Aisling & Richard celebrated their wedding at the stunning Cloughjordan House in Tipperary, Ireland. Richard’s English and had his family and friends come over to enjoy their big day. Having lovely weather made the day even better as everyone enjoyed being outside, great live music, games to play and the resident dogs integrating themselves with the guests!
Documentary wedding photography meant Aisling & Richard were able to fully enjoy their day with friends and family and without the fuss of stopping and posing for photos.
CLOUGHJORDAN HOUSE // TIPPERARY // IRELAND // AISLING & RICHARD
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
Annie & Niall had a nice and relaxed morning getting ready at the Wilder Townhouse, popped in a cab over to the Dublin Unitarian Church next to St Stephens Green, a few drinks at the Stag’s head and then to Fallon & Byrne for some amazing food, speeches and dancing.
Documentary wedding photography meant Annie & Niall were able to fully enjoy their day with friends and family and without the fuss of stopping and posing for photos.
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
Laura & Brian got married at the lovely Anglers Rest in Dublin, Ireland. It was all about family for Laura & Brian with their 2 kids enjoying the day. It was perfect for their friends and family to all be together to celebrate the wedding in beautiful and cosy surroundings. Also, the food and music were fantastic!
THE ANGLERS REST WEDDING // DUBLIN // LAURA & BRIAN
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
THE WESTBURY HOTEL WEDDING // DUBLIN // NICOLA & ANDY
Nicola & Andy wanted to get married in Dublin, Ireland, the city the had spent working, wandering and getting to know each other in. After getting married at St Joseph’s Church in Tenure, Dublin, they wanted to relive memories of wandering around St. Stephens Green, Grafton street, stopping by their favourite pub the John Kehoe, as they made their way towards their reception at the Westbury Hotel.
Bridal Prep is always a nice chance to capture the fun moments in the build up to the ceremony. Here’s Nicolas sister and mother relaxing and having fun.
Always enjoy capturing moments like this. Interactions between family members are fleeting but mean so much.
This was a real small, subtle and blink and you miss it moment. So glad I managed to capture this as Nicola was gently comforted by her sister as she puts her dress on. You don’t have to see faces to see the nerves and anxiety of the bride.
Always love catching the reactions of the family as the Bride is seen for the first time.
Groom Prep
The Groom prep is never a let down when it comes to the fun the Groom, best man, family and ushers have as they get ready.
Every image is a small story from the day. I love to add context so whoever looks at the images instantly can read that part of the story.
Whatever room I go into there’s always elements I can use to try and elevate an image. Here using the mirrors and then waiting for Andy to smile, laugh or cry, I’m ready and waiting!
Sometimes though its more fun to remove context! Andy’s nephew had buttoned up his shirt wrong and everyone was having a good laugh about it. But with this shot I thought it added more curiosity and fun for those who weren’t there as to what was going on!
Ceremony at St. Josephs Church Dublin
Due to restrictions, there wasn’t many at the church. But that didn’t stop a few passers by trying to pop in!
Always a classic shot, that long walk down the aisle with the father of the bride. It can be scary but smiles always shine through.
I’m always looking for a different perspective from the norm. Here I was able to go right around the other side of the alter and get this great composition and moment together to really elevate the image.
Some classic shots like this are never tiring to shoot! Love Love Love the smiles and joy couples have as they walk back down the aisle.
Speeches
Speeches are one of my favourite parts to capture from a wedding day, there’s always such great emotions from everyone! Here the Father of the Bride was embarrassing his daughter whilst her brother, behind her to the left, looks completely unimpressed!
Andy’s brother also couldn’t hold back from making fun of the Groom!
Nicola’s sister couldn’t stop smiling all day and was giving even bigger smiles during her words.
I always love to capture the Brides face during the Grooms speech. There’s always the biggest smiles!
Moments
I love catching groups of people together. At the time it can be a throw away moment in time. But years later these become amazing moments to look back on.
