Scottish Country House Wedding Photographer - Wedding and Elopement Photographer in Scotland Trevor Wilson

Laryssa and Iain Pòl’s Wedding at Balinakill

This year more than half of the weddings and elopements I will be photographing aren’t at a wedding venue, or even indoors, at all. They are small, intimate gatherings, of sometimes just two people, in the heather-covered mountains and on the deserted beaches of the west coast of Scotland where I’m based. I am quite an outdoorsy person and am delighted that by being an elopement photographer I get to work outside (less so when it’s raining, but that can’t be helped). For those slightly bigger weddings, though, being a Scottish country house wedding photographer can be brilliant too!

Laryssa and Iain Pòl had picked a beautifully idyllic location for their wedding day – Balinakill Country House. I’d been here before but had clearly been a wee while ago as I’d forgotten how breathtakingly gorgeous the Mull of Kintyre really is. I drove up early that morning along deserted roads, almost all of which were next to large mirror-calm expanses of water of one kind or another. I passed all sorts of wildlife (including my first pine marten) and arrived feeling very happy and lucky to know that I have all this beauty right on my doorstep.

Along with bride and groom Laryssa and Iain Pòl there were about 25 guests at the house. The beauty of a Scottish country house, such as Balinakill, is that you can take over the entire thing and have it all to yourselves. The multitude of rooms and outdoor spaces is perfect and gives a wedding photographer so many great options for photographs.

Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

The weather at Balinakill was absolutely superb on the day of the wedding so, of course, Laryssa and Iain Pòl decided to have their ceremony in the gardens. However, before the ceremony started Laryssa was really keen on a first-look in the gardens to the front of Balinakill. I know that some people aren’t overly keen on having a first-look but, as a photographer, I think it can be a beautiful thing to capture, especially if the couple can manage to keep it as a private meeting. Certainly photographing Iain Pòl and Laryssa see each other in the their outfits for the first time resulted in a great sequence of very emotional and happy photographs.

I love outdoor wedding ceremonies. Getting married outdoors, particularly if the weather is pleasant, is great for the guests, and great for me too as a photographer because I am able to sneak around the perimeter to capture lots of different angles whilst still being as unobtrusive as possible. It also meant that they could have bubbles as they walked back up the isle as a newly married couple too!

Wild Scottish Beaches

Balinakill sits in the centre of the Mull of Kintyre; a narrow peninsula, attached to the mainland by barely a sliver, that juts out of the west coast of Scotland, sitting between the islands of Arran and Islay. Because of its location it has miles and miles of coastline, and hardly any tourists. Both of which are great for photography. Halfway through the afternoon we jumped in the car and managed to find a little deserted beach with the most amazing views over the Sound of Jura towards the islands in the distance. Although the light was bright we managed to make some great photographs and do a spot of bird-watching before heading back to Balinakill for dinner and speeches.

Golden Hour

As dinner was ending the harsher sunlight disappeared and was replaced with the beautiful soft warm tones of the much talked about golden hour. The perfect time for photography on a bright and sunny day because the light is so much softer and romantic. I cannot urge you enough to take just a few minutes out of your wedding day to nip outside for a few photographs if the evening light is nice. I promise you won’t regret it!

I finished my day photographing at Balinakill as Laryssa and Iain Pòl were enjoying a game of Mr and Mrs, with shoes. Sitting back-to-back the bride and groom answer a question by holding up either one of their shoes depending upon who they think is the correct answer. I left after about ten questions and they hadn’t agreed on a single answer – I can only hope that it improved after I’d left 🙂

I’d like to say a big thank you to Iain Pòl and Laryssa for letting me use their photographs for this blog post and for being amazing clients on the day!