A Dark Romance Editorial with Sarah & Louis

If you are looking for Wedding photography in Edinburgh, it is difficult to imagine a more fitting setting than this. Prestonfield House is not simply a venue. It is theatre. Heavy velvet. Oil paintings stacked floor to ceiling. Candlelight reflecting in antique mirrors. The sort of baroque interiors that feel closer to a Renaissance painting than a modern hotel. For a photographer whose work leans cinematic, gothic, and quietly romantic, it is the kind of place that makes you want to slow down and compose every frame like a film still. Which is exactly what we did. On a cold January morning, just after sunrise, I met Sarah and Louis for an dark romance and cinematic wedding photography session that felt less like documentation and more like stepping into a novel.

Why Prestonfield House is perfect for cinematic wedding photography

As an Edinburgh luxury wedding photographer, I’m always drawn to venues with history and atmosphere. Prestonfield has both in abundance.

The house dates back centuries, sits just beneath Arthur’s Seat, and has a long-standing reputation for being one of the most opulent and eccentric properties in the city. There’s even talk of it being haunted, which only adds to its charm. Visually, it gives you everything you could want for cinematic wedding photography in Scotland:

• dark, textured interiors
• antique furnishings
• fireplaces and candlelight
• dramatic staircases
• private gardens and woodland paths
• rich colours instead of blank white walls

It doesn’t need styling. It already looks like a film set. For couples who love mood, history, and a little drama, it’s extraordinary.

The aesthetic: velvet, candlelight, and old-world romance

Sarah wore white silk with delicate embroidery. Soft, luminous, almost painterly against the shadows. Louis chose a black velvet suit that felt distinctly old world. Together they looked as though they had stepped out of another century.

The palette was intentional: oxblood, deep green, black, gold.
The textures: velvet, silk, aged wood, stone.

Inside their room, we worked slowly. Whisky poured into glasses. Curtains half drawn. Morning light barely filtering through. Antique mirrors catching fragments of movement. Outside, the gardens were silver with frost. The entire shoot unfolded in that quiet hour when the world hasn’t quite woken yet. It felt intimate. Private. Suspended. Less wedding day rush. More stillness. That’s always where the best images happen.

Inspired by gothic literature and The Vampire Chronicles

My work naturally leans toward darker romance. Not theatrical costumes or gimmicks. Something subtler. Longing. Devotion. A sense of timelessness. This shoot was heavily inspired by gothic literature and the atmosphere of The Vampire Chronicles and Dracula. Love stories that feel eternal rather than fleeting.

Visually, I approached it like a film. Strong shadows. Directional light. Framing that feels deliberate rather than accidental. Every image composed with the same care you would give a painting. As a cinematic wedding photographer in Scotland, this is the language I speak most fluently. Movement, texture, and mood over forced poses. The result is work that feels editorial and artful, but still deeply human.

For couples planning a luxury wedding in Edinburgh or Scotland

If you’re planning a wedding or elopement at Prestonfield House, or at any historic venue in Scotland, this style works beautifully.

Especially if you’re drawn to:

• manor houses and castles
• winter weddings
• candlelit receptions
• editorial portraits
• fine art photography
• intimate, story-driven imagery

As a Scotland luxury wedding photographer, I work with couples who want their day to feel intentional and personal rather than formulaic. Less production line. More atmosphere. I photograph weddings and elopements across Edinburgh, the Highlands, the UK, Europe, and North America, but venues like Prestonfield will always feel like home to me. There is something about old walls and soft light that simply can’t be replicated.

A final note

As we packed up, the sun finally caught the windows and lit the house in gold. For a moment, it didn’t feel like work at all. It felt like stepping into a novel. Exactly the kind of story I want to keep telling.

If you’re searching for Prestonfield House wedding photography, or an Edinburgh luxury wedding photographer with a cinematic, dark romance aesthetic, I’d love to hear what you’re planning.

Let’s create something timeless.