reportage wedding photography

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Jane & Barry travelled home from Madrid to tie the knot in the fab Horetown House, not once, but twice !! The initial ceremony was carried out by a friend and was a very personal and moving occasion (plenty of tears !! 🙂 ) – then the second legal, slightly more formal, but no less intimate ceremony was held in the gorgeous surroundings of the drawing room in Horetown. Jane is actually an artist by trade, and had everything meticulously planned out, the venue looking stunning with all her little touches so no pressure on me then !! It really was a lovely day, from the opening “Welcome to Bannow” on arrival, to the delicious sambos served up by Anne in Horetown before I hit the road. My only complaint ?? I would have loved more time, there was so much to photograph ! Hopefully the pics below will give you an idea of the day 🙂

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I’m always a little bit nervous when I photograph weddings of friends, I spent many sweaty nights with Rachael & Colly at bootcamp so at least we had seen each other at our worst and we shared a hatred for burpees !!! I needn’t have worried as it was a totally relaxed & friendly affair, the couple scrubbed up well 🙂 ,  the heavy rainshowers couldn’t put a dampner on things and the staff in Tulfarris were as helpful & accomodating as usual. I was thrilled to be part of such a special day, and hopefully the few pics below will give you an idea of how happy the day was.

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Among the many comments from wedding couples are “I/We hate having my/our picture taken”, “xxx is very nervous about the photos”, “we don’t want rigid poses, we like more natural shots”, “how long will the photos take, I want to spend time with my guests”.

One way to address this is to consider the increasingly popular “engagement shoot” where the couple get to meet their photographer in a relaxed atmosphere and come out the other side with a fab selection of images, but there are plenty of other real benefits as well.

Firstly, you get to know your photographer, their style, their personality, how they pose couples, how fast they “get the shot” and how they interact with you, it also benefits the photographer as they get to know you better, how you interact as a couple, if you are hands-on (literally), what aspects of the photos, if any, are you nervous about and this is a great time for them to give you any posing tips if necessary. This is invaluable preparation for the big day as it’s all done in a relaxed and easygoing manner, with no rushing and without the inconvenience of a wedding celebration going on in the background !! 🙂

When the big day comes around, both you & the photographer know exactly what to expect,  for couples who hate having the photos taken they are much more at ease, and a big plus is that it saves time on the day – anyone who gets married will tell you how fast time goes by so any extra time saved is precious.

Other benefits are of course a lovely selection of photos of yourself & your fiance, these can be used on your “save the date” cards, invitations, table settings, seating plan etc..and, if you are planning a wedding website, you have a great gallery of images at the ready. A lot of photographers also offer the option of a signature board where an image of your choice is matted behind a heavy duty mount board for your guests to sign on your wedding day and for you to frame as a keepsake.

But perhaps the biggest benefit are the moments in time captured between you & your fiance at the start of the next stage of your relationship.

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Another wedding with a difference when I took a couple of hours out to photograph Niamh & Ramtins big day in the city recently. Not to be held up by traditions, Niamh walked to our meeting point (we did a first look before the ceremony) from her hotel, up along Merrion Square in the sun. A quick few pics in the grounds of the park and then we headed down to the registry office via the canal (and a few family photos). after the intimate ceremony we took to the roads again up towards Grand Canal Docks all in between some heavy showers, but the wind got the better of us so we wrapped up the photos bar a final cake shot in Patrick Guilbauds. Dublin really can be heaven sometimes 🙂

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On the 13th May I headed up to the fab Kilronan Castle for the wedding of Liz & Travis. This was a wedding with a difference as the happy couple travelled over from southern California, along with Travis’ mam Cathy and stepdad Richard….and that was it !! When myself, the celebrant and the guitarist were added it was a total of 7 in attendance. It made for a lovely celebration and with Cathy & Richard renewing their vows a very special occasion.  Even I had my part to play as neither the celebrant (English) nor the guitarist (Scottish) could handle the Irish wedding blessing that Liz & Travis chose for their ceremony. So I stood up & volunteered 🙂  Trying to channel my inner Aragorn reading Elvish I probably came off more like Bosco on acid……but no-one noticed !!  It was a really lovely,  intimate (and a little bit mad) day and I was delighted to be involved. Hopefully you will enjoy the few pics attached.

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It was a busy Bank Holiday weekend, with my daughters confirmation, my own wedding anniversary and shooting Kathryn & Justins wedding way over in Achill. It was great to revisit Achill as myself & the gang spent many happy family holidays there (3 in one year alone !!) and thankfully the drive has improved greatly.  Having met most of Kathryns family previously I felt at home immediately and the laid back atmosphere really made my job easy. Despite the bad weather we did get a few minutes up on the Atlantic drive, but it was literally that…a few minutes, as the wind would cut you in two. Luckily, the Mulranny Park Hotel was a relatively short hop and before we knew it we were thawing out in its fab surroundings. Staying on till the first few dances really made a difference and I can’t wail till I get editing the set of images. Here are a few draft “sneak peek” images & I hope you enjoy 🙂

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