Judith & Matt's pre-wedding shoot - Edinburgh

We spent a lovely afternoon catching up with Judith and Matt, and preparing them for the randomness associated with our photography style (Jay climbed a tree to get the first shot shown here).

We're really excited about shooting their wedding here in Edinburgh this December. It's going to be a stunning day!

Louise & Andrew's pre-wedding shoot

Introducing Louise, Andrew and their lovely beagle Oscar. As you can no doubt imagine, we had lots of fun on this shoot!

We're really looking forward to photographing Louise & Andrew's wedding at Cramond Kirk and Harburn House this December.

In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of their pre-shoot...

Jenni & Neil - Edinburgh pre-wedding shoot

On Sunday we met up with Jenni and Neil, whose wedding we are photographing at Fettes College in November.

As these guys live down south they'd had a hectic weekend catching up with family and friends, and with wedding preparations.

They were great fun to photograph and happily went along with all of our suggestions (even the strange ones!).

Here's a little preview of what's to come...

We just couldn't resist this!

Lee & Paul's pre-wedding shoot, Edinburgh

After a month of very mixed weather, we were delighted to wake up to blue skies on Sunday morning.

We met up with Lee & Paul at the Botanic Gardens and took a walk through our favourite areas, stopping for photos along the way. We are photographing their wedding at Solsgirth House (a beautiful venue) this August and this was the perfect chance for them to get used to the cameras.

It was also a good chance for me to find out all about Lee's dress, while Jay and Paul were engrossed in a conversation on golf and guitars!

We made a new friend!

Charlotte & Tony's pre-wedding shoot, Edinburgh

Yesterday we were at The Shore with Charlotte & Tony, who are getting married this May. Charlotte & Tony brought along their 13 month-old son, Anthony - who was very sleepy but was soon full of smiles (thanks to the efforts of his gran who put on an entertaining show behind us!). Anthony is a lovely wee boy and we look forward to seeing him in his wedding attire!

We took a walk with Charlotte & Tony, who were laughing and joking the whole way. Tony has been teasing Charlotte about his secret life as a model - and given how comfortable he was in front of the camera we're tempted to believe him.

We're really excited about photographing Charlotte & Tony's wedding at Lennoxlove House. Not only is the venue stunning but we know that these two will have us smiling the whole day.

Here are a few of our favourites...

Engagement/pre-wedding shoots

Regular readers of our blog will notice that we're being kept busy with pre-wedding shoots at the moment. With the wedding season about to kick off again in earnest very soon, this is a great time for us to focus on these shoots.

Engagement shoots are very popular in North America. Remember that episode of Sex and the City when Charlotte & Harry had a photo shoot in Central Park for their Sunday Times announcement? While not everyone makes it into the New York Times, engagements do tend to be announced with a photograph in the local newspaper.

Here in the UK, the engagement/pre-wedding shoot is growing in popularity. Couples are increasingly using these photographs for their save-the-date cards and wedding invites. Signature boards are also becoming very popular - an image from the pre-shoot is enlarged with a border for the guests to sign at the reception. This highly personal alternative to the guestbook looks fantastic.

Our favourite part of the pre-shoot is the wonderful bond that it creates between our couples and us. It's a great way to get to know people better and to find out the best way to photograph them. We usually spend our pre-shoots clambering around urban locations, lying on the ground when the need arises, and always laughing a lot!

Most importantly, the shoot gives the couple the opportunity to get used to being in front of the camera. By the time the wedding day comes they then know exactly what to expect (and we don't get too many raised eyebrows when we drag them off to a random location for photographs!).

Our post-wedding shoots (also sometimes known as Trash the Dress shoots) will be starting up again this month. We have a really exciting location to work in for our first TTD shoot of 2009 so watch this space!

Amy & Chris - Pre-wedding shoot

With just over a month left until their big day at Edinburgh's Royal College of Physicians, Amy and Chris are being kept busy with final preparations. When we met up for a pre-shoot it was the perfect opportunity for them to have fun in front of the camera (and to forget about the to-do list for a while!).

We took a walk through Edinburgh's Cowgate, finding lots of good locations along the way. Then Amy had the great idea of heading up to the legal graffiti wall near Potterrow. From here it was inevitable that we would end up in Bristo Square, where a friendly skateboarder was only too happy to help us out with some of the shots.

Amy & Chris, thanks for totally entering into the spirit of the shoot. We can't wait to photograph your wedding and hope you enjoy your hen and stag dos next weekend!

Zoe & Wullie - Pre-wedding shoot

On Friday we met up with Zoe & Wullie, who are getting married at Fintry Kirk this May. Their reception is to be held at the Monachyle Mhor Hotel, which is based near Balquhidder, in the heart of the stunning Trossachs.

For Zoe & Wullie's pre-shoot we wanted to use a very different location - somewhere urban, somewhere gritty...it had to be Leith.

Unfortunately Leith didn't quite live up to it's 'sunny' reputation, but despite the ominous clouds and gusty wind, Zoe and Wullie were on great form and were completely up for using all the (slightly odd) locations we found along the way.

Zoe's family has a background in the hospitality industry and we just know that this wedding is going to be absolutely gorgeous and fantastic fun. We can't wait!

Here are a few of our favourites from today...