Imogen and Henry's small wedding at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh

Imogen and Henry got married at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, a historic building on Queen Street in the centre of the city with a library that is one of the best ceremony rooms I have ever stood in. It was a small wedding. A handful of people, a humanist ceremony, a bold blue dress, a family tartan kilt, and their dog Jasmine with a proper job to do.

A first look with Jasmine in Queen Street Gardens

The day started in Queen Street Gardens, the private gardens that couples marrying at the Royal College of Physicians get access to. Henry was waiting there with Jasmine. Imogen walked in wearing her blue dress, and for a few minutes it was just the two of them and the dog. Quiet words, a few smiles, Jasmine trotting along beside them.

They wandered the gardens for a bit before heading back over to the venue. Nobody watching and nowhere to be for a while. It was the calm bit of the day, before the rest of it kicked off.

The library ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians

The ceremony was in the library. Skylights overhead, light coming straight down onto shelves of old books, and a room that feels like it was built for a small wedding rather than a big one. If you’re looking at Edinburgh wedding venues for a ceremony with a short guest list, this library is the argument.

Their humanist celebrant told the story of the two of them: their adventures, the way they look after each other, and where Jasmine fits into all of it.

Then the mums came forward for a sand ceremony. Imogen’s mum had brought sand from Australia and Henry’s mum had brought sand from Scotland, and they poured the two into one jar.

The flat where it started, then Blackford Hill

After the ceremony the three of us headed out across Edinburgh. First stop was the flat where Imogen and Henry lived when they first met. If there’s a place that means something to you, it’s worth building ten minutes into the day to go and stand outside it. The photos end up being about you rather than about a nice wall.

Then Blackford Hill, for the view over the city and the last of the light. The sun was out, which in Scotland counts as a result, and we got the final portraits up there with the whole of Edinburgh behind them.

A small wedding at the Royal College of Physicians is not a compromise

Imogen and Henry didn’t have a huge guest list, and the day was no smaller for it. A room full of old books, their mums pouring sand into a jar, a blue dress and a family tartan, and an afternoon wandering round the city with the dog. If you’re planning a wedding at the Royal College of Physicians and wondering whether a small one will feel like enough: it does.

Imogen, Henry and Jasmine, thanks for having me along.