Jac and Simon’s Humanist Wedding at The Principal Charlotte

Every so often I’m sent a set of photos that make me smile from ear to ear. This is one of them, so all credit to Puddle Lane Photography for capturing the joy! 

Jac and Simon’s wedding was at The Principal Charlotte Square, better known to old Edinburgh folk as ‘The Roxburghe’, but barely a week after their ceremony, it changed ownership and name again to become The Kimpton. Keep up there at the back!

I don’t always get to see shots of the rest of the big day, so I was really touched by all the thought and imagination Simon and Jac put into every aspect of their wedding. 


When I arrived, Simon was already there, working the crowd…

And before the ceremony started, he made a point of walking his mum Gloria down the aisle. More and more of my grooms are doing this and I think it’s a lovely, subtle way to say, ‘I’ve got a family too, and they’re important to me’.

Before the bridal party made their entrance, Jac’s brother escorted their mum Liz to her front row seat


And then the show was thoroughly stolen by Ayla and Cameron… 


That last kiss from dad before the start of the ceremony is always a touching moment: it’s a big day for him, (even if he pretends it isn’t…) 

Jac’s sister Stephanie made sure that Jac’s flowing veil was behind her, and not still half way down the aisle

and then we got on with telling the story of Simon and Jac, which was a hoot, as you can see


Not least because of Simon’s fear of heights, which manifested itself when they went for cocktails at The Shard…

They got out at floor 54 – to change elevators before going even higher. Simon almost collapsed in a heap. He turned grey and literally had to crawl along the wall to the next lift!


 Sorry mate: it’s too good a story not to tell again…

But don’t worry. I won’t mention the kayaking…


It was such a happy, funny, touching ceremony: beautifully captured in these great shots by Grace of Puddle Lane and her second shooter, Jakki Brock. (This is my #photographersportrait of them from my Instagram feed.)


Simon popped the big question in a very dramatic location: The Giant’s Causeway

And then they spoke their individual vows to one another from cards.  If you check out this sequence of shots, what you’ll see (from the point of view of the bride and groom) is that the guests can’t see them, but you can. They don’t need to be tiny – Simon and Jac had a lot to say, so they put theirs on A4.

What I liked best about their vows was that they were different, but complementary, and as you can see, those words meant the world to both of them.


They asked their mums to be their witnesses – always a good idea in my book. It’s a non-speaking part and there’s always a chance that mum will know what a fountain pen is…

And then because this was an early March wedding, Jac and Simon sensibly chose to do a group shot with their guests before they actually left the room – there’s another good idea for you when it’s your turn.

Jac dropped me a line the other day, saying ‘Already 9 weeks since the wedding & truly the most amazing day ❤️

We both really embraced doing our homework for the wedding & it was lovely telling our story to our family & friends during the ceremony. 


At the time it was a lot of work & we put so much effort into our homework, but so many of our guests commented on what a wonderful ceremony we had & so thank you for that too! Many thanks again,
Love Jac & Simon xxx

No – thank you Simon and Jac. You’re right – it does require a bit of work, but your guests told you why it was worth doing, and your faces tell us how much fun it was. Thanks again for asking me to be your celebrant – I loved every minute of your wedding!

And of course, thanks again to Grace and Jakki for these excellent photos. 

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