Brian & Sam's pre-Wedding shoot.

I had the great pleasure of welcoming newly betrothed West Lothian couple, Brian & Sam to the studio recently.

Brian popped the question to Sam at the end of last year and, since then, Sam’s thoughts have been focused on their July wedding. Now, with the date getting closer and closer, things are starting to move – a welcome distraction to all brides who have to suffer that becalmed period which seems to fall over everything when all the initial arrangements have been made and you’re then just waiting for things to start happening - in ‘real-time’ 

So, having previously booked in for my pre-wedding package, both Brian & Sam were keen to come to the studio – both for the shoot itself, and to chat about final arrangements for the wedding itself.

The primary reason for arranging the shoot was to capture a picture of Brian & Sam which could be displayed at the wedding reception venue. The picture is enlarged and printed at A3 size. It is then sent off to be professionally mounted. Then, on the day of the wedding, it will be set on an easel and family and friends are invited to add their signatures and best wishes to the couple.

While we are essentially looking for a very warm but informal image to display as a sort of 2D guest book, the secondary reason for staging the shoot is to have the opportunity to get back together with the couple again before the nuptials are performed.

Chatting with the couple about the wedding allows them to relax and feel at ease, and presents an excellent distraction for them as they contemplate their big day. It’s also a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other a bit better prior to the formalities of the day, when the opportunity to share a few words, a few laughs, and a bit of casual banter might not present itself again until after the ceremony is over, the formal pictures are captured and the cake is ceremoniously cut.

Fortunately, Brian and Sam are a fun-lovin’ couple; very at ease with themselves and, as such, the shoot itself went really well. We enjoyed a few cuppa’s while, in between sets, we fine tuned some of their ideas for the day in respect of the photography.

All that’s left to do now is for Brian & Sam to choose the picture they want to display at their wedding which, for all of us, can’t now come fast enough.

West Lothian Couple, Brian & Sam.