A Newfie and a Scotsman get Hitched!

While Hurricane Igor was thrashing my house in Bermuda, I was shooting Lilia and Stuart's wedding in Newfoundland. I managed to get home just in time before Igor wreaked havoc on Newfoundland, uprooting the 53 year old tree in Lilia's mother's front lawn. The storm is Newfoundland's worst weather disaster since the 1700s and the damage is estimated to be about $100 million. However, four days before, although it was nowhere near hurricane force, it was really, really cold and windy, so I was freezing and bundled in almost every piece of clothing I had brought with me.
I had arrived in St John's on Wednesday evening so was able to spend a couple days wandering around - will post a few of those photos next... Lilia took me out to see the church; the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Portugal Cove. It was such a gorgeous spot - up on a hill overlooking the sea, with the brightly coloured houses dotting the hills in the distance. Their reception was held at Lawrence Pond which had been Lilia's father's favourite place. He passed away nine years ago, so the pond is very special to Lilia and she wanted to be there on her wedding day to feel close to him.
Lilia and Stuart, it was an honour to photograph your wedding, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your beautiful celebration...

The Flower Studio made all the bouquet's and arrangements for the ceremony and reception. It is a Scottish tradition that white heather be carried for luck. So a few sprigs were added to Lilia's bouquet and used for the guy's boutonnieres.

Lilia's dress was J. Crew and the bridesmaids dresses were Vera Wang.

Stuart's kilt was hand made in Inverness, Scotland from about eight yards of highland granite tartan.

As a surprise for Lilia, Stuart had arranged for their friend Jim to play the bagpipes as they left the church.

Stuart's father's speech was filled with little gems, fantastic stories and lovely gifts...

And... as a special treat for all their overseas guests... This guy showed up... It is tradition in Newfoundland to get screeched. His accent was incredibly thick and the speed at which he spoke was truly impressive so I missed much of what he was saying. But in a nutshell... you have to kiss a cod and do a shot of the local rum to become an honorary Newfoundlander.

Clearly I was not the only one who was not exactly sure what was going on...
And the famous fishy kiss... The good thing about being behind the camera was I managed to escape this ritual...

Thank you again for a wonderful weekend. St John's is just lovely and I'm sure you will be very happy there... though I do hope you will come back again to our sunny isle and visit...