Wedding Ballinrobe Co Mayo and Castlecourt Hotel Westport

Trish's preparations took place in her home (Ballinrobe Co Mayo) which was only a minutes walk from the Church. Her two bridesmaids Martina and Paula as well as her mum Julie were there to lend the helping hands and all were pretty excited about the day ahead of them.....no nerves on display at all!

I never saw a hanger with the name on it before....pretty cool!

After capturing Trish's preparations, I headed over to the church where Dean was waiting with his best man Chris and groomsman Shane......the lads were in great spirits and a pleasure to be around.

The lads got rid of any nervous energy they had before Trisha and her bridesmaids arrived for the service.

This is a "moment" that I like a lot. I headed up to the Balcony of Ballinrobe Church during the part of the ceremony where the priests invites everyone to "offer each other the sign of peace". Trish and Dean mingle with family and friends and shake hands.....Dean extended his hand for the "shake" but his dad pulls him in close for a nice big big....pretty cool!

Chris offers a congratulating hug at the end of the ceremony

The fact the Dean is from America, I had been looking forward to bringing the Bridal Party to Cong after the ceremony to get some lovely portraits in a beautiful location.....images that show off Ireland and it's beautiful countryside. Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow this but we manages to get some shots taken in the Castlecourt.

Dean's father John gives his son some advice during the speeches!

Trish and Dean as well as their families and Bridal Party were great people to be around on their wedding day. I'm conscious that I say this quite a lot when speaking about weddings, but it's true.....it's great when your dealing with a couple who have the awareness of what's happening on their special day and truly enjoy it!

It was great working with you lads and I hope we cross paths again in the future!

Wedding Broadhaven Bay Hotel Belmullet Co Mayo

Kendra & Alan were recently married in the Broadhaven Bay Hotel Belmullet Co Mayo and once again it was a wedding where it was brilliant to be dealing with a smashing couple and their lovely girl Taylor!


I had never covered a wedding in Belmullet before so this was a first for me. 

Kendra was another bride that was a pleasure to be around the morning of the wedding. As I've said in previous posts, the morning of the wedding can be anxious times for all concerned, but Kendra was very relaxed and I really enjoyed my time in her home that morning. As opposed to focusing on what was ahead of her (HER WEDDING!!), she was helping me capture images!

After covering Kendra's preparations, I headed down to the church where I caught up with Alan and his Belmullet mafia! They were a great bunch of guys and the slagging started immediately!

Even when we were finished taking some shots of the guys and started to concentrate on Alan by himself, his groomsmen (out of shot) were giving him a bit of a ribbing!!!

Alan's last moments as a single man!

The beautiful Kendra arrives pretty much on time!!

Boys will be boys

No empty seats in the church for this wedding!




Ater the ceremony, we headed off to the beach to grab some images. I was very impressed how the Manager of the hotel escorted us to the beach and nourished everyone with drinks and sandwiches, helping us forget about the cold breeze. A lovely touch and a great hotel to deal with.



I love the way the Bridesmaids dresses are very vibrant along with the wispy grass of the sand dunes.







The hotel certainly didn't spare anything and pulled out all the stops to help Kendra and Alan have a very memorable day...well done lads, a great show!

The hotel certainly didn't spare anything and pulled out all the stops to help Kendra and Alan have a very memorable day...well done lads, a great show!





We had a shoot in the studio about a week before the wedding with Kendra Alan and Taylor and I knew after the time we spent together that it was going to be a good wedding, a great family to be around.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first time in Belmullet lads, thanks for letting me be part of your special day!

Wedding Salthill Hotel Galway

I first met up with Michael and Aine in January of this year, a few weeks after they booked me for their wedding. They called to the studio one Saturday in January and after spending a while having a "chin wag" with them, I knew it would be a wedding that I would enjoy as they were both two very relaxed and laid back people.The wedding ceremony took place in Kiltulla Athenry with a cracking reception in The Salthill Hotel Galway.





Aine with her wedding present from Michael over her shoulder...a beautiful foal!



