Wedding Galway Bay Hotel Salthill

Ann Marie and Tom were married on a beautiful (but baltic cold) day last Christmas!

I had to travel with caution to Ann-Marie's home Letterfrack Co Galway. We had a good freeze the night before and roads were dodgy to say the least in parts. This cold weather can be uncomfortable for Bridal parties when we're outdoors taking photos, but the other side of the coin is that so many of the wedding images look like they could have been taken during the summer with the beautiful blue skies around us.
Ann-Maries home has a view to die for.....surrounded by such a majestical landscape that any photographer would love to have!
Thank you very much to Christina and Michael for their lovely welcome, and indeed Lorraine and Rosalind for their generous assistance at the house!






Although I have covered many weddings in the areas surrounding Clifden, this was my first in Letterfrack. A treat as always to meet Paddy Coyne who was shooting Video on the day and the super Brenda Grealis providing the beautiful church music....always good to working alongside fellow wedding vendors that you rate highly!



Tom and his groomsmen Kevin and Shane were on hand for a few photos before the prompt arrival of Ann-Marie.
Letterfrack Church is beautiful to say the least. The winter sun shines through the rear stain glass windows behind the altar and beautifully illumenates the whole church and looks very impressive (tough for the white balance though!!).









Wedding ceremony "selfie"!









After the ceremony and a few photos taken inside the warm church, we made the journey to the superb Kylemore Abbey for some Bridal Photos. The surrounding area as as well as the Abbey are fantastic locations for photos.....and a heartfelt thank you to Ann-Marie & Tom as well as the bridesmaids Lorraine and Rosalind and the groomsmen Kevin and Shane for their patience and co-operation regarding the photos in the cold weather. It's a pleasure for me to work with people that are out to help the happy couple on weddings days and do what's required......not all wedding days pan out like this.























After our shoot in Kylemore, Ann-Marie and Tom were willing to hop out of their warm car for a couple of shots in Inagh Valley and I was delighted when they agreed to this! The Inagh Landscape is also lovely, and it's unusual to have wedding photos there while showing off the snow capped mountains too!









Our final stop was to be one of my favourite hotels to work in, The Galway Bay Hotel. A great spot where the staff are go above and beyond what's expected of them.






Boys being boys!





Thank you very much Ann-Marie and Tom as well as your bridal parties and families for being truly a lovely wedding to work at. I look forward to crossing paths again and mind yourselves until then!

Photo slideshow of the day below.

http://video214.com/play/Zoz1nOcVtb0vY21i79Pwkw/s/dark

Connemara Wedding

Marie and Niall were recently married in Roundstone Connemara followed by a reception in the Salthill Hotel.
Marie and Niall were one of the couples that i worked with last year where we didn't have the opportunity to meet up at the time of booking me as they're currently living in Australia. We therefore met for the first time about a week before the wedding.....and it was quite evident from our first chat that it was going to be a fun wedding and Niall in particular was a man's man who liked a bit of craic!
I had worked in Roundstone at a wedding previously and it's nothing short of a majestic village located in the heart of Connemara. The landscape in particular is breathtaking.....some of the nicest beaches in Ireland are located there too. You could understand my disappointment therefore on the morning of the wedding when we woke up to "status orange" storm alters on the radio. High winds were battering the coast of Ireland and things didn't look to good with regards to showing off Connemara.
Many thanks to Martin and Ellen (Marie's parents) for their warm welcome on the morning of the wedding and indeed to the beautiful bridesmaids Anna and Rachael for their help.
Nial's jovial personality was on display when we arrived at the church before the ceremony and he was in good company with groomsmen Eric and Martin Paul as well as pageboy Niall with regards to the craic!
After the ceremony, we stayed in the shelter of the church to capture the family portraits as well as some bridal ones as the wind was so strong and I didn't think we would have the opportunity for outdoor images.
Luckily Marie wanted to chance getting some photos en route to Galway around Ballynahinch....with plenty of trees surrounding the area we might be lucky and get some shelter.....and that's exactly what we got!
I was a happy man shooting there, beautiful landscape and more importantly the bridal party were comfortable with the shelter they received from the winds!
The Salthill Hotel was our final stop after Ballynahinch...a fantastic hotel that looks after their couples excessively well.
Thanks Marie and Niall for trusting me with your wedding photography and indeed for being wonderful people to be around on a wedding day! i wish you both the very best in Australia and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future!

Photo slideshow available at bottom of page