For the Bride & Groom the day flies by. Capturing what’s going on around them really helps them take in what they missed. It’s also the favourite part of the day for me.
Couple Portraits
For their couple portraits Nicola & Andy wanted to walk through St. James Park and along down Grafton Street. I kept out of their way and captured moments as they reminisced and interacted with people.
We took a few classic couple portrait shots, capturing their natural laughs as they chatted with each other.
Heading into the Dublin City was great fun to capture as people congratulated them as they walked by.
The John Kehoe was their local when they lived in the city. They asked to get some pictures by it and it was great fun to capture.
Walking around holding hands and laughing always leads to great moments between couples.
The Manager at the John Kehoe was amazing as he offered Nicola & Andy the chance to get a picture behind the bar
The Manager also gave them a free pint of Guinness, put chairs out the front and they got to enjoy a small moment being alone as I took a few pictures from across the street to capture these moments for them.
THE WESTBURY HOTEL WEDDING // DUBLIN // NICOLA & ANDY
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
KINNITTY CASTLE HOTEL WEDDING // BIRR // OFFALY // GRACE & JOHNNY
Myself and my husband asked Jamie to be our photographer for our big day and it’s safe to say it was the best decision we made in capturing every single aspect of our day!! He did exactly what was on the tin- every photo came out amazing which is a statement and a half! He captured the beauty of the venue, the joy our guests experienced sharing the day with us and the love my now husband and I share.
Jamie didn’t miss a beat on the day and I would highly recommend him for capturing the happiest day of your lives. He went above and beyond in every aspect!! Dedicated to the job is an understatement!! A top notch guy!!
– Grace & Johnny
Bride prep for Grace was at her parents home with the ones she loves.
I took this one as a bit of a laugh, as if Grace’s father and brother in law where part of the “Bride Squad”
I purposely stood here waiting for Grace to walk past all these pictures of her and her siblings and also her parents wedding photos. I Thought it was a nice way of showing alot of past as she walks towards her future!
Always love catching the reactions of the family as the Bride is seen for the first time.
Groom Prep
I didn’t realise till I turned up that Johnny was getting ready on his own at his flat. This was a moment he was trying to process everything before he started getting ready.
Johnny was wearing crocs all morning and I really wanted to get them in a shot whilst he was putting his new wedding shoes on.
It’s a bit of a cliche shot this one, but anytime you have nice natural light coming through a window, the classic looking out shot isn’t a bad one to have. This was probably the only time I asked Johnny to do anything throughout the day.
Ceremony at Kinnity Castle
Johnny really was finding the whole ceremony hard, he really struggled to smile and even look at anyone.
Grace on the other hand couldn’t stop smiling. I took an opportunity to nip in and get a close up here.
I do love getting in close to faces, but sometimes they need context and this shot was a way of showing Johnny’s stern nerves as Grace walked in.
Kinnity Castle was a great venue and always a classic shot to get the couple out the front of a venue. Just after the ceremony is great for reactions between the couples like this moment.
Walking back down the aisle hand in hand is always another classic shot for the couple, but not always easy as you need to focus and compose whilst walking backwards!
Speeches
Speeches are one of my favourite parts to capture from a wedding day, there’s always such great emotions from everyone!
I always like to include more than just those at the head table in a few shots.
Sometimes reactions can be very subtle but show alot. You could see the love from Johnny’s mother in this fleeting moment.
Catching Grace in a full on laugh was great, but i was trying to add something to the picture here by shooting through some fairy lights that were on a balcony.
This picture might not mean much to most people, but to Grace and Johnny it means alot. This was the end of a silly anecdote Johnny was retelling about their relationship together.
People
I love catching groups of people together.
At the time it can be a throw away moment in time.
But these are the kind of pictures that years down the road are so interesting.
I love this one in particular from the day. It was inbetween some formal family pictures that there was some great moments.
