaxed photographs in just a very short space of time and it is definitely worth being brave for five minutes. You will be very glad you did it 🙂 The boathouse and the beach are just a minute’s walk from the house and you can capture some amazing views of the mountains and scenery.
If you are looking for a photographer to help you make some relaxed but memorable Altskeith wedding photographs then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You might also like to take a look at some other weddings that I have photographed there over the years. Laura and Euan’s wedding was lovely (and the weather was nice so they managed to get out on the little row boat) or you could go way back to 2015 to Sarah and Joe’s wedding.
