That evening: cocktails at Heads & Tales Gin Bar. Nestled in the basement of the Rutland Hotel, it’s the home of Edinburgh Gin; who have installed two actual working gin stills in the middle of the bar itself named Flora and Caledonia.
In which we embarked upon all the tourist attractions one never gets round to on account of being a native Scot.
I recently had the pleasure of shooting promo images for the hilarious Susan Riddell’s upcoming show, “Duvet Day”. Already an established comedy writer and performer for the BBC Writers’ Room, Susan will be performing Duvet Day at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, championing the virtues of laziness in an increasingly manic world. Tickets are on sale now!
You can follow Susan on Twitter to find more of her upcoming work (including an upcoming comedy series alongside fellow comedian Rachel Jackson!).
When shooting a wedding, it’s important to be ready for anything…like your brides setting off confetti cannons right in the middle of the ceremony. If I had to pick one word to describe Wioletta and Hailey’s big day it would, without a doubt, be fun. From the moment I arrived at their venue – a beautiful stone mansion hidden way in the heart of Edinburgh Zoo (!) – I could tell this was going to be one-of-a-kind, and these ladies did not disappoint.
Arriving before the zoo opened, I followed the trail of red pandas and meerkats to the Scots Baronial manse on the hill, where chef Wioletta and geologist Hailey had just begun preparations for the day ahead. While Wi slipped into a classically beautiful white dress, Hailey honoured her Scottish heritage by donning a full kilt and sporran, and the wedding party were adorned with ammonite brooches to add some sediment to the sentiment.
With the wedding party dancing down the aisle, the emotional, humanist ceremony took place on the upper floor of the mansion, where the windows looked out onto the wild, snow-capped Pentland Hills in the distance. Not just a marriage between two people but also two cultures, the Scottish/Polish fusion was in full effect; from a traditional, post-ceremony bread-giving to the evening of ceilidhing that followed.
The spirit of the day lifted that of the guests, and the joy radiating from the happy couple was reflected on the faces of everyone in attendance. Wi and Hailey might not have made it to their scheduled panda viewing on account of inclement weather, but inside, the party never stopped.
Owing to some judicious use of the refresh button in the 30 seconds before they went on sale last year: front row seats at Wicked! 💚 If possible, I loved it even more at the Edinburgh Playhouse than when we saw it in London all those years ago.
Is it weird that I love my new braces wire? It looks like the Forth Rail Bridge in Edinburgh!
