Argyll wedding photographer

West Highland Wedding Photography Scotland – Ardanaiseig Country House Hotel – Kilchrenan by Taynuilt, Argyll Wedding

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For all enquiries: https://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk/

“We are thrilled with our photographs and thank you for getting them back to us so quickly. We are very grateful and in awe of your work!! Everyone has loved the photographs and I (Becky) personally have loved telling everyone about you, your work and how you went above and beyond for me (I tell everyone about that cereal bar).“

Finally, after a wee break from sharing weddings online I am back to it. Over the past year I have been to some absolutely gorgeous locations in the Highlands and shot in some stunning venues. So, here I am sharing Becky and Eden’s incredible wedding. Happy Anniversary!

“We booked Debbie for both our engagement shoot and for our wedding day. Debbie is not only an extraordinary photographer, she also has the remarkable skill of putting people at ease. Debbie was an absolute dream to work with and she captured our day perfectly. Thank you for everything Debbie!”

This was one of the most beautiful wedding days, in one of the most gorgeous locations.

Becky and Eden’s wedding at Ardanaiseig Hotel was an absolute joy from beginning to end. The kind of wedding where there’s plenty of laughter, a very happy tears, a lot of carrying on, and the feeling that everyone there is completely invested in having the absolute best time.

Becky and Eden are a pure joy. They are completely themselves together, have such a laugh, and are clearly very, very good at making each other happy. I loved photographing them.

Set amongst the beautiful landscape of Argyll, Ardanaiseig Hotel was a pretty special place for a wedding. The loch, woodland, old stone buildings and surrounding landscape give you so much to work with as a photographer, without anything needing to be outsourced. It’s beautiful in a very natural way.

And then there was Becky.

“I don’t know why I’m crying… I know him!”

Bridal prep was so chilled, full of laughs, but as the ceremony time crept closer, the emotions started to arrive.

Becky was definitely feeling the feels. There were tears, nerves and all the pre-ceremony emotions, before she came out with:

“I don’t know why I’m crying… I know him!” 😂

Which pretty much summed her up perfectly.

There was also a lovely little parcel delivered to her during the morning. It had ‘Hyacinth’ written on it, which understandably left Becky looking a little confused.

Then she opened it.

“Aw Hyacinth!”

Inside was the loveliest little blue worry frog, made by one of her pals. There’s a whole story behind Hyacinth but for now, let’s just say she became a bit of a star of the day. 🐸

There were also some very special moments during the morning, particularly when Becky’s mum and dad saw her in her wedding dress for the first time. Those are the moments I love being there to photograph. Nothing staged, just people taking in the fact that their daughter is actually getting married.

A ceremony full of laughter and tears

The ceremony was incredibly emotional.

The vows had pretty much everyone reaching for a tissue. They were beautiful, personal and completely Becky and Eden.

And then there was Shona Sharp Humanist Celebrant, who delivered one of the funniest and most special ceremonies ever. Shona has a brilliant way of bringing plenty of personality into a ceremony, and she certainly wasn’t afraid to go off script when the moment called for it.

There was laughter, there were tears and there were plenty of moments where you could look around the room and see just how much these two mean to the people around them.

It was a perfec ceremony.

A wedding party who knew how to have a good time

One of the best things about photographing Becky and Eden’s wedding was the people around them.

They had an absolutely amazing bunch of friends and family, and it showed all day.

At one point, Eden and his friends ‘the gels’ tried to throw him up in the air.

It was very funny. 😂

There was also Becky being lifted by her squad for photos, which turned into exactly the sort of chaos you’d hope for when a group of friends get together on a wedding day. 🥳Perfection!

The family group photos were another highlight. Eden and his sisters were in hysterics, while Becky and her siblings were having a complete carry on. Exactly as family photos should be. Natural, relaxed and full of fun.

And somewhere amongst all this, I very nearly ended up falling over a rock and into a wee bog, while walking backwards during the confetti shot.

Thankfully, I was saved. 🙏

Woodland wanderings at Ardanaiseig

One of my absolute favourite parts of the day was taking Becky and Eden off for a wander through the woods around Ardanaiseig.

This is one of the things I love about photographing weddings in Oban, Argyll and the Highlands. You do not always need to go far to find somewhere beautiful and quiet for a bit of time together.

We wandered through the trees, took a wee breather from the celebrations and photographed them as they were, chatting, laughing and enjoying being married.

Just them, the woodland and a little bit of time away.

And, of course, we had a couple of appearances from a little black cat called Katz during the day. 🤗

Flowers, cake and local Oban suppliers

One of the lovely things about Becky and Eden’s wedding was that all of their suppliers were local to Oban.

