Custom House Gallery Leith Wedding Ceremony | Custom Lane Leith | Williams and Johnson Coffee | Montrose Restaurant | Katie + Murray | Ochre Botanic Studios | Edinburgh Wedding Photographer
MURRAY AND KATIE HAVE BEEN OUR FRIENDS FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS, AND WOW DOES TIME FLY. We’re so close now, that this past summer we stayed in a villa and drove all over an island in greece with them. We definitely vet our close friends by who we can travel with, and traveling with these two was seamless and so chill. I even checked back in my dm’s to remember when we met, and of course… it was through working remotely from coffee shops, mainly lowdown Coffee (back in the day when that was allowed and before it properly blew up in popularity in the best way), and our love of a good cup of filter. I used to work remotely from Lowdown Coffee all of the time back in 2017, when I was living in chicago, but visiting edinburgh for months at a time to spend quality time with Ross (my now husband), during our 4 year long distance relationship before we got married. So yes, murray was one of my first friends here and I of course eventually took some couples portraits of Murray and katie strolling around Stockbridge back in the day, without knowing that my husband and I would eventually buy our first home here in stockbridge.
Anyways, throughout the years, murray, my husband and myself all connected over photography, and katie and I were able to grow closer whenever they both eventually moved full time to the city down in leith. I always feel like I’m the “cool one” (that shows how uncool I actually am) in a lot of my older friend groups, but honestly, these two keep me humble… as they are a bit younger than us, properly cool, always know the best brands and have the best style without even trying.
I have truly loved watching them both grow in their creative passions throughout the years, Murray Orr with his Travel, commercial and editorial photographer career all around Scotland, the UK and now abroad, as well as Katie’s talent and skill for hosting supper clubs, dinner parties, baking, cooking, as well as styling and planning events. I mean, she quite literally styled her entire wedding day, while of course working with some of the best suppliers to make their chill and intimate wedding day come true.
katie and Murray had their wedding ceremony at Custom House Gallery, located on the shore in Leith, and their vision of organic materials and abstract florals everywhere was executed by none other than Ochre Botanic Studios. Marion and Sophie, from Ochre Botanic studios, did such an amazing job, as always. They did her organic bouquet as well. Which again, instead of me describing the textures, you can just view the images of all of their florals below.
After their ceremony, they had a confetti exit at the custom house gallery, then after all of the hugs, all of their guests had a short 10 second walk over to Custom Lane, where they rented out Williams and Johnson’s space, the Custom Lane Gallery and the Courtyard, for their guests to enjoy stunning bites by Harkness Pies, The Shore Deli (Roxi and Meave), Pheobe (Selene) and Marias Kitchen, who made the tiramisu. They were also all able to grab a coffee from WIlliams and Johnson or a drink (natural wines are always their top choice) then go and sit or dance to enjoy the local band, The Lone Bear play.
Rolling back to the start of the day a bit, ross and I joined them at their flat in Leith, for a coffee and to grab a few casual snaps of them getting ready together, on both medium format and 35mmfilm as well as digital (which is what Ross and I photographed with for the entire day). on our walk over to custom lane we stopped to take bride and groom portraits at The pavilion at Lamb’s House Garden. The Garden was the perfect spot for portraits in a private and secluded green space with endless history all around them with the architecture and unique garden design and landscape architecture. The very first time I was at the Pavilion at Lamb’s House was when I photographed the space for their website many years ago now for Gras. It’s still as stunning as ever, and was such a beautiful backdrop for Murray and Katie’s unique wedding day outfits, which you can scroll to the bottom to see the details below.
After the cocktail hour at Custom lane and Williams and Johnson Coffee, the guests had a little break before they had a smaller group congregate in the private dining upstairs room at Montrose Restaurant in the center of Edinburgh for a multi-course plated dinner and dessert. and of course, plenty of natural wine to go around. There were heartfelt speeches, endless good food and drinks and lots of laughs with friends! Being guests ourselves, I can truly say that this day was so much fun and so full of joy. We love this group of people so much, and we’re excited to continue making memories with Katie and Murray throughout the rest of our lives. x
“Custom House Gallery on the shore in Leith is a beautiful wedding venue within the city of Edinburgh, SCotland. It is a blank space that was perfect for Ochre Botanical Studios to Transform into a lovely ceremony space.”
