Linda & Mark

Congratulations to Linda & Mark who recently married in the Galway Cathedral followed by a reception in the Clayton Hotel. 

It was a beautiful day that had a few surprises instore for us and it was the first time that I got the opportunity to work alongside the friendly/jovial and talented Mike Flannery of Seabury Studio. Well done to Linda and Mark....a lovely couple who were very easy to work with and I'm looking forward to another shoot in the very near future.......we're gonna "THRASH THE DRESS"!!

Casey observes all the details of a wedding day

The beautiful Linda prepares herself for her special day.

Mark, Barry Paul and Dave prepare to do the Fianna Fáil outside the church (....shake hands!!)

I love this part of a ceremony...bride about to make her entrance and a variety of emotions on display. Some groom's chat nervously to their groomsmen....others have lumps in their throats and are unable to talk....and some are just simply concentrating on what they are supposed to do when the bride arrives at the top of the aisle....various responses that I love observing and capturing.

Mark has a few words with his men while the congregation look for Linda's entrance.

The spectacular Galway Cathedral. I was surprised at how dark it is and you have to rely on high ISO's and slow shutter speeds when working there. 

One of my favorite pictures from this year. Just at the start of the Marriage vows, the priest comes down to the bride and groom for a quick "pep talk" when all of a sudden his mobile phone starts to ring.......great moment and he dealt with it brilliantly....even checking to see who it was and wondered out loud what they were calling him for.
One of the nicest and laid back priests that I have come across who went out of his way to make you feel welcome and ensured that the mood for his ceremony was jovial and fun....exactly what weddings should be like if you ask me.

Bridal Party on the canal beside the Cathedral.

The beautiful Linda

Mark, Casey and Linda arrive to a paparazzi welcome in the Clayton Hotel

some of the bits and pieces that make up a wedding day

Mark and Linda grab a moment in the penthouse suite.

Bestman Paul "does a job" on Mark during his speech. Presenting a slideshow summarizing Marks life, several moments were shared that left guests with laughter pains.....including Mark below

"Lord God.....is that really me in that slideshow???"

First dance as Husband & wife

Aileen & Niall

Congratulations to Aileen and Niall who recently married in Annaghdown Church followed by a reception in Galway bay Hotel Salthill.
This was a wedding that I was looking forward to covering as I had met Aileen last year while covering her sister Sheila's wedding. Aileen had come to the studio for an engagement shoot also, so the fact that we had met up on a few occasions in the last 12 months, we knew each other pretty well .....and this always helps when covering weddings!
I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Aileen and Niall and I can only describe Niall's friends as one of the greatest bunch of guys....mad for craic...that i have come across at a wedding.
We were lucky with the weather and it stayed dry for most of the day....however the dark clouds rolled in when we were taking some bridal party portraits in Salthill park.

Aileen prepares at home.

Music in the church was performed by Nicola McGuire and the The Weightless Astronauts created the party atmosphere at the end of a brilliant day!

Niall......chillin'

Niall needs a bit of gentle persuasion from Eugene and Joe to get in the church.....he had the look of a man that was gonna balk!!

Niall composes himself as his future wife makes her entrance

Annaghdown Church

A journey begins..

We managed to get about 10 minutes in Sathill before the heavens opened.....we were lucky

Fair play to Aileen and Niall here.....it was bucketing rain and we were getting shelter under the trees....and they were still 'happy out'!!

Dad Peter throws a shape on Niall before the meal!

Niall & Aileen grab a moment to themselves before the meal.

Aileen's father Walter reminisces about her younger days.

Niall speaks lovingly of his beautiful new wife

I'm surprised the bestman and groom shook hands at the end of the speeches....by all accounts Eugene took the gloves off and spared Niall nothing for the speeches!!

Mad bunch of men....and it's easy to see why. Love this shot!!

Bridal party, Joe & Darina, Sheila and Joe standing (congrats Sheila who's had a baby boy since), and Niall & Aileen.

The lads wouldn't have managed this lift if it wasn't for young Seán helping them out!

Thanks lads....I had a great day!!

Fun with the kids

It's been a pretty busy period with weddings recently....so much so that my kids had realized that they weren't the subject of my cameras attention for a while...and they missed that. So we decided to take a few fun shots recently and these are the results.

The first shot is "all the boys" (Lauren was staying with her nanny when we took this). It's similar to the start of the old American comedy/sitcom "The Brady Bunch".

The second image is a composite (made up of three different images). Firstly, Lauren was put sitting on a chair and the image was taken from a low point of view to give some realism to the fact that we wanted to pretend that she was floating off into the air above us. Second and thirdly, I held Liam and Colin up in the air (they were grasping a sweeping brush) and remotely triggered the camera via the timer. The fact that their legs were dangling made the image look a bit more authentic. Finally, the image was shot against a white background which I replaced with a dramatic sky. The kids love the end result even though they don't always understand what I'm doing when i'm taking the images!

Lorraine & Declan

Lorraine and Declan recently married in Bushypark Church Galway with the reception in The Galway Bay Hotel.
Their wedding day was unfortunately the wettest that I've experienced....but it certainly didn't keep them from enjoying themselves on one of the biggest days of their lives!

Beautiful flowers from "A Stem Above".

Guests arrive to Bushy Park Church in pretty wet conditions

Declan, Shane, David & Kevin sprint for the church door as the rain comes down in sheets!

Taking some shelter in the church 

Bushypark Church

Beautiful flowers by "A Stem Above"

Galway Bay Hotel 

Lorraine, Declan and his buddies

The beautiful Lorriane

One of the best parts of the day for capturing emotions is during the wedding speeches. Here, Peter (Lorraine's father) recounts some lovely memories of Lorraine's early years.

Lorraine & Declan are presented with "Hard Hats" from a family member. I'm not sure if they were for protection from the best man's speech, or if it had to do with some of Declan's experiences while driving machinery with Oaklawn Developments?

Amusing stories about Declan's "dance moves" are shared by best man Shane.

First dance as Mr & Mrs Murray

Although Declan received a ribbing about his dance moves during the best man's speech, this move was certainly pulled out of the top drawer....both of you looking like professional dancers here guys!

Declan enjoying himself!

Siobhán & Colin

Siobhán and Colin recently got married in St Mary's Church Headford, followed by a reception in The Castlecourt Hotel Westport.
All of the "Child Of Pragues" that were left out in Headford the night before the wedding definitely did the job.....the wedding day was hot and sunny and everyone was in good spirits.

Wedding Rings

St Mary's Church Headford

Cong, CoMayo

The Monks House in Cong Co Mayo

Cong

Alan's offers up a few words for the bride and groom

The sun goes down on Siobhán & Colin's wedding day

First dance as Mr & Mrs Lee