Bride and Groom between two red vintage buses Edinburgh

Some weddings take place in one beautiful venue from start to finish. Others take you on a bit of an adventure.

Fabienne and Ryan’s Edinburgh wedding was definitely the latter.

With Fabienne being Scottish and Ryan travelling over from the US, this was a proper international celebration, bringing together friends and family from different sides of the Atlantic for a day that showcased Edinburgh in a brilliantly personal way.

And for me, it was exactly the sort of wedding day that reminds me why I love being a photographer.

An intimate wedding at a beautiful Victorian home

The day started at Fabienne’s parents’ beautiful Victorian home in Edinburgh.

Overlooking their private garden, it was a pretty incredible setting for an intimate wedding ceremony. Rather than a large, formal wedding venue, the ceremony took place surrounded by the people who mattered most to them.

It felt personal, relaxed and completely connected to the place and the people around them.

This is also where my documentary approach really comes into its own. Rather than constantly pulling people away from the action for photographs, I like to let the day happen and photograph what is actually going on.

The conversations. The laughter. The nerves. The hugs. The little looks between people who haven't seen each other for years.

Those are often the photographs that end up meaning the most.

And with an international crowd like this, there were plenty of moments happening.

Bride and Groom walking down the aisle in private Edinburgh garden wedding

Exploring Edinburgh by vintage red bus

Then things got a little more adventurous.

Two vintage red buses were waiting to transport everyone around Edinburgh.

Yes, two vintage red buses.

We headed off on a sightseeing tour of the city, stopping at various locations along the way for photographs, fizz, food and generally making the most of having a fantastic group of people together in one of the world's best cities.

For me, this was the perfect kind of wedding photography.

Rather than spending hours standing in one spot taking the same collection of formal photographs, we were out exploring Edinburgh and making photographs as we went.

There was plenty of time for portraits of Fabienne and Ryan, but they never felt like a formal photoshoot. We could stop somewhere interesting, grab a few photographs, have a drink, chat, jump back on the bus and carry on.

The city became part of the wedding.

The architecture, streets, people, buses and unexpected moments all became part of the story.

That's one of the things I love most about documentary wedding photography. You don't necessarily know what is going to happen next, and that's half the fun.

Edinburgh wedding photography without the awkward posing

I know a lot of couples aren't particularly comfortable in front of a camera.

They don't want hours of forced posing or to spend their wedding day being told where to stand.

And honestly, neither do I.

My approach to wedding photography is mostly about giving you the freedom to enjoy yourselves while I photograph what's happening around you.

I'll obviously give some direction when it's useful, particularly when we're somewhere amazing and I know we can create a great portrait, but I don't want your photographs to feel staged or disconnected from the day.

Fabienne and Ryan's Edinburgh adventure was a perfect example.

The photographs came from the experience itself rather than stopping the experience to take photographs.

Bride and groom kissing in front of vintage red bus

A Ghillie Dhu wedding reception

Eventually, our two vintage buses delivered everyone to Ghillie Dhu, right in the heart of Edinburgh.

Ghillie Dhu is such a distinctive wedding venue. The historic building, dramatic auditorium and city-centre location give it loads of character, and it works particularly well for couples who want a wedding venue with a bit of personality.

After spending much of the day exploring Edinburgh, arriving at Ghillie Dhu gave everyone a chance to settle in for the drinks reception, dinner and speeches.

And by this point, everyone was well and truly in party mode.

The international crowd made for a brilliant atmosphere, with different accents, stories and plenty of laughter filling the room.

It was one of those weddings where you could feel that everyone was genuinely enjoying being together.

And that's something I always look for when I'm photographing a wedding.

Bride and groom surrounded by bubbles at Ghillie Dhu Edinburgh

Natural, documentary wedding photography at Ghillie Dhu

Ghillie Dhu is a fantastic Edinburgh wedding venue for photography because there are so many opportunities nearby as well as inside the venue itself.

Other Ghillie Dhu weddings often make use of the surrounding Edinburgh streets, Princes Street Gardens and the architecture around the city centre for portraits, which is one of the reasons the venue works so well for couples who want their wedding photography to feel connected to Edinburgh.

For Fabienne and Ryan, though, we'd already had our Edinburgh adventure before arriving at Ghillie Dhu.

And that's what made their photographs so different.

Their wedding gallery isn't just a collection of portraits taken at a venue. It's the story of a whole day.

A Victorian family home.

A garden ceremony.

Friends and family from Scotland, America and beyond.

Two vintage red buses.

Edinburgh streets.

Fizz and food.

Plenty of laughter.

And eventually a fantastic party at Ghillie Dhu.

That's what I want wedding photographs to do.

I want you to look through them years from now and remember what it felt like to actually be there.

Bride and groom entering wedding reception at Ghillie Dhu Edinburgh

Why I love photographing weddings like this

I've been lucky enough to photograph weddings in some incredible places across Scotland, from small elopements in wild landscapes to big celebrations packed with people.

But it's the weddings that have their own personality that I really love.

Fabienne and Ryan's wedding was completely their own.

It wasn't trying to follow a particular formula. It was an intimate ceremony followed by an adventure around Edinburgh with the people they love, before finishing the day at one of the city's most distinctive wedding venues.

And that's a pretty good way to spend a wedding day.

It's also exactly why I love my job.

Every wedding gives me the chance to meet a completely different group of people, explore somewhere new and tell a story that couldn't belong to anyone else.

If you're planning a Ghillie Dhu wedding, an Edinburgh wedding or something a little less traditional, I'd love to hear what you've got planned.

You don't need to be comfortable in front of the camera, and you definitely don't need to know how to pose.

Just bring yourselves, your people and hopefully a willingness to have a bit of an adventure.

I'll take care of the photographs.