Wedding photography & film at the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews
The Old Course Hotel is one of those wedding venues that really couldn’t be anywhere other than St Andrews.
Overlooking the Old Course, with the Swilcan Bridge, West Sands and the town itself all within a few minutes, it’s an incredible setting for a wedding, and one we’ve been lucky enough to photograph and film a number of times over the years.
I’m a wedding photographer and filmmaker based here in St Andrews, so I know the hotel and the surrounding area well. That makes it much easier to find brilliant locations for photographs without disappearing for half your wedding day.
Our approach is relaxed and mostly documentary: we want you to enjoy the wedding while we photograph and film what’s actually happening. When we do head out for Couple’s Photos, we’ll keep things simple, make sure you’re having fun and get you back to your guests as soon as possible!
Photographing weddings at the Old Course Hotel
One of the best things about photographing a wedding at the Old Course Hotel is the amount of variety within such a small area.
Inside the hotel you’ve got elegant rooms, huge windows and views across the links. Step outside and the photographs can feel completely different within minutes.
There’s the Old Course itself, the iconic Swilcan Bridge, the streets and historic buildings of St Andrews and, a little further along, the huge expanse of West Sands.
That means we don’t normally want to take couples away for one long portrait session.
We’d much rather use ten minutes when the light is good, let you get back to the wedding, and perhaps head outside again for five minutes around sunset or after dark.
You get the photographs without missing the party.
Where to take wedding photographs at the Old Course Hotel
There isn’t one fixed set of locations we use for every wedding.
The weather, light, time of year and timings of the day all make a difference. We’d rather respond to what’s happening than reproduce the same photographs for every bride and groom.
But there are a few locations around the hotel that give us fantastic options.
The Old Course & Swilcan Bridge
This is obviously the photograph many couples associate with an Old Course Hotel wedding.
The Swilcan Bridge gives you something unmistakably St Andrews, particularly if golf or the town itself is part of the reason you’ve chosen the venue.
The trick is not allowing an iconic location to turn into a cheesy tourist photograph. We still want the image to feel like a wedding photograph of you, with St Andrews providing the setting.
Around St Andrews
Some of my favourite St Andrews photographs aren’t necessarily beside the golf course.
The town gives us historic stone, narrow streets, university buildings and plenty of quieter corners that can create a completely different look from the hotel.
Because everything is so close together, we can get that variety without turning the afternoon into a location shoot.
West Sands
If the timings and weather work, West Sands gives us another completely different option for amazing wedding photos.
It’s huge, open and particularly beautiful towards the end of the day when the light drops.
But it’s never compulsory. If it’s horizontal rain and blowing a gale, we’re not going to insist we march a wedding party onto a beach because it was written into a photography schedule six months earlier!
There are plenty of alternatives closer to the Old Course Hotel itself.
Wedding ceremonies and receptions at the Old Course Hotel
The hotel has several different spaces for weddings, so two Old Course Hotel weddings can feel surprisingly different.
The Conservatory is particularly good for ceremonies because of the natural light and the view across the Old Course. The Ballroom creates a more traditional, elegant reception, while the Hall of Champions works for much larger celebrations.
From a photography point of view, what matters to me isn’t simply how impressive a room looks when it’s empty.
It’s what happens once it’s full of people.
The hugs immediately after the ceremony, reactions during speeches, children crawling underneath tables, somebody crying when they thought nobody was watching: those are usually the photographs that matter most in the end.
Relaxed wedding photography + videography
Most couples aren’t professional models.
That’s fine. Neither are we!
In fact, one of the things we hear most often before a wedding is some variation of:
“We hate having our photograph taken.”
Our job isn’t to spend the day posing you.
For most of your wedding we’ll simply photograph what’s happening naturally: you won’t know we’re even there.
When it’s time for portraits, we’ll give you enough direction that you’re not standing wondering what to do with your hands, but we’re not interested in forcing you to stand in a way that feels completely unnatural.
The aim is to make photographs that look great without making the wedding feel like a photoshoot.
Old Course Hotel wedding films
As well as photography, we offer wedding videography and combined photography + film coverage.
Having both from the same team means we’re working to the same plan rather than having a photographer and filmmaker competing for time, locations and moments throughout the day.
The films follow much the same philosophy as the photography: natural, cinematic and focused on the people and story of the wedding rather than endlessly staging things for the camera.
You can book photography, film, or both together.
After dark in St Andrews
Some of our favourite wedding photographs happen after the sun starts to get low in the sky (or disappears altogether).
It’s also at this time that the Old Course and West Sands start to get quieter.
At an Old Course Hotel wedding we’ve got plenty to work with: the hotel itself, the lights around St Andrews and whatever the Scottish weather happens to be doing that evening.
It normally only takes a few minutes.
Then you can get back to the dancefloor.
Old Course Hotel wedding photography FAQs
Are you based near the Old Course Hotel?
Yes. I (Andi) am based in St Andrews, minutes from the Old Course Hotel, so it’s one of my local wedding venues.
Have you photographed weddings at the Old Course Hotel before?
Yes. We’ve photographed a number of weddings at the Old Course Hotel over the years, so we’re familiar with both the venue and the surrounding locations we can use for photographs.
Can we have photographs on the Swilcan Bridge?
If access and circumstances on the day allow it, absolutely. It’s one of the most iconic locations in St Andrews and can be particularly meaningful for couples with a connection to golf.
But it isn’t the only option. There are lots of brilliant locations around the hotel and St Andrews, so we’ll choose what works best for your wedding rather than building the whole photography plan around one photograph.
What happens if it rains?
We adapt.
This is St Andrews, so building a photography plan that depends entirely on sunshine would be optimistic!
There are options inside and around the hotel, and weather can actually make for much more interesting photographs. If there’s a break in the rain later, we can always head outside for five minutes rather than abandoning the idea altogether.
Do you offer both photography and videography?
Yes. You can book photography, wedding film, or combined photography + film coverage from the same team.
How long will you take us away for photographs?
Usually not very long.
We’d much rather take you out for a short portrait session and perhaps another five or ten minutes later when the light changes than disappear with you for an hour.
It’s your wedding, not our photoshoot.
Planning an Old Course Hotel wedding?
If you’re getting married at the Old Course Hotel, I’d love to hear what you’re planning.
Send me your wedding date and a little about the day and I’ll let you know our availability and send over the relevant photography and film options.
Recent Comments