03/11/2011

Bonnie and Chris {Elopement}





















I haven't blogged a full wedding in a while.. it's been such a busy few months and actually quite refreshing to just get on with taking pictures, but I've just finished this wedding and I had to share it.
Bonnie and Chris got in contact a little while ago saying they were coming over from Hong Kong, by themselves to get married in Edinburgh. They were having a simple ceremony in a hotel and then wanted some pictures around the city... I loved the idea and as I was sat on the train up to Edinburgh I felt excited... excited about their story, the love but most of all the intimacy of the day.
The morning of the wedding came and they both started to get ready, Bonnie with the help of Hannah and Claudia (Hair and MUA) and Chris on his own. I honestly don't think there's anything more beautiful than both getting ready on your own to make a promise to each other. It had a different feel to it... a real atmosphere.. and the cutest was that Bonnie was super excited and Chris was incredibly nervous.
Me and Chris made our way into the ceremony room and along with the Hotel Manager (both myself and him were witnesses), Hannah and Claudia (Hair and Make-up) and the Registrar we waited for Bonnie. Chris turned to me with a very serious face and said "Emma are you nervous?", I said "I think I'm excited"... he then said "Are you going to cry?".. and I said "I might.." With that Bonnie entered the room in the most amazingly beautiful vintage dress and headpiece with a great beaming smile and Chris burst in to tears.
The ceremony was beautiful, just writing about it I'm smiling... it was so intimate and real and the love that came from them both was incredible.. they were really saying their vows to each other, nothing else mattered and by the end we were all crying, even the Registrar had to stop as she got choked. They did it, they declared their love to each other... and now Chris had a beaming smile to match Bonnies... :)
After the ceremony we went back to the room as Bonnie had a birdcage veil (two incredible veils in one day!)... and then we headed out by bus with coats and umbrellas to brave the Edinburgh weather. We then had the most amazing few hours wandering around the city taking pictures. We stopped for lunch and were given a free glass of champagne each and ended up in a well known Supermarket where Bonnie just kept picking random things up off the shelves to have a photo with..
It really was an incredible day. I actually feel that in some ways it's changed me as a photographer. It gave me time to concentrate on their story, their love and what's important and I maybe feel that I travelled back on the train with a slightly different pair of eyes...
I will always be a big part of Bonnie and Chris' wedding day (as a witness, their photographer and being, for the majority, their only guest) and for that I feel incredibly lucky and truly honoured. What a magical thing to experience.






























































































































23 comments:

  1. Proper goosebumps! What an intimate day. Love your pics. Great work lovely x

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  2. Emma this is so beautiful. I love what you wrote at the beginning and the photos are absolutely true to what you say. We recently had a wedding where we were the witness' and it was just the couple in the ceremony so i completely know the feeling in your belly you get about this kind of wedding, it's so special to be a part of.
    I love the mix of emotional and romantic to just downright fun and silly in the supermarket (yet extremely cool... photo'd with a backdrop of juices... amazing!!) - you've always been a photographer i'd admired but you've just up'ed the bar even more! Beautiful couple and beautiful work x

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  3. amazing as always! Love the supermarket shots and the one of the castle with them out of focus is fantastic! You're so ruddy good Emma Case! X

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  4. Wow, what a gorgeous story, must have been wonderful not to have to worry about the usual wedding day stresses (group photos, speeches, get a nice shot of each guest, find time to steal the couple away from their guests without interrupting their day too much...) And I love this couple, especially because of the Sainsburys shots! Your work is always stunning and such an inspiration. xx

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  5. Just so beautiful - I wish I could get married again. I would do it just as simple as these two... wonderful work!!!

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  6. i just love the way you tell a story - both with the words, but also with your fab photography! so emotional... taking the photos in the supermarket is just strait up weird and wonderful! xx

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  7. Love the walking down the aisle (in Sainsbury's) shots with the big arrows!

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  8. Just.. wow!

    i loved picking out familiar Edinburgh sights ..but the supermarket shots are definite faves!

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  9. They are so cute. What a fantastic set of pictures x

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  10. So beautiful my brain struggled a bit to process it.

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  11. Adore the first look ones.

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  12. Oh wow, what a beautifully shot wedding...love it Emma!! Love the supermarket ones, super cool xx

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  13. In looooooove! The last image is so awesome and the ones on the bus ;), so so creative. Hope you get to do more elopements in the future.

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  14. Beautiful photos and i love the story of the day. It really made me smile

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  15. Utterly divine. This wedding is what it always should come back to. Two people, completely and totally in love.
    Beautiful, beautiful images lovely xx

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  16. Who wouldn't want a picture with a pile of multipack crispy goodness on their wedding day?! Love these Emma, what a corker of a day x

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  17. Beautiful! My husband and I eloped, and I just love looking through pictures of other couple's elopements and feeling the love and intimacy of their day through their photos. And from what I've seen and read, a lot of photographers LOVE elopement sessions. There is nothing quite like it. :)

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  18. Oh wow... just so cool! Who needs a whole bunch of guests when these two obviously just need each other...

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  19. Absolutely A.M.A.Z.I.N.G - incredibly personal and intimate, they seem SO in love and Edinburgh provides the perfect backdrop.

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  20. brilliant. The photos are so unique and interesting and fantastic.

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  21. Wow! These two look so in love, and to be a witness at their wedding as well as the photographer - that is a such a privilege.
    Fab images for a fab day, Emma!
    XX

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  22. Hi Emma! I hope you don't mind, but I featured this elopement for my Friday dance (with full credit and linkage of course!). I love, love, love your work as I have since I saw Kiara King's (a blog friend) wedding. This elopement is just gorgeous, though. And I love in love they look. So sweet. Fabulous work, as always! : )

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