Photographs of an Ardoch Wedding By Loch Lomond

Claire and Jack’s Ardoch Wedding by Loch Lomond

These days I think nothing of driving a couple of hours or more to get to a wedding, especially as so much of my elopement photography takes me up into the Highlands of Scotland. Suffering a bit of driving fatigue I was really happy when I realised that Jack and Claire’s Ardoch wedding was fast approaching and, for a change, their venue was just 30 minutes from my house!

Ardoch sits on a green and leafy hillside on the southern edge of Loch Lomond. It has unbeatable views of the loch, with all of its small islands dotted about the huge expanse of water and the mountains of the national park lining the horizon in the distance. It was such a beautiful setting and I couldn’t believe I’d never actually been to photograph an Ardoch wedding before.

An Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

Typically for a Scottish summer, the weather was a bit iffy but Jack and Claire took a leap of faith and decided upon an outdoor ceremony and, with those mountain views in the background, who could blame them. Jack and Claire were lucky enough to have a Scottish Auntie (an aunt who isn’t actually an aunt at all) who is also a humanist celebrant and could conduct their ceremony for them. Lesley Johnston did an amazing job and I’ll never forget the sight of her sprinting across the dance floor in a pair of trainers later that evening.

After a quick group photograph of everyone, taken from the balcony above straight after the ceremony (always the best time to do it I think), it was time for canapés and champagne whilst I captured the few family groups that Claire and Jack had asked for before turning my attention to grabbing as many informal shots of the guests as I could.

The rain inevitably started but, undeterred, we dashed across the lawn to the nearby trees and still managed to make some real nice photographs in the soft outdoor light without getting very wet. Remember, I will never make you go outside in the rain but I am more than happy to go with you if you want to go for it.

Golden Hour Photographs at Ardoch

I was having a brilliant day photographing at Ardoch alongside videographers Stag and Doe (lovely folk by the way!) and my day got even better when just after the first dance, the sun finally broke through the stormy skies and, for just a few minutes, lit up the view in a really wonderful way. Claire and Jack were equally as delighted and didn’t hesitate to pop outside again for just a few minutes for some of my favourite photographs of their day. I know I keep saying this but really, if there is any light in the early evening then it is always worth taking a few minutes out of your day to nip outside and make the most of it. Laryssa and Iain-Pol’s wedding in May was another great example of beautiful evening light.