I'm not too sure if this bike saw much action on the wedding day......I bet it could tell a few stories though


Michael is flanked by best man Jonathon and groomsman Cian as he arrives at the church.



Flowergirls Ellen, Keeva and Lorna just before they hit the runway!






With the ceremony over, it's time to have a pint!



Aine & Michael share their first drink as a married couple in Ward's pub just across the road from the church



I left Aine & Michael while they were having their drink in Wards and headed into the Salthill Hotel with John Murphy of Avalon Video to capture the details of the wedding as well as capture some images of guests etc. I must admit to being very anxious at about 5.45pm as Aine and Michael arrived at the hotel. The traffic in Galway was particularly bad this Friday afternoon and they arrived a lot later to the hotel than expected. Given that the hotel was ready to ring the bell, I grabbed them before they entered it and we headed across to the park outside to grab some Bridal Portraits.

Aine casually mentioned that she was disappointed that they hadn't arrived earlier as she would have loved to go across to the beach to get some shots.....I must admit that this was music to my ears. We flew across the road, the lighting was superb and we ran off a load of shots in a short period of time.





It's funny how matters worked out.....when Aine and Michael arrived late to the hotel (when I grabbed them to taken them across to the park), Aine mentioned that all they needed was a "couple of shots" and they would be sorted. Given the fact that I had no Bridal Portraits taken at this stage and was anxious to get a selection, being told that all they need was a "couple of shot's" added a bit more anxiety to my dilemma......I had no proper shots of the couple. I soon realized however that this was Aine's way of apologizing for being late to the Salthill hotel and that she didn't want to inconvenience anyone over their late arrival. It was music to my ears when they eagerly accepted the invitation to go across to the beach and about 20 minutes after they first arrived at the hotel, we had a very good selection of shots taken.






Moments after we arrived back in the Salthill Hotel, Aine & Michael were welcomed into the function room


Aine's mum gives a lovely speech



Michael entertains guests with some stories of their early days courting!




First dance as husband and wife



Thanks soo much Aine and Michael for letting me be part of your special day. Your card (and over the top gift) was unnecessary but genuinely appreciated. It's truly nothing short of a pleasure to be around lovely people such as yourselves on your special day....I enjoy them as much as you do!

Wedding Diamond Coast Hotel Enniscrone

I had the good fortune to be working at Sinéad and Enda's wedding which recently took place in Ballina Cathedral Co Mayo followed by a wonderful reception on The Diamond Coast Hotel Enniscrone.
Sinéad was a bridesmaid at a wedding that I covered last year and I was delighted to be asked to cover her special day. This time, roles were reversed with Sinéad and her good friend Aine , Sinéad being the bride and Aine being the bridesmaid. 



When I arrived at Sinéad's home, make up artist Caroline Kilgallon was putting the finishing touches to maid of honor Rita while Sionéad was taking everything in her stride....casually reading the newspaper and not seeming to stressed about her big day.



After spending a short while in Sinéad's home, I travelled the short journey to the church where Enda and his two groomsmen David and Neil were arriving. The lads were also in a jovial mood and very easy to work with.



Ballina Cathedral is a magnificent building with stunning architecture....love working there!










After the ceremony, we travelled to the pier in Enniscrone to take a hand full of shots in the glorious sunshine. 





From here, we let the groomsmen and bridesmaids head back to the Diamond Coast Hotel while we travelled a short bit further up the coastline before heading back to the beach to steal a few moments alone.





We headed back to the magnificent Diamond Coast Hotel after this....a great place with staff that are a treat to deal with. After the formal family portraits were taken, Enda and his men relaxed and we grabbed some fun shots



They were a good bunch of guys to be around....willing to have a bit of fun and that wild side that was evident in the photo above was also evident in the speeches. The gloves cam off and best man David really let fly




Enda and Sinéad can't believe some of the stories that are being told.....not sure if the rest of us could fully believe them either....but they were as entertaining as you'll get!



Thank lads for let me be part of your great day!