by Kevin Morris
wedding photography
I was looking forward to photographing Kathleen & Tonys wedding as, not only had I never shot in the Stationhouse Hotel previously, but we were also planning to take a short trip to the wonderful Bective Abbey which now has a small carpark & paths. In the past it was a jump over a fence & skipping up an overgrown trail (not ideal in a wedding dress !!). The weather on the day really behaved itself and Kathleen & Tony were an absolute pleasure to work with. I was also very impressed with the super grounds in the Stationhouse and in particular with the staff who were fantatsic & very helpful, I am looking forward to working there again shortly. Unfortunately, on the day, the great enemy of any photographer caught up with me – time !! Before we knew it, dusk was falling, tummies were rumbling but we had managed to get all the photos we needed. I have uploaded a small selection of pics below, just click on any for a slightly larger version & if you happen to know the happy couple feel free to leave a message.
Firstly, a big thank you to all my friends, family and of course wedding couples, for their help & support throughout 2011. Yet again, it was a privilege to be such a major part of so many weddings – thanks for putting your faith in me to capture your day through photography. I can’t say that my style of shooting weddings has changed too much over the last 12 months – I still focus on reportage and informal photography, but, I also understand the need for a few nice family shots and some bridal party and bride & groom portraiture – although I do try to make these sessions as informal and painless as possible !! I know that for most couples the day (apart from the marriage itself) is all about having family & friends close, so why would you want to spend most of your time posing in front of a camera ? Whereas my style might not have changed too much, my awards tally for the year did – for 2011 I received a total of 12 gold, 19 silver and 2 bronze awards, mainly for my reportage work, but also a few for classical wedding, and even a couple for landscape ! I have uploaded a selection of images below, from various weddings throughout the year, in an attempt to show a typical wedding day as told through photos, some of which will be familiar, some are making their “blog” debut.
Hope you enjoy and I look forward to plenty more blogs as well as some new & exciting developments over the next 12 months.
Monday 31st saw me heading up the coast to Balbriggan for the wedding of Catriona & Chris. It was also a case of meeting up with old acquaintances as I knew the celebrant, Fr Eugene, from my days in the folk group in Rialto (25 years ago !!), I also teamed up with videographer Cyril Fox for the first time in nearly three years, and I met Marie & Mattie, a couple whose wedding I photographed last year.
The girls were so calm & collected when I arrived (and looked stunning thanks to the Powder Room Girls), and despite the constant threat of bad weather, I had a feeling that the day would be a great one, or, as Chris would say – 100%.
Sure enough, after the lovely ceremony in Balscadden Church, the heavens opened. We had to leg it to the cars (thanks to Cyril Fox for sharing a brolley!) and it was off to Darver Castle. I was blown away by the venue & staff, nothing was too much for them (apart from stopping the rain !). Due to the bad weather we didn’t get a chance for photos in the grounds but we did have a nice spot indoors. After a short while the kitchen in Darver was hopping to the sounds of Tropical Storm which went on till mealtime.
After the meal & speeches there was a special treat, not only to celebrate the wedding, but also for Halloween, there was a huge & impressive fireworks display in the castle grounds, after which the happy couple hit the floor for the first dance.
All in all it was a great day, the one problem I had was that I normally put around 12-15 shots into the blog, and I had a terrible time cutting down on pics for this one, I went a bit over my limit but I hope I have managed to capture some of the atmosphere below, and, if you happen to know the couple feel free to leave a message for them as they will be checking in on a regular basis. (just click on any photo for a slightly larger version).
Its hard to know where to start when describing Sinead & Jasons big day ! The heavy rain had been so persistent that I had Captain Nemo on standby to make sure I could get where I needed to be. Sinead looked stunning in her 1920s inspired wedding dress (and super hair & make-up) and the bridemaids weren’t half bad either in their Charleston styled dresses !!! Things got a little confusing on arrival at the church as there were six of the main guests called Kevin, so, including myself, that was seven !! Every time the name was called, we all answered. After the lovely ceremony in Clondalkin church it was off to the stunning Killashee House Hotel in Naas. With the rotten weather we couldn’t use the fantastic gardens for photos but everyone was in great form and it was the little touches that made this wedding so special. Along with the 20’s theme, the reception had an 80’s vibe going through it, lifesize cutouts of Rambo & Michael Jackson stood by the dancefloor, along with a particularly scary one of the Hoff, He-Man & She-Ra guarded the loos, the placenames were among the coolest I have ever seen, the favours were little boxes of retro sweets, and the caketopper was made by Sinead. Jason told me that Sinead also made each of the placenames, favours etc. so perhaps a career in wedding planning beckons !! I have uploaded a few photos from the day below, and, if you happen to know the couple, please leave a comment as they will be checking in while away on honeymoon. Just click on any photo for a slightly larger version.