I shot this one as to make it feel as if you’re there at the table congratulating Grace & Johnny.
Then there’s fun moments when there’s alot going on that are so fun to capture.
Portrait Session
If you had seen me taking this picture you wouldn’t think this would come from it. This was a stylistic choice where I wanted to highlight the interaction between Grace & Johnny.
A short walk from Kinnity Castle are some great woods. The sun was beaming in and creating some lovely light.
There was alot more captured than the few pictures you see here. This one was just a nice moment as they walked around exploring.
Party
First dance is easy to focus on the couple dancing, but I love catching peoples reactions also.
This was a fun cake cutting, they were given this sword to cut with!
This was a fun game where Grace was behind the curtain using her hands to control Johnny. I got in close to show the confusion on Johnny’s face while his brothers laugh their heads off in the background!
The stage lighting was causing some crazy colours on Johnny’s brother as he held up the curtain. I used this to frame the guests laughing at the entertainment.
Reliving some funny moments really made this guest laugh!
Here I stood behind the band to give some context to what the guests are singing and dancing to.
Wedding // Kinnitty Castle Hotel // Birr // Offaly // Grace & Johnny
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
The world’s been turned upside down and arranging a wedding during a pandemic isn’t easy. Here’s the latest guidance and how I want to help you. – Updated 03/11/20
Latest Coronavirus and Wedding Guidance for Ireland – Update 03/11/20
With the ongoing Coronavirus and weddings battle the Irish Government released its Plan for living with Covid. This has a 5 level roadmap which includes specific information for weddings. As of it’s release Ireland is at level 5.
Before at level 2 meant you could have up to 50 people in attendance, which includes the couple and staff. Originally a move to level 4 & 5 meant only 6 guests, as of 21st October though the Government has given special exemption to weddings. Instead of 6, you can now have 25 guests. This number doesn’t include the couple getting married and the suppliers, so that’s 25 actual guests you can invite. Also before the changes only the couple could travel to a different county to get married with guests not being allowed to do so. The update also means guests can travel outside their county to attend the wedding.
Other points to notice are –
Overnight accommodation is permitted as well for the couple and 25 guests
Wedding suppliers are allowed to travel to the wedding venue
No music and dancing are allowed
Hair & Make-up services aren’t permitted at venue or home
Weddings must finish at 11pm with everyone vacated the reception space by 11.30pm
Restrictions to last 6 weeks until 2nd December, although there will be a review after 4 weeks.
Social distancing guidelines and health protection protocols are in place and these will affect how your day will be celebrated. Another area to look at is the guidelines for the hospitality industry released by Failte Ireland. These have specific recommendations for weddings also.
Here is a quick guide to show the amount of guests depending on the Covid Level –
Guests
Travel restrictions
Level 1
Up to 100 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
No Travel Restrictions
Level 2
Up to 50 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
No Travel Restrictions
Level 3
Up to 25 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
Can travel outside county to attend wedding.
Level 4
Up to 25 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
Can travel outside county to attend wedding.
Level 5
Up to 25 guests for wedding ceremony and reception.
Can travel outside county to attend wedding.
Failte Ireland Hospitality Industry Guidelines
Under Government Public Health Advice there can be a maximum of 50 people in the function area including employees.
The function area must be self-contained and only one function per area / room.
Businesses must follow updated Public Health advice to ensure that all wedding guests leave the function/bar areas by 11.30pm. Public Health advice states that these areas should be cleared of all guests by 11.30pm. However, this does not include staff members who will carry out closing procedures.
Face coverings should be worn by employees in customer facing roles where no other protective measures are in place e.g. protective screens and where physical distancing of 2 metres* is not possible.
Face coverings should also be worn by guests when arriving to and leaving their table.
On Arrival
Where possible, guests must be directed to enter and exit through separate doors that are automated or manually operated by an employee. Doors may be propped open if fire regulations allow.
