This is one of my favourite candid wedding photographs, and it happened during dinner.
The bride's family brought a tradition with them from their home country. When the guests stomp their feet, the couple have to do something. Stand on a table. Hide underneath one. Kiss in the funniest way they can think of. The guests decide when, and the couple just have to go with it.
The stomping started while I was halfway through my meal. I put my fork down, grabbed my camera, and got low. Seconds later, the bride and groom were under the table, laughing, and I had the shot.
That's the thing about candid wedding photography. The best moments don't wait for you. You have to be watching, even at dinner.
Piersland House Hotel is a beautiful wedding venue in Troon, right on the Ayrshire coast. It's a few minutes from the beach, which gives couples the best of both worlds. Warm, characterful rooms inside. Sea, sand and big skies outside.
This wedding was a wet one. Proper Scottish rain. But that's exactly why I plan the way I do. Before the day, I'd walked the beach in the wind and rain, picked out my spots, and even checked the tide times. When a break in the weather came, we were out the door and on the sand within minutes. The couple got their beach photographs, and we even caught their confetti shot later in the day when the rain eased.
Weather never has to ruin a wedding. It just needs a photographer with a plan.
My style blends documentary, fine art and editorial photography. For moments like this one, the documentary side takes over. No posing. No direction. Just watching, anticipating, and being ready.
I shot this from low down, under the tablecloth, so you feel like you're in the moment with them. Black and white strips everything back to what matters — the laugh, the kiss, the two of them in their own wee world while the whole room cheers above.
I stay switched on for the entire day, including the parts most people think of as downtime. Speeches, dinner, the quiet bits in between. That's where the real moments live.
Here's what makes this photograph even better. This couple told me from the start that they didn't enjoy being the centre of attention. They didn't want anything posed or forced.
In their review, they said I immediately put them at ease. That means more to me than any award. We met for coffee before they booked, went through everything, and there was no pressure. By the wedding day, they trusted me — and when you trust your photographer, you forget the camera is there. That's when photographs like this one happen.
If you're camera-shy, you're in good company. Most of my couples are.
If you'd love relaxed, natural wedding photographs — whether that's at Piersland House Hotel, somewhere else in Ayrshire, or anywhere in Scotland — I'd love to hear about your day. Get in touch and let's have a chat over coffee. No pressure, just a conversation.
Location: Piersland House Hotel, Troon, Ayrshire.
Keywords: Piersland Hotel.