Becky’s flowers were made by her Aunty Julie, which made them even more special and absolutely stunning. 🌸

There was also a beautiful wedding cake by Jasmine Jackson, and the day was brought together by a brilliant group of local people who know the area and the weddings that happen here so well.

It’s always lovely to see couples choosing local suppliers for their wedding in Oban and Argyll. There are so many talented wedding professionals in and around the area, from florists and cake makers to hair (I love working with Hair by Kelly- Louise) and makeup artists, celebrants, musicians and caterers.

Speeches

The speeches were brilliant.

The Father of the Bride and Best Man gave a lovely speeches, and there were lots of moments with laughter and tears.

During Eden’s speech, his mum shared that she knew Becky was the one for him as soon as they met.

It was one of those lovely little moments that says so much.

And then it was time to dance the night away

After all the emotions, it was time to properly celebrate.

The first dance was to Arctic Monkeys, followed by Becky and the squad absolutely going for it to Call Me by Blondie.

And that pretty much brought the day together perfectly.

A beautiful setting. A gorgeous couple. Brilliant friends and family. Plenty of laughter, a few tears, some questionable lifting techniques, one very helpful rescue from a bog, a black cat, a blue worry frog called Hyacinth and a lot of dancing.

I loved it!

A wonderful intimate wedding in Argyll

Photographing Becky and Eden’s wedding at Ardanaiseig Hotel was such a pleasure.

For couples looking for an Oban wedding venue, an Argyll wedding venue or somewhere surrounded by beautiful Highland scenery, Ardanaiseig would be a pretty special place to get married but it is sadly currently closed. Becky and Eden’s wedding as one of the very last at the venue. We can all hope the doors to this incredible place reopen soon.

I loved photographing this wedding day, and I loved photographing everyone there. It was relaxed, funny, emotional and completely perfect.

The local Oban wedding suppliers

  • Hair: Hair by Kelly Louise
  • Makeup: Shimmy’s Makeup Simone Carter
  • Cake: J Jackson Cakes, Jasmine
  • Venue: Ardanaiseig Hotel
  • Music: Stevo Finlayson
  • Humanist Celebrant: Shona Sharp
  • Flowers: Julie Lockhart
  • Food: Croma Bake & Dine

For all enquiries Debbie Thornton Photography

Loch Melfort Hotel Wedding – Arduaine

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For all enquiries: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“What incredible photos…You are very talented! Such a lovely way to capture the day. Thank you so much.”

James & Katie wanted to have a wee wedding on the West Coast as James’s family is from the area. Katie searched the internet and discovered Arduaine Gardens and the Loch Melfort was the perfect location for the couple. The couple discovered that the Loch Melfort hotel was where James’s family had their honeymoon but they no clue about this until after they booked and also it’s the exact same area where James would holiday as a child…it was obviously meant to be.

Their wedding was beautiful! It was really relaxed and over looking the sea.

James & Katie travelled up from Leeds with their immediate family to have their Humanist ceremony by the lovely Shona Sharp (Highly Recommend!). Their ceremony included two Highland traditions with a Handfasting and sharing a Quaich they also had their nephew as their ring bearer which was lovely.

I love a wee relaxed wedding by the sea and this was perfect!

Lovely to work with Katie & James’s wedding suppliers:

Hair – K.l.M Hair

Flowers – by Katie the bride

Venue – Loch Melfort Hotel and Restaurant

Humanist – Shona Sharp Humanist Celebrant

www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Port Appin & Isle of Lismore Elopement

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For all enquires: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“…Our wedding was a small elopement and we wanted a personal natural style of photographs. Debbie, right away made us feel very comfortable. Despite the weather taking a turn for the worse, she managed to bring the best out of us and the scenery and even got us a trip on the local small passenger ferry leading to fun and unexpected photographs. Her photography captured just what we hoped for and more in those special moments she saw that you don’t get from a set pose. Her service throughout from start to final follow up was excellent and we are delighted with our photographs. Debbie’s photography is excellent and we would highly recommend her. Thanks Debbie for adding to our amazing day”

When Rosie & Ian first contacted me they said they were looking for natural photos of their highland elopement ‘We’d like someone who’d be able to capture our happiness in an informal way…. We love Port Appin and the scenery there and hoping the weather is kind.’ The weather being kind hmmm I mean Billy Connolly says ‘There’s two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter’ Rosie and Ian were eloping in March.