Hand sanitisers (including touchless dispensers where possible) must be readily available at each access point. These must have a minimum alcohol content of 60%. Signage must encourage all guests to use this when they enter and leave.
Prominent signage must explain current physical distancing practices. This must be accompanied by clear and visible markings that illustrate the safe distancing protocol.
Drinks Reception
Service stations must use physical distancing queuing systems.
Tea/coffee/drinks and canapé stations must be managed by service personnel. There must be no self-service stations. Canapés must be in individual portions.
Remove as much loose furniture (e.g. sofas, etc.) from the room to ensure maximum space for physical distancing.
Dinner Reception
Entrance doors should be opened whilst guests are entering the dining area.
Review the seating capacities to meet the current physical distancing guidance. There must be adequate spacing between customers at each table in accordance with Government physical distancing guidelines.
Hand sanitisers (including touchless dispensers where possible) must be readily available. Consider providing hand sanitiser on each table. These must have a minimum alcohol content of 60%. Signage must encourage all guests to use this when they enter and leave.
Management must ensure appropriate signage is in place to welcome guests and reassure them that employees have been trained in line with the Government’s Public Health advice.
There must be no shared items at the table. Instead:
Water jugs must be poured by service personnel only.
Salt and pepper shakers, butter dishes should be available only on request.
Instead each guest should be given individual portions/sachets.
For the meal service:
Face coverings should be worn by staff during the service of the meal
There must be no family-style service of food (i.e. no shared vegetable/gravy dishes, etc.).
Wedding afters must be served directly to each guest fully plated.
Ensuring distancing on the dance floors:
Signage on tables and dance floors must ask guests to respect physical distancing guidelines.
Employees must monitor and manage distancing.
Additional Considerations
All third-party suppliers must ensure they adhere to the Governments Public Health advice.
Multiple gatherings are allowed in venue facilities provided they are in separate defined spaces and there are systems to prevent intermingling in common spaces (e.g. entrances, exits and toilet facilities).
Limit the number of service personnel per group of guests to the smallest number that is practical.
Where at all practical, service personnel should provide services to only one gathering and should not move between multiple gatherings in different venue locations.
Where possible, facilities such as toilets should not be used simultaneously by multiple gatherings. However if they are cleaned in between usage, they may be used separately by different gatherings, within the same time period.
To view Government Public Health measures currently in place, click HERE
Coronavirus & How I Want To Help
The issue for alot of people I have spoken to is that of the unknown. Even though we have these mid-term guidelines, it doesn’t mean that anyone can plan for the real wedding they want. It might be you have to or want to postpone the wedding to another date, so you can have all those you love there for the big day.
It would be a shame that you can’t have the day you want because you’re locked into using a particular venue date, or you lose money because a supplier isn’t willing to work with you. Not only can these things result in losing money and frustration but also a bad taste in your mouth about how a supplier has dealt with you.
Because of this and because I really want you to really enjoy your day I have been following these principles –
Work with you rather than against you.
Be flexible with moving dates.
Issue refunds if I dont have a new date available.
Open to changing and tailoring to your photography needs if things suddenly change.
Ultimately I want you to know that I’ll do my best to look after you, help make arranging your wedding smoother and help you avoid unnecessary headaches!
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
Delightful Wedding at Fernhill House Hotel // Clonakilty // Cork // Fini & Harley
What a great photographer. He truly cared to make our Wedding Special. We got some stunning photos and he was even willing to stay past sunset and get some awesome night shots. He really knows how to capture natural moments. He really knows how to frame a shot and gives clear direction at times and other times he let’s you forget he’s even there. Thank you for everything you did for us to make the occasion one we can remember for a lifetime – Harley & Fini
Bride prep for Fini was happening in her hotel room at the venue at Fernhill House Hotel.
Her sisters were coming and going. They were all enjoying the build up to the day.
It isn’t often I ask anyone to do anything, but the way Fini happened to be standing, talking to her family with the beautiful soft light coming through the window, it was too much to pass up a great portrait shot. All it took from me was to ask her to turn her head!
After a while everyone forgets I’m there. They become themselves and this is when I love capturing these small moments
Groom Prep at Fernhill House Hotel
Harley is someone who likes to joke around, so it was great to capture him doing some random things!
To me the most mundane things can be really interesting when you look back on them. Even a bit of ironing can bring back some memories!
Wedding of Fini & Harley. Ceremony at Fernhill House,,Clonakilty,Cork,Ireland,.
Reception at
,,,Cork,,
The energy started to change the nearer Harley got to seeing Fini. It wasn’t going to be long before they met for the big reveal..
Reveal & Portrait Session at Fernhill House Hotel Gardens
There was a lovely bamboo corridor that Harley waited for Fini along….
Fini excitedly headed down…
Even though the reveal is something set-up, the reactions you get are sooo real!
Even after the initial reveal, the energy and moments don’t stop.
Simple things like holding hands and just walking can be a joy to capture.
Fini & Harley were real naturals when it came to just showing affection to each other. I didn’t do anything to make this happen other than to just tell them to face each other.
It’s the moments inbetween that are really worth capturing, I can’t let my guard drop for any moment!
The gardens at the Fernhill House Hotel provided alot of variety and beautiful places to take images.
Getting in really close can help convey those moments
The gardens are set lower down the hill than the hotel, so I headed back up to really show the beauty of Clonakilty. Because everything is so green, Fini & Harley really stood out even being so small in the photo, add in an exaggerated kiss and voila!
Pre Ceremony at Fernhill House Hotel
Being that Fini & Harley did a reveal before the Ceremony, they wanted to just hang out before they tied the knot
It might look staged but all I did was be patient and let this moment happen naturally.
I love taking pictures of people taking pictures, especially when they’re messing around having fun. It’s great because they’re going to have 2 photos of this moment. This one and the one they were taking on the phone. 2 perspectives of the same moment.
I think it helps to show context to an image. I could have just taken a picture of Fini & Harley without anyone in the image, but that doesn’t show the full story. The fact they were in their own world with others around them shows how much love they have.
Ceremony & First Dance at Fernhill House Hotel
There was only one bridesmaid and she had to be told what to do!
The ceremony is all about the tiny interactions. Those tiny moments of eye contact…
Also the caring moments…
Don’t forget about the laughs!
Fini & Harley weren’t having a big party later in the evening, so they wanted to do the first dance straight after the ceremony.
There’s no rules to how you plan your wedding day. Fini & Harley definitely didn’t go “conventional” and that made it so much more fun!
Looking over peoples shoulders is one of my favourite ways to take a shot. It makes you feel like you’re actually there with everyone enjoying the moment.
I wouldn’t be a fan of the selfie stick myself, but Harley is and it was good fun to use!
People
Taking pictures of guests is part of what I love. Particularly scenes when there’s just people conversing in different groups and different things going on. I think these are great ones to look back on years down the line.
I’m proud to say I won an award for this one from Ninedots which is awarded by top wedding photographers. A quick moment that was a blink and you miss it where the bridesmaid was jumping and the guest joined in. I managed to capture this with them both in mid-air and a great expression on the young girl.
This was just before the ceremony whilst waiting to go down to the marquee. I love how Harley and Fini are so happy whilst their friends are quite the opposite.
After the ceremony and everyone’s mingling, there’s always different things going on.
Love this one. A great smile by Fini’s sister whilst the bridesmaid gets taken for a ride.
I wouldn’t consider this anything special, but it’s a moment in time that later down the years will bring back memories from a point later in the day as things were winding down.
Evening Portrait Session at Fernhill House Hotel Gardens
Even though it was raining and cold outside, Fini & Harley wanted some evening portraits taken.
