Bonnie and Chris {Elopement}

I haven't blogged a full wedding in a while.. it's been such a busy few months and actually quite refreshing to just get on with taking pictures, but I've just finished this wedding and I had to share it.
Bonnie and Chris got in contact a little while ago saying they were coming over from Hong Kong, by themselves to get married in Edinburgh. They were having a simple ceremony in a hotel and then wanted some pictures around the city... I loved the idea and as I was sat on the train up to Edinburgh I felt excited... excited about their story, the love but most of all the intimacy of the day.
The morning of the wedding came and they both started to get ready, Bonnie with the help of Hannah and Claudia (Hair and MUA) and Chris on his own. I honestly don't think there's anything more beautiful than both getting ready on your own to make a promise to each other. It had a different feel to it... a real atmosphere.. and the cutest was that Bonnie was super excited and Chris was incredibly nervous.
Me and Chris made our way into the ceremony room and along with the Hotel Manager (both myself and him were witnesses), Hannah and Claudia (Hair and Make-up) and the Registrar we waited for Bonnie. Chris turned to me with a very serious face and said "Emma are you nervous?", I said "I think I'm excited"... he then said "Are you going to cry?".. and I said "I might.." With that Bonnie entered the room in the most amazingly beautiful vintage dress and headpiece with a great beaming smile and Chris burst in to tears.
The ceremony was beautiful, just writing about it I'm smiling... it was so intimate and real and the love that came from them both was incredible.. they were really saying their vows to each other, nothing else mattered and by the end we were all crying, even the Registrar had to stop as she got choked. They did it, they declared their love to each other... and now Chris had a beaming smile to match Bonnies... :)
After the ceremony we went back to the room as Bonnie had a birdcage veil (two incredible veils in one day!)... and then we headed out by bus with coats and umbrellas to brave the Edinburgh weather. We then had the most amazing few hours wandering around the city taking pictures. We stopped for lunch and were given a free glass of champagne each and ended up in a well known Supermarket where Bonnie just kept picking random things up off the shelves to have a photo with..
It really was an incredible day. I actually feel that in some ways it's changed me as a photographer. It gave me time to concentrate on their story, their love and what's important and I maybe feel that I travelled back on the train with a slightly different pair of eyes...
I will always be a big part of Bonnie and Chris' wedding day (as a witness, their photographer and being, for the majority, their only guest) and for that I feel incredibly lucky and truly honoured. What a magical thing to experience.