It’s always a joy for me to hear how couples first met, especially if there’s a bit of a love story. Rosie & Ian were friends in school then they went away lived life and lost touch for years…until 8 years ago when Ian moved back to their home town and they found each other again through Facebook. Now they were having a real elopement, they didn’t tell anyone and ran away to the Highlands for the ceremony just the two of them. I LOVE ELOPEMENTS exactly for this reason, it’s so romantic!

So the weather, eh, on the day of their elopement there was torrential rain but they ended up not caring at all and for me as their photographer this was amazing as it meant they were game for a wee bit of an adventure in the rain.

Rosie & Ian held their ceremony in The Pierhouse at Port Appin which is a great wee venue for small weddings, they asked two of the staff to be their witnesses. It was a lovely ceremony (as always) by Argyll Registrar Fiona Dickie. The couple had a handfasting ceremony, which is a tradition in the Highlands where the the couple’s hands are tied with two pieces of tartan to form a knot and this where the phrase ‘tying the knot’ comes from. The handfasting symbolizes the coming together of the two clans, it’s really beautiful and always a special moment to photograph.

In front of The Pierhouse is where you catch the ferry over to the Isle of Lismore, there was no way I wasn’t getting these two on that ferry! They loved the trip over and laughed so much. Big thanks to Allan and Lyle who were working on the Lismore Passenger ferry and gave Rosie & Ian a wee shot of steering the boat. It was a really brilliant day!

I absolutely loved this elopement.

For all booking enquiries contact me via my website: http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Rosie & Ian’s amazing wedding suppliers were:

Venue – https://pierhousehotel.co.uk/

Registrar – Fiona Dickie https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/marriage

Loch Etive Wedding, Scotland.

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

“Debbie is a totally brilliant photographer and person. She photographed our wedding and captured the day beautifully! We were over the moon to get pictures of all the candid moments between our guests and she captured the joy and love we felt all day in every photo. She was also such a joy to have on the day, from stitching a button back on the bride’s dress to ushering lingering guests and making sure we had Prosecco in hand she was so helpful in making our day go smoothly. She’s really friendly and easy to talk to and really understood what we wanted from our day and so blended right in and caught it all on camera! We’d highly recommend Debbie to anyone.“

Zoe and Glenn had thee most amazing wedding by the shores of Loch Etive and right on Zoe’s family’s doorstep, it was wonderful. The couple done so much themselves, and with the help of their families and friends of course. It was such a personal wedding and the first ever Do It Yourself wedding I have photographed which was a total thrill for me as I love all this kind of thing. I also have to mention Zoe’s Mum’s beautiful garden, it was stunning!

Here’s what they said about their wedding….

Wedding planning

 “It took a long time. It was hard work because of all the DIY that we did for the wedding and we were renovating our house at the same time! Zoe really enjoyed planning all the little details and making bits of décor like signs, and hanging lights (with Glenn’s help) and invitations, it was a good excuse to be crafty. We didn’t go for too much décor though because we let the beautiful scenery speak for itself. Glenn enjoyed building things like the stage and dance floor (with Zoe’s help). It was a team effort. It was a bit of a challenge to source all the materials we needed for the DIY, like the dancefloor!

We decided to have the whole day outside, which was a gamble on the Scottish weather. We had to come up with two or three contingency plans. The long-range weather forecast was ambiguous but as every day passed the forecast improved and then we couldn’t have asked for better weather on the day itself!

Covid made planning the wedding even harder because we live in the North East of England and were planning a wedding on the West Coast of Scotland. All the lockdowns and restrictions meant we couldn’t visit often and had to do a lot of planning remotely. It also meant that the few trips we did get to see Zoe’s family in Scotland often became overrun with wedding planning catch ups! Covid was always in the back of our minds too for restrictions on the actual day and made us question what we’d be able to have but we were determined to get married one way or another and so we just ploughed on and hoped for the best. It mostly worked out for us, which was brilliant!”

Outfits

“Glenn and the groomsmen went for kilts, even though none of them are Scottish. Glenn wanted to wear a kilt because of where the wedding was being held. Glenn had wanted to wear a Northumbrian tartan but Zoe vetoed that idea because she thought it looked grey from a distance. We chose a Western Isles tartan because it matched the colour scheme and Glenn’s family names didn’t have any tartans! During the wedding, Glenn appreciated how practical and comfortable the kilt is, repurposing the sporran as a drink’s holder.”

“Zoe wore a Gaia Bridal dress which she got from a bridal boutique near home. She wanted a long dress with some lace and loved the open back on this dress. She didn’t want anything sparkly or too glitzy with it being an outdoor, DIY wedding but wanted to feel her best. If you can’t wear a big, white dress on your wedding day, when else can you? It was very difficult to dance in, but Zoe was determined to get the wear out of it!”

Ceremony

“We had a Salvation Army ceremony because we both have Christian upbringings. Glenn’s family have deep roots in the Salvation Army and Zoe’s mum became part of the Salvation Army about 10 years ago and so both families have connections. Major Denis Lomax led our ceremony which was lovely because he was previously Zoe’s mum’s superior when she worked for the Salvation Army and then he was the divisional commander of the North East of England and knew Glenn’s grandparents.“

Memories

“There are too many wonderful memories to choose from! There’s lots of lovely little moments we both remember…. it was just a completely wonderful day.”

“We unfortunately weren’t able to have Zoe’s family who live abroad come over for the wedding so we Zoomed them in, another thing to work out since the whole wedding day was outside!”

Looking back

“We’d say to trust that the wedding that we want would work out and make a lovely wedding and not worry if it’s not the wedding that other people expect. Also, don’t worry, the dancefloor won’t break.”

Advice

“Pick the top three things that you really want and make them happen above everything else. For us it was the ceilidh, good food and a good photographer and so that’s what we prioritised in our budget and time and we were very happy with all of them!”

“It was just really wonderful. A culmination of hard work and exceptionally good timing that meant all our guests were up for having a great party. It was a real team effort.”

Favourites

“We both love photos from the end of the day where we are out in the garden with Ben Cruachan behind us.

“Zoe’s favourite is us holding on to each other and smiling at each other with the mountain in the background because it captures how happy we were at the end of a brilliant day. It has us in front of Zoe’s all-time favourite view, we’d been waiting all day for the mountain to peak out from behind the clouds and right at the end it did!”

“Glenn’s favourite is us looking out towards the mountain, heads together. Similar reasons to Zoe’s choice, but Glenn likes this photo because it’s like we’re looking out into the future.”

An amazing day!

It’s was lovely to work alongside the (few) suppliers Zoe & Glenn used on the day:

Ceòl an Aire

Hair by Patrick Mcbeth Trinity hairdressing & beauty

Bespoken Bridal

A1 Kilt Hire

For all enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Alison and Andrew, Isle of Seil Wedding, Scotland.

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

‘We first met Debbie for our engagement shoot which was included in the wedding package we had picked, I was very nervous as I never enjoy having my pictures taken. Debbie put me at ease straight away and I ended up really enjoying the whole experience, and the photos were amazing and I felt so relaxed the whole time. When it came to the wedding day I had no nerves about photos, Debbie was fantastic and captured our day perfectly and we really couldn’t of asked for any more from her. She really went above and beyond for us and we loved having her with us on our big day!‘

Alison and Andrew started planning their wedding for 2021 during the first lockdown, little did they, and we all, know that things for some time would be forever changing for wedding restrictions. However they adapted their wedding plans, changing from having a large wedding to a more intimate one and it was so amazing!

‘Of course organising a wedding in the middle of a pandemic was a tad challenging at times, but other than that the only difficulty we faced was Andy trying to pick the right tweed to make his kilt jacket, I was much quicker picking my dress!!’

‘what we most remember from our day is just how happy everyone was to be together after such a long time.’

‘We found the whole wedding process both stressful and exciting.  

‘If we had to do it all over again we would just try to enjoy the whole process as everything comes together in the end.’

‘We could only have a small wedding.. but even without the restrictions we had to follow, we wouldn’t change a thing.’

‘Some of our favourite photos are of our guests hugging as the wedding was just days after the announcement that we could.’ 

‘Our wedding was full of love and laughter from beginning to end.’

‘the best advice about planning a wedding we were given and would pass on is that it’s “your day” and to do it exactly as you both want it to be.‘

For all booking enquiries: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

Alison and Andrew had an amazing team of wedding suppliers:

Venue – Tigh an Truish
Celebrant – Argyll and Bute Registrars
Flowers – The Thistle & The Rose
Dress – WED2B
Wedding Hair – Kelly-louise McCluskey Hayley Edwards 
Make-up Bride Mairi MacDonald Makeup and Gemma Mckie Makeup (Bridesmaids) 
Wee Bay Teepees
Piper –Macgregor Piping

Kelly and Scott, East Coast Wedding, Scotland.

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For all booking enquiries contact me via: www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

‘With only 5 weeks notice Debbie was more than happy to accommodate our new arrangements and travel up to Banff for our wedding. My husband and I are not the most comfortable in front of the camera. Debbie made us feel so at ease and became part of the family for the day. To say that she captured every moment would be a understatement. The photos and video montage are better than we could have ever imagined and it has really encapsulated our special family filled day. We are beyond thrilled and thankful.’

