With 2021 the weddings in Ireland were still going. They might have been smaller and shorter, but that didnt mean there was less love or fun!
A few of my highlights were the pre-wedding shoot in Achill (an amazing location with amazing people with amazing weather), a summer Dublin city wedding (Wandering around Stephens green with yet again great weather and great people), a garden wedding in Clare (chilled out countryside vibes!) and an Irish-Italian wedding in the scorching heat of Limerick City.
Here’s a selection of my best documentary wedding photography images from 2021
Roisin & Owen came together with friends and family at the amazing Langtons Hotel in Kilkenny. It’s a venue like no other with the ceremony taking place in the stunning theatre attached to the hotel! The day was full of fun and laughter along with the added fun of Roisin & Owen’s 1920s theme.
Documentary wedding photography meant Roisin & Owen were able to fully enjoy their day with friends and family and without the fuss of stopping and posing for photos.
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
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.
David wanted to propose to Olivia, and where better to do it than to fly from America to Ashford Caslte In Galway, Ireland! The grounds at Ashford Castle are beautiful and combined with some amazing weather, it was worth the effort! Here’s 10 photos from that session.
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
STUNNING ACHILL ISLAND ENGAGEMENT SHