Weddings are such fun, and Nikkie & Neil’s special day at Haddington presented the very best of what wedding days are all about: a simple ceremony attended by close friends and family where the atmosphere was just charged with abiding aire of happiness and goodwill.

Haddington is a fantastic town with a long and interesting history, and the registrar’s office offers a great venue for weddings; the ceremony room is well appointed and spacious – with lots of room for the photographer to get around without stirring up a fuss. Outside the office, a garden – specifically designed for weddings – offers any number of excellent backdrops before which to gather the wedding party for their photographs. It was my second wedding in Haddington registry office, and I can’t speak highly enough of it as a venue.

Here’s wishing Nikkie, Neil and their family all the very best of luck n’ love for the future.

Fasten your belts for the Miss West Lothian competition

The Miss West Lothian competition is swinging into top gear now as the competition’s Guru, Eddie Anderson gets ready to wield the axe and cut the number of entrants going through to the final in December to just 30 of the current 50 remaining girls.
It looks, to me, like an impossible task though: the ‘gorgeous-ity’ factor among this years entrants is just soooo high that I, personally, would have sleepless nights trying to whittle down the number of girls who will continue that journey to the final by a swingeing 2/5ths.

I was fortunate to be named the official photographer for the competition and, as such, have come to know a few of the girls; most especially those who took up Eddie’s offer of appearing in the runway shows he has organised on their behalf this year. I also had the great pleasure of producing portrait shots of the entrants, and these are currently hanging in Debenham’s Store in the Almondvale Centre. So, although I have to say that I’m going to be really sorry to see the current group down-sized to just 30 contestants, I’m extremely confident that those girls whose pictures are posted back on the Miss West Lothian gallery on Monday morning will offer a fantastic representation of many beautiful girls we have here in West Lothian.
One of that number will go on to be crowned Miss West Lothian on 2nd December at ‘The Club', Broxburn, but I’m really glad it’s not me who has to pick one from such a fantastic array of girls; it’ll be a bit like looking for a needle in a stack of needles.

Good luck to them all.

Pictures from the recent Miss West Lothian Workshop

The Wedding Box - Uncovered

The lid was well and truly lifted on “The Wedding Box” at their Wedding Fayre held at Centrex Conference Centre on Sunday 6th September when an estimated 260 people turned out to peruse the marvellous array of products and services being offered by some 20 independent providers in the main market area.

Visitors to this exclusive, ‘invitation only’ event were also treated to a unique, first viewing of an eye-catching collection of Haute Couture bridal gowns now being provided by Ritz n’ Glitz’ – the MidCalder based outlet of top wedding accessory designer, Allyson Murray. These exquisite creations were beautifully ‘cat-walked’ in the Centrex arena by some of West Lothian’s most dazzling models, many of whom are poised to participate in this years Miss West Lothian Competition.

Reigning Miss West Lothian and ‘Britains Next Top Model’ finalist, Ashley Brown, also made a glamorous return to the catwalk to showcase some of Allyson’s elegant bridal gowns, along with a collection of luxurious, limited edition lingerie provided by top Scottish fashion boutique, Boudiche.

The highlight of the day took place at 4pm when Ashley drew the winner of the days top prize: a medley of requisite, wedding day services being provided by members of the ‘Wedding Box’ collection of companies with a combined value of £3,000.

That prize was presented by Ashley to Bathgate based ‘Bride-to-be’ Emma Robertson who is preparing to walk down the Isle of St. Michaels Church, Linlithgow in June , 2011. The ever-present stresses of organising her ‘special day’ might now be made a little easier – and a good deal less financially burdening – following the collection of her prize.

Allyson Murray who, with the help of all the other wedding day service providers, including myself, pulled the day together said: “While I felt that, overall, the day was a great success, we are aware that we have a few areas where we need to improve. But we are convinced that the associate companies who comprise the ‘Wedding Box’ are now ready to establish themselves as one of the top Wedding Fayre hosts in West Lothian, providing not only a comprehensive and diverse choice of quality products and services but, as a group of experienced wedding service providers, we can also offer a wealth of help and advice which every soon-to-be-bride will be glad to take advantage of.

“The fact that we had attracted the participation of major retailers such as Debenhams and Boudiche helped make the September Fayre an overall success, and we’re now looking forward to pressing ahead with a regular programme of events based on this winning formula.”

Photographs from the event featuring curent Miss West Lothian & Britains Next Top Model finalist, Ashley Brown; up and coming West Lothian Model, Amanda Tinning and other girls who starred on the day:

Fascinating stuff

I was fortunate enough to be asked to shoot a collection of fascinators and wedding accessories for Ritz nGlitz; a quality, high-end bridal gown and accessories outlet based in MidCalder.

The accessories - and especially the fascinators – were literally ‘fascinating’, while having the opportunity to work with – and light – such a fantastic collection of exquisite tiaras, necklaces and bracelets was a real pleasure.

Some of the resultant head and shoulders shots were used in a power-point slide which was displayed at the ‘Wedding Box’ wedding fayre held at Centrex, Livingston on Sunday 6th September.

Thanks to models Michelle and Rachael for being so patient with me, and to Make-up artist, Jade, whose skills made my photography look better than it might otherwise have.

Michelle & Rachael

The Wedding Box

Has your partner just proposed to you and are you now looking forward to planning your perfect wedding?

Well, while pursuing those plans is likely to be one of the most exciting and romantic tasks you will ever set yourself, you might soon find that it can also be a pretty daunting prospect; there are so many things to be considered: not only do you have to choose a date, venue, dress and cake, you also have to consider stationary, photography, flowers, entertainment, venue-dressing, cars, make-up, hair styling … the list can appear endless.

Help is at hand though: “The Wedding Box” wedding fairs present a highly specialised and perfectly integrated group of service providers who can help you to make that special day ‘extra’ special. They offer a choice of providers catering for practically every aspect of wedding day services that you might wish to include in your own plans for a truly unique wedding day.

The next ‘Wedding Box’ event takes place in Centrex House (just opposite the Intelligent Finance Offices at Kirkton Campus) on Sunday, 6th September and runs from 12 noon until 5pm.

This is a truly unique and very exclusive event, and invitation is by ticket only. Those who attend will not only be able to discuss their own specific requirements and receive information and advice from a host of specialised wedding service providers, but they will also have the opportunity of winning up to £3,000.00 of goods and services for their own special day!

Follow this link (also noted in the list of links on the right hand column of my blog) for further information, and get your own special, whirlwind day off to a flying start with insider help, support and advice from “The Wedding Box” team.