Tess and Ally got in touch with me a mere month before their wedding, having decided that the time was right to get hitched and finding a beautiful venue in Dunblane – the Victoria Hall – to host it at short notice. We had a Zoom consultation and they quickly booked me to shoot their big day in June 2024.

I started my day with a chilled drive up to Dunblane, getting my bearings then going to find Tess in the Old Churches House Hotel getting put together with her bridesmaid Anka and her parents. I took a few bridal prep photos before heading quickly up to St. Blane’s Church to check in with Ally and the Minister. After a short time in the church I went back down to the hotel to get some photos of Tess and her folks in the grounds.

The ceremony in St. Blane’s was lovely and very personal to the couple – more so because their beloved Chewie was allowed to come and watch the proceedings!

After the ceremony the couple took the time to greet their guests outside the church, before heading down to the Victoria Hall near the train station for the reception.

After some mingling time I grabbed the happy couple for a wander through the streets and along the Allan Water. My approach here, as always, was to let Tess and Ally enjoy each other’s company with minimal direction from me – I think you can see how relaxed they both are in the images and this comes from not trying to make the images too stage-managed.

After our riverside-wander we headed back to the Victoria Hall where the reception was in full swing. The afternoon reception was really chilled out – with very few of the more formal aspects usually featured in a Scottish wedding and the meal served buffet-style.

After dinner there were a few surprises to be shared – first off Ally revealed that he’d learned his speech in German as a surprise for Tess and the German contingent, then Tess revealed that she’d been working with a local group of Scots country dancers to develop a dance for Ally for their big day!

After the debut of Tess’ dance, the Alba Ceilidh Band began the absolute best ceilidh session I’ve seen at a wedding. The Scoto-Germanic crew threw themselves head-first into some old ceilidh favourites as well as a few which I’d never seen before. It was tremendous fun and I left at about 10pm with some regret, as the ceilidh was exciting to watch and capture. But I was conscious of the 2-hour drive home so - Red Bull in hand - I headed back to Ayrshire.

I do try to have a bit of give and take on a wedding day, and I’m not the kind of guy to say ‘right, first dance is done, I’m heading home’. Tess and Ally’s day was a case in point – the dancefloor was never empty and there was always something new to photograph so I stayed pretty late on.

If you’re looking for someone with a relaxed and accommodating approach to shooting your big day, why not get in touch for a no-obligation chat about your wedding plans?

Peter is fantastic, he captured our wedding day perfectly and made us and our guests feel completely at ease. He also sent us around 25 photos straight after our wedding.

- Tess & Ally