To say it’s been difficult for couples planning weddings over the past couple of years is the understatement of the century. Covid 19 has caused more than a few problems for people. However some couples, such as Kelly and Scott, have managed to roll with it and they have not let anything stop them having the most beautiful wedding!

Kelly and Scott both have large families so they had planned to have a big family filled wedding in Glasgow but when Covid happened they altered their plans to accommodate a small wedding instead, they said they would be keeping their wedding date whatever happens, they wanted to be married and that’s what it’s all about.

Kelly’s family are originally from Banff and her Grandparents still live there. The couple decided weeks before to move their small wedding from Glasgow up to Banff so that Kelly’s Grandparents could attend and it was the best decision because not only could Kelly’s family attend but the weather in Banff was amazing. What a stunning place and to be beside the sea, it was absolutely gorgeous!

‘During the planning process we were surprised how easy it was to initially plan the wedding when you have the right people there to help you along the way. Scott and I are not traditionally the ‘wedding’ type, however due to large families on both sides we planned a big wedding in Glasgow. Due to the global pandemic happening in 2020, we decided at last minute to rearrange our entire wedding and move it up north so family could attend ( as you can imagine, we were secretly thrilled as a small wedding was more up our street). As we had the best people working alongside us, the process of changing wedding plans with 1 month to go was surprisingly easy.‘

Kelly and Scott had so many special moments throughout their wedding such as Scott’s Mum Margaret’s reading at the ceremony has to be one of the best I’ve ever heard, funny, lots of love and it was completely from the heart. Also, during their ceremony Kelly’s Grannie had written a poem which she read out in Doric (Doric is a Scottish dialect spoken in the northeast of Scotland) and it was brilliant, everyone was laughing and absolutely loved it!

‘Our most vivid memory was after the ceremony when all family and friends met outside on the patio for some drinks. We were both surprised when further family and friends who were not able to attend due to COVID restrictions were hiding outside to surprise us. Debbie captured that moment beautifully and it will stay with us forever.’


Kelly’s Grandad loves his harmonica also known as his ‘Moothie’ so he played a brilliant tune for the happy couple as they were being seated for their meal and speeches. Kelly’s Dad Stephen’s speech was beautiful and very heartfelt, obviously Kelly means a lot to him being his daughter and the wedding had more special meaning to Stephen and Lynne (Kelly’s parents) as they are from Banff, so they were extremely happy that the wedding was taking place there.

‘…Scott and I were not the typical wedding folk. After going back and forth trying to come up with a wedding that would suit us and our family, our advice to couples is to do it how you want. The only way you are going to enjoy your day is if you have the wedding that you wanted all along.’

This is one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever photographed!

Kelly and Scott had an amazing team of wedding suppliers: Ceremony venue & Accommodation: The Banff Springs Hotel https://thebanffsprings.co.uk/ (highly recommend this as a wedding venue. Sarah the wedding events manager was a joy to work alongside!)

Celebrant: Lynne from Aberdeenshire Registrars

Bridal Hair: Zoe Gordon https://www.facebook.com/Zoe-Gordon-Special-Occasion-Hair-1378942375455322/

Wedding Cake: Millennial Menu https://www.facebook.com/Millennial.menu.23/

Flowers: Love For Flowers https://www.facebook.com/loveforflowers2/

Wedding Decor: 3 Tiers https://www.3tierscreative.co.uk/

For all booking enquiries you can contact me via http://www.debbiethorntonphotography.co.uk

South Uist Wedding Photography. Claire and Alasdair Wedding.

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Last May I travelled to South Uist to photograph Claire and Alasdair’s wedding day. The island is unbelievably beautiful and I had a wonderful time photographing everyone.

Here’s what Claire and Alasdair said about their photos:

“Debbie photographed our wedding in South Uist in May this year and we can’t recommend her enough! She was very easy to communicate with in the run up to the wedding and we met up for a chat beforehand to put faces to names which was lovely. On the day although it was a very cold and windy day you would never know as all of the pictures are beautiful and capture lots of lovely moments throughout the morning, day and evening (which I flick through almost daily since the wedding!). Having Debbie around while getting ready the morning of the wedding was also really nice, although we didn’t know each other that well there was absolutely no awkwardness, it was just nice for all of us to chat while getting ready – with Debbie multitasking taking lovely photographs at the same time! She knows the drill with weddings as she’s clearly got a lot of experience – even helping me out when I didn’t know what to do with my engagement ring on the day! 😂 If you are thinking about booking with Debbie, please don’t hesitate as you won’t regret it! Thanks again, The MacDonalds x”.

I can’t wait until I’m back on the islands!