Using the lampost for the only source of light I just asked them to lean against it and look at each other. Love does the rest!
Even though I did bring out my flash and we took some other shots, using the lampost were my favourite shots. It wasn’t a picture I had in mind to take before we went down there, I just saw it and thought it had to be used.
Wedding // Fernhill House Hotel // Clonakilty // Cork // Fini & Harley
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
Wedding photography isn’t a priority when it comes to your budget, so when uncle Dave offers to take wedding photos for you it seems like an ideal way to save some money…or is it?
Before we get into the details, let me make it clear that I’m not going to say you should let him take photos or not. Not everyone can afford a wedding photographer so uncle Dave is actually better than nothing. So if it comes down to you having any pictures or not, then go get uncle Dave signed up asap!
Uncle Dave & The Danger Of Letting Him Take Wedding Photos
If you have got it in your budget to get a wedding photographer, but think it’s worth getting uncle Dave to do the photos so you can reallocate the photographer budget to something else, don’t think photos are that important, then that’s the time to really have a hard think about things.
As I mentioned in my post about “why is wedding photography so expensive” the value of a good wedding photographer isn’t seen till after the wedding. By then it’s too late to go back and change things.
The wedding day does only last a day, but the memories you want to last forever.
Uncle Dave could actually be a good photographer, have a good camera, good lenses etc, but experience and craft are really the main attributes you should look for when getting anyone to take your wedding photos.
Being family or a close friend then it’s also easy for them to take their eye off the ball. They’re there as a guest really and so will have that focus about the day. They would rather be by the bar talking to old friends and family than making sure they get your day documented.
I’ve seen a variety of outcomes with letting a non-professional take the photos. In one or two cases I’ve actually been really impressed with how good the photos have come out. But let’s get it clear when I say “impressed” I really mean “Didn’t mess up”. But to be honest more often than not, the couple are disappointed by the photos they, eventually, get.
That’s the other part to this decision, don’t expect to get the pictures anytime soon. It can take, and I mean literally, years to get the photos. In the case of one of the couples who were happy with their wedding photos from a family relative, it took 3 years to get them.
Another thing to keep in mind is what happens if Uncle Dave’s memory card fails, breaks his camera or just completely loses the photos? These things can happen to even a professional, but for a professional having backups is part of their process. (Read more about keeping your photos safe)
The Other Real Option To Take Wedding Photos
The other option for those who don’t have the budget to pay a full blown, hundreds of weddings under the belt, professional photographer is to find someone who’s starting out.
I got my first wedding gig by offering my services to a friend. He was doing the wedding on a shoestring, I wanted to help him out and so shot his wedding. Before that wedding I really wasn’t interested in making this a living, landscape photography was my thing – It meant I went to awesome places and didn’t have to deal with people! It was by doing that wedding I actually realised wedding photography could be an option for me.
There’s always people starting out in a profession that need a few breaks and are willing to do things for cheap or even free, and for a couple that don’t have a budget it’s a winning combination.
Keep in mind though that for someone starting out, they too likely don’t have the equipment they really need, the experience and especially the craft. But what you would gain from them over uncle Dave would be raw passion, eagerness and a mindset about actually photographing your day rather than propping up the bar.
Should you bite the bullet?
If you have the budget then yes, definitely. With a professional you are really paying for a guarantee. A guarantee you get what you’re after, when you want it, high quality, minimal fuss, no excuses and a great attitude.
Anything other than a professional then you have to compromise somewhere. But that’s your choice to make.
Remember the food will be finished before the day is gone, the reception will be empty by the end of the night, the flowers will be dead by the end of the week, but the photos will be there forever.
Aimée and Robert’s wedding day at Cashel Palace in Tipperary, Ireland was a joyous and unforgettable occasion. The bride got ready surrounded by her bridesmaids…
- My Real Name Is James - Award Winning Documentary Wedding Photography Limerick Ireland -
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
