Brig o’ Doon Wedding Photography: A Complete Guide:
I’ve photographed a lot of weddings at Brig o’ Doon over the years. Let’s say around 30-odd. Which is not bad! Enough that I know where the light will be, where the tourists will be and roughly how long it will take an auntie to vanish between being asked for a group photograph and the photograph actually happening.
It is one of Scotland’s best-known wedding venues for a reason. The building is beautiful, the gardens sit right beside the River Doon and everything happens in one place. More importantly, the team know exactly what they are doing. That’s probably why I love going so much, I truly never have a bad day there.
Lindsay and Rebecca, the wedding coordinators, are both incredibly helpful and keep the day moving without making it feel as though you are being marched through a schedule. That makes an enormous difference. Things happen when they are supposed to, somebody always knows where you should be, and I can concentrate on photographing the wedding rather than attempting a second career in event management. Thank f.
Getting ready at Kirkgate House:
Kirkgate House is directly across from the hotel and is genuinely one of the best preparation spaces at any venue I photograph regularly. It has loads of rooms, plenty of natural light and enough space for both wedding parties to get ready there without constantly bumping into one another. You get to live in this massive mansion the night before your wedding…I’m jealous. It has a huge bedroom with walk-in wardrobe for your dress and details, and for the guys; a pool table.
One party can use the rooms on the right-hand side of the building, while the other has the rest of the house. Traditionally that tends to be the men on the right and the ladies throughout the other rooms, but obviously you can divide it however suits your wedding. The useful part is that everybody is close enough for me to photograph both sides of the morning without needing to drive between two hotels.
It also means bags, clothes, makeup, flowers and the seventeen irn bru cans everyone appears to be consuming at once can spread across several rooms rather than taking over one small bedroom.
The ceremony, confetti and group photographs:
The ceremony takes place in the ballroom, with the gardens and the famous Brig o’ Doon visible behind you. It is a grand room, but it never feels cavernous, and it photographs well whether you have a larger wedding or something a little more intimate. I’ve shot ceremonies with 30 people to nearly 200 people. It’s a huge room that doesn’t feel overcrowded!
Straight after the ceremony is the best time for confetti. Everyone is already together, nobody has made it to the bar yet and the staff are brilliant at helping get guests into position. We normally do one big group photograph immediately afterwards too, before people begin wandering off in every possible direction.
Family group photographs can then be done in the gardens close to the hotel. I keep these as quick and organised as possible, ideally around 10–15 groups. There are level areas near the building, so guests who use wheelchairs or anyone elderly does not need to make their way down steep paths or across difficult ground. I always photograph larger family combinations first so those guests can head inside and enjoy the drinks reception rather than waiting around for photographs they are not in.
Where to go for couple photographs:
There are plenty of locations without needing to disappear for an hour. The riverside, gardens, hotel exterior and iconic bridge are all within a few minutes of each other.
The bridge is, unsurprisingly, usually full of tourists. Most people are more than happy to move for a minute when they realise there is an actual wedding happening, so it is rarely a problem. We take the photograph, thank everyone for temporarily abandoning their Robert Burns sightseeing and move on.
The nearby Burns Monument is another great option, but the grounds normally close at 4pm, so it needs to be part of the earlier plan rather than an idea somebody suddenly has after dinner. It is worth checking the current opening time before the wedding, as seasonal hours can change.
My favourite time for the main couple photographs is often when guests have been called inside and are taking their seats for dinner. The gardens, which were full of people five minutes earlier, are suddenly completely empty. We can use the best spots quickly without working around guests, tourists, handbags or somebody’s abandoned pint.
Ten or fifteen minutes is normally plenty. You get a good variety of photographs, but you are not missing your own wedding to obtain them. If the evening light becomes particularly good, we can always go back outside for another five minutes later.
Brig o’ Doon wedding photography without making it a full-time job
Brig o’ Doon already gives you the big scenery: the ballroom, gardens, river and bridge. I’m more interested in making sure the photographs still feel like your wedding rather than the same venue brochure recreated every Saturday.
I’ll organise the confetti, family photographs and couple portraits when needed. For the rest of the day, I photograph what is actually happening and let you enjoy it. The staff keep everything running smoothly, the venue gives us plenty to work with, and nobody needs to spend forty-five minutes pretending to laugh while walking repeatedly towards a camera.
If you are planning a wedding at Brig o’ Doon and want relaxed documentary photography with a refined finish, you can view more complete weddings in my portfolio or get in touch to check your date.
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