Drumlanrig Photoshoot

One of the best days of 2011 was this perfect Autumn day in October.. we had planned a photoshoot in a stunning location, Drumlanrig Castle near Drumfries.

We felt so fortunate to be allowed to go and photograph in such an amazing location.  We had a stunning model called Bambi, who had been to my shop a couple of times before the photoshoot to try on and let us adjust the dresses we had made her.

Rosie Fraser Make-up and Princess Cut Bridal Hair by Charlene Wilson had both been to see her and the dresses, and we had been in regular contact, sending ideas back and forth to decide on the different looks for Bambi to carry off with each of the 3 dresses. We were very keen to get a different look for each dress.

On top of that, Planet Flowers had kindly offered to supply us with suitable wedding flowers, and  Rene Walrus had lent us the accessories.

On top of that we had an endless to-do - list such as lunch, directions, snacks and shoes etc. to bring. Each one of us had a whole lot of stuff to do with our profession.... so I think when the lovely staff at Drumlanrig saw us arriving with all our equipment, they wondered if the castle was in fact big enough!

Charlene and Rosie went straight to hair and make-up... I was busy getting all of the dresses laid out with the correct bracelet, hair piece, flowers, shoes etc...  Ditte and her assistant were out searching for the best places to actually take the shots. The castle had already specified the exact places they would like us to take pictures, so it wasn't up to Ditte to get them on board with the ideas she had for dress locations, lighting and yes... weather.

The first shot was taken with very natural make-up.. I loved the look Charlene went for with this one. The dress was a soft silk satin dress with a deep and full cowl neck front and back and an embellished belt. The flowers were displayed in an amazing big ball of white rose heads held together with ribbon, it was so beautiful it looked just like a big powder ball. According to Planet Flowers this is called a  "Pomander".

The second shot focused on autumnal colours, the dress was a silk organza balerina skirt with a corded lace bodice. Bambi's make-up was with stronger colours and the bouquet was a lovely mix of burnt orange coloured cala lillies and other autumn flowers displayed in a tear drop shape.

The third dress was made from a beautiful lace which had big 3D petals on the bodice, and a full silk taffeta skirt with a train. Bambi's make-up was still very strong and her hair was styled into a lovely array of messy curls held together with a headband from Rene Walrus. We had a stunning round ball of pink rose heads for this shot.

We had such a lovely day.. we all worked super hard.. we worked even harder than usual that day, but it all came together and we all worked towards a common goal.

For all of us its a lot of time, money and work to take days off just to play... but it was well worth it.... have a look at some of the stunning pictures taken by Ditte at Firstlight Weddings.

Ruched chiffon and Guipore capped sleeves!

Laura and Andy got married at St. Phillips Church in Joppa. This is the same church as Laura's grandparents, parents and sister got married in. They had the church full of friends and family and music. One of Laura and Andy's friends had composed music especially for them to walk in to and it was played by a band made up of friends. They then took to the beach, got the photographs taken (wow it looks like abroad) and then to the Apex on the Grassmarket for the reception and lovely views.

The stunning pictures are taken by Idil Sukan of Draw HQ. Thank you so so much for letting us use them to share. Idil is one of Andy and Laura's friends from Edinburgh University. Her photography is usually promotional work for the entertainment industry but she also shoots events and weddings. Andy is an actor and comedian and he and his friends often use Idil's amazing photos to promote their work. He's one of the team that make up Showstopper! The Improvised Musical which will be on at the Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

Laura, her mum and her bridesmaids helped with the flowers on the day. And they look amazing.

I think it would have been very special for Andy and Laura's guests to come from London and get such a true Edinburgh experience to be by the seaside and then in minutes in the stunning old town in a modern building with a view to The Edinburgh Castle.

Laura's dress was a ruched chiffon dress with buttons down the back and guipore lace cap sleeves.

We also made the bridesmaids dress for Laura's sister, she wore a teal chiffon dress with sleeves.

Laura was an absolute joy to work with and discuss Architecture and dressing idea requirements with. I hope I get to catch up at the festival.

Laura says: "Thank you so much for all the work you and your team put into both of our dresses. We absolutely loved them and it was so nice to have dresses which suited our body shapes so well. I had so many compliments about the dresses on the day and since the wedding and have been recommending you any friends who've got engaged recently!"

Mother of the bride,,, 2nd in command!

We love making mother of the bride and mother and of the groom outfits. In fact we probably do as many as we do wedding dresses. We like to experiment with colours and textures to create a lovely look that goes with the rest of the wedding plans. The choice is endless, we have a lot of stunning outfits on the go at the moment, but here are some we recently made.

Julia has had a few outfits made by us, here she is guest at a wedding and she wears a dress made in metallic lace in Victorian Lilac, backed with silver silk satin. She has a crushed velvet jacket over.

Photo: First Light Weddings

Mother of Bride in pale blue douppion silk jacket and dress, belt and accessories by Rene Walrus , hat is dressed by us.

Mother of the bride in pale silk velvet dress, and lace coat. She had a suit for the daytime, we made her a very glamourous beaded lace coat to add for the evening.

Photo by: First Light Weddings

Mother of groom in coral silk douppion dress and shrimp coloured Matka silk jacket with lapels and cuffs in douppion silk. Hat From Alex Muir.

The Mother of groom is wearing a silk crepe dress with cowl neck and beading. Jacket is a douppion silk with purple shot with green.

This mother of bride is wearing an embroidered douppion silk Jacket with paisley pattern. She has a  plain turquoise dress with it. Her head dress is from Bridget Webster.

Photo by: Rebekah J Murray

Bridesmaids and Mother of Bride for Charlotte's Autumn Wedding

Charlotte's bridesmaids had a chiffon dresses, with ruching to the side to mirror Charlotte's dress, Libby's dress had V-neck and the younger bridesmaid, Ana had a boat neckline.

Both dresses were soft dresses, without boning and only light structure.

Charlotte's Mother wore a silk Douppion Embroidered jacket, georgette skirt panelled flip skirt, and Gorgeous Hat from Alex Muir.

She kept all her accessories dark navy. Liz had a lighter top in satin devoree and in the same colour scheme to change into at night.

All the ladies had hair done by Charlie Miller and LG Make-up the Flowers were from Maxwell.

All the ladies got dressed at The Balmoral Hotel, the wedding was at Fettes College and the reception at The Signet Library.

It has been an absolute joy to work with everyone involved in this wedding, we have enjoyed it so much, and will cherish the pictures.

The stunning pictures are taken by Firstlight Weddings

“Having first talked to Mette at the Wedding Fair at Hopetoun House we knew she was the person to guide us with our weding outfits. She is like a painter with a blank canvas; she listens, suggests, illustrates and little by little the picture evolves. Such a talent. It was very special when Mette agreed to be with us as part of the family at the Balmoral. She helped us all get ready, but particularly Charlotte - an emotional moment for them both, I think. We couldn't have done without her, she gave us all confidence and calmed any nervous moments. Thank you Mette for everything over the last year.” 

Charlotte's dress for her autumn wedding

This is one of our favourite weddings of 2011 and there have been a lot to chose from. I first met Charlotte and her Mother Liz at the Hopetoun House wedding fair. They then came to see me to discuss Charlotte's dress, and we had a great exchange of ideas.
Charlotte had some lovely things to work with. First the wedding itself was to be at Fettes College where she works. We had a great laugh. To get the length of the train right for when Charlotte was standing at the alter, she went to the chapel and held a piece of string behind her down the steps from the alter. The lenght of string was compared to the train as we developed the style.
Charlotte was also so lucky that she had the opportunity to wear a 1920es French Tiara, which was family owned.
Charlotte was very involved in organising her wedding, and had great help from her mother. Along with that, and her teaching and playing the Cello, it has been a very busy year for her.
We so enjoyed working with Charlotte and the rest of her bridal party, that i was so pleased to be asked to come to the The Balmoral, and help Charlotte, her bridesmaids and her mother into their dresses. It was so lovely and I felt totally part of the family to be there on the day, and I do hope I was being a tiny bit helpful too.
We had a whole list of amazing wedding suppliers involved in this wedding, and it was a joy to work with them all. The Bride was staying at The Balmoral, the cars were
from William Sleigh, Maxwell did all the flowers for the ceremony and for the reception at The Signet Library, he especially sourced the beautiful Lily of the Valley.
Liggy's Cakes supplied a lovely autumn style cake, and a cup-cake making class for a girls treat. LG Makeup, made everybody up very nicely, and all the hairstyles were done by Charlie Miller.
With the Fabulous Firstlight Wedding Photography  Photographing Charlotte and Allan's wedding, there is far too much gorgeousness to show in just one blog, from stunning venues, attention to detail and lovely portraits, so another blog with the bridesmaids and Mother of Bride will follow one of the next days.
Charlotte's dress was made in a Emperor Thai silk, silk Satin "lip" and silk satin bolero jacket. Charlotte had hand beading of aurora borealis Swarowski Crystals, and
pearl. She had a little bolero jacket in silk duchesse satin, With the dress Charlotte wore a 2 tier fine silk veil.
After the ceremony the jacket came off and then the veil came off after the Dinner. The dress bustled up for the dancing by The Ceilidh Experience.

Charlotte said this after the wedding:

"Mette is simply fabulous! I went to her with ideas for my wedding dress but absolutely no artistic skills to draw any of them. She was instantly able to draw up each of my ideas, not only creating the perfect outfit for me but also for my bridesmaids and mother: all of us felt a million dollars on the day and there were compliments from everyone about our dresses! Every visit to her was relaxed and full of giggles and having her with us on the morning of the wedding was truly special. Mette sparkles with enthusiasm and talent and has a real gift with people too: a thousand thank yous Mette!"