Couples deliberating over which wedding venue to choose should spare a thought for their photographer.
That’s according to Stephen McCluskey, a Stirling-based wedding photographer who has been doing the job for around 22 years.
“Strictly from a photography perspective – which nobody actually thinks about until their wedding day – if you’re looking for nice photographs throughout the day, you need to ask where everything is happening and check how much light is in every room,” he says.
“The biggest enemy of every kind of photography is the LED downlight – the little circle lights you see in the ceiling.
“They’re basically like the sun directly above you, so they’re going to shine light on your head and create shadows under your eyes and under your nose and under your chin.
“Those need to be turned off immediately.
“Also, for the ceremony, it’s important to know where the windows are facing.
“If the windows are in front of you, shining light on you, that’s ideal. But if the window is on the other side of the room, that’s tricky.”
Stephen, who estimates he has taken photos of around 500 weddings, also says summer weddings can be the most difficult to photograph, because of the early sunrise and late sunset times.
He advises that “the end of winter, most of spring, the very tail-end of summer, and all of autumn” are the most photogenic times of year to tie the knot in Stirlingshire.
Here are his top five wedding venues in and around Stirling.
1. Altskeith Country House
“I would say my favourite venue to shoot is Altskeith House.
“It’s the most stunning venue in Scotland, in my opinion, especially the ceremony room.
“It’s got a loch right in front of it, and a waterfall. And then, behind that, you’ve got more mountains.
“I don’t know if I’m just lucky, but when I shoot there, the light is always awesome. The pictures don’t need much editing.”
Address: Loch Ard Road, Kinlochard, Aberfoyle, FK8 3TL
2. Karma Lake of Menteith
“Recently, this has been a venue that I’m hearing more and more about. I’ve shot there three times in the last two years.
“The venue is literally on a loch. So, you walk out the front door and it’s just a stunning loch.
“And, behind the loch, you’ve also got mountains, so it just makes it look even better.
“Obviously, from a photography perspective, it’s brilliant.
“It’s not as big as other venues, though, so I don’t know how many it holds. But it’s one of my favourites to shoot at the moment.”
Address: Port of Menteith, FK8 3RA
3. Inglewood House and Spa
“Three things make a really good wedding venue.
“You need a really good room for getting ready because, believe it or not, about 45% of the pictures you’ll get on the day happen in the morning. Inglewood House has good light and good rooms for that.
“And you need a nice ceremony room, which they also have.
“And they’ve got the Ochil Hills out the back which is just a little bit of a walk, and you can get some nice sunset shots.
“But what really makes a venue is the staff, and the staff at Inglewood are awesome.”
Address: Tullibody Road, Alloa, FK10 2HU
4. Cromlix
“Cromlix ticks all of those boxes, too.
“You could shoot a movie inside Cromlix – it has very high-end finishings inside.
“There’s nothing worse than a modern interior when you’re shooting weddings.
“There’s also a beautiful loch about a five-minute walk to the side of the building.”
Address: Kinbuck, by Dunblane, FK15 9JT
5. Stirling Castle
“I’ve done a few weddings inside Stirling Castle.
“At night, the dancing happens in the Great Hall. It’s good for photos, but hard to light.
“But the pictures are great because it’s an ancient castle.
“When you’re shooting in a hotel and you’re trying to get cracking wedding pictures, you really need to think outside the box.
“But when you’ve got a castle in the background, every shot, pretty much, you can just point your camera and click.”
Address: Castle Wynd, Stirling, FK8 1EJ
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