I was really looking forward to Colin and Caroline’s Balmoral Hotel wedding. I recently met Colin and Caroline for their pre-wedding photo shoot at Penicuik Estate and enjoyed their company. It’s great when you work with a couple who are relaxed, fun and are happy to put in the effort to get some unique photos.

The Balmoral Hotel is a gem of a building right in the heart of Edinburgh. Often described as iconic, opulent, classy and luxurious, it never fails to impress me. A bonus from a photographer’s point of view is the scale of the building and the opportunities for shooting newly-wed photos in various and interesting locations.

I arrived at The Balmoral Hotel to photograph the latter part of the girl’s preparations. The atmosphere was great – Caroline looked relaxed as she was pampered and beautified, and her Bridesmaids added to the sense of calm and quiet excitement in the build-up to the wedding ceremony,

Downstairs with Colin and the boys, it was slightly different. Everyone was in high spirits, laughing and joking with each other at the Balmoral Bar. I took the lads out onto Waterloo Place for a few street photos and individual portraits at the entrance to the hotel.

Great to see a familiar face officiating the wedding. Humanist Celebrant Tim Macguire brought the perfect mix of sincerity, formality and fun to Colin and Caroline’s wedding, and had the guests smiling at a few anecdotes about the story of how Colin and Caroline met and how their love blossomed. A brilliant ceremony and Colin and Caroline looked so happy as they kissed each other for the first time as newly-weds.

One of the things I love about the Balmoral Hotel is that they now allow you to shoot a few photos up on the roof of the hotel with the newly-weds. Massive thanks to the brilliant Toastmaster Bob Henderson who escorted us up onto the roof and helped the day run so smoothly. We couldn’t have picked a better time to go up on the roof – the weather was perfect, the sun was setting, and the city looked beautiful in the background.

A highlight of the day was the wonderfully entertaining speeches. Colin’s speech, in particular, was great, I honestly can’t recall having laughed so much at a wedding! Brilliant fun and a pleasure to photograph everyone enjoying themselves.

As my time with Colin and Caroline drew to a close, we made our way out onto Waterloo Place to shoot a few night time photos of the newly-weds. It was quite surreal standing in the middle of this wide road, camera, tripod and flashes set up and passers-by in cars and on foot all congratulating the newly-weds as we created a few beautiful photos. Colin and Caroline were so much fun and made my role a pleasure.

By the time I left this Balmoral Hotel wedding, the party was in full swing in the Sir Walter Scott Suite.

What a wonderful day – intimate, fun, exciting and perfect. Congratulations again to Colin and Caroline! Shown below is a selection of my favourite photos that tell the wonderful story of Colin and Caroline’s Balmoral Hotel wedding day. Enjoy!