Springkell Wedding - Karla & Eric
Welcome to the first of hopefully a regular feature on the Wooden Cinema Films blog where I showcase a recent wedding.
First up it’s Karla & Eric’s celebration at Springkell House, Eaglesfield, near Lockerbie.
Springkell is probably one of my favourite venues in Dumfries and Galloway, a beautiful 18th Century Palladian Mansion owned by the Johnson-Ferguson family. I always look forward to filming here, with it’s infamous chequered marble stone floor, beautiful bridal rooms and vast garden space to immerse yourself in.
4th July 2019 was the date set for Karla & Eric’s wedding, very fitting since that day, 10 years previous, was the day the couple met each other. Just as significant is that date of course being Independence day for the USA, where Karla was born to an American father and Scottish mother.
Karla reached out to me to potentially film and photograph her wedding after seeing my work on Instagram and after a few exchanges of emails and a meeting to chat about some options, it was very clear that Karla & Eric felt having a video record of their day was what was most important to them.
As I am looking to branch out and do a handful of weddings covering on the stills front I agreed to compliment their film with a few photographs through the day where possible. This would be my first foray into delivering a “hybrid” package and I was really up for the challenge.
The morning preparations with the bridal party were super relaxed and meant that it allowed me to hop in and out, getting detail and establishing shots elsewhere in the grounds as well as catching up with Eric and grab some pre-ceremony photos with his best man Ryan.
Karla’s dress was provided by Carol’s Bridal Boutique in Carlisle and her bridesmaids Sophie and Libby were resplendent in dresses from David’s Bridal in Glasgow. Border Flowers in Gretna provided the bouquets, buttonholes and corsages.
The couple married outside in the lovely Springkell round garden, a perfect setting for the families to gather and share the special occasion. The ceremony was relaxed and informal, injected with plenty of humour, led by humanist Norrie Flowers. Karla was given away by her mum Naomi, with “best boy” - their French Bulldog Arnold in tow with Sophie and Libby. Eric was supported by best friend Ryan aka Roddan.
Humanist Norrie was brilliant at keeping everyone entertained and delivered an excellent ceremony in his unique style. Karla & Eric along with their mums Naomi & Davina toasted to the wedding day by drinking from a Quaich, filled with bourbon and whisky as a symbol of the joining of American and Scottish families.
Post ceremony, I gave the couple a few minutes to mingle with guests while I transferred equipment back over to the main house before catching up with them again to shoot their couple portraits. These guys were so natural in front of the camera and super photogenic together. We spent a good half hour filming and photographing, making good use of the variety of gardens Springkell has to offer.
After a great session with the couple it was time to set up for speeches, capture some more details in the function room and let everyone mingle and catch up again. A1 Graphics in Annan provided many of the personalised details including the French Bulldog guest seating plan. That theme continued with a print describing some special drinks on offer at the bar, named after Karla & Erics three Frenchies.
Karla’s mum Naomi delivered the opening speech, expressing how proud of her daughter she is in everything she has achieved, being the only one in her family to graduate from University. Some more heartfelt words and the thanks to everyone were followed with groom Eric then Ryan entertaining the guests in true best man style! He put together envelopes on each table containing a collection of photographs of Eric in his younger days, using his speech to prompt guests to open each envelope to nail his punchline. Embarrassing the groom is usually the job of the best man and he certainly delivered on that front!
The evening’s entertainment was provided in the form of Cherry Crumble, a band Karla & Eric chose due to their unique country twist on popular music.
After filming the first three or four dances, that was our day at a close and for me, a real highlight of the year having been given the opportunity to cover a wedding with complete creative control.
The couple received their film and photographs in early September after hand delivering to them and I was extremely grateful to receive such a lovely testimonial from them that same evening.
It’s those kind words I love receiving back that makes my job so worthwhile and I feel extremely lucky for couples to let me be a part of their day so they can relive the memories for years to come.
Look out for some more blog posts coming soon on real weddings we have had the pleasure of being a part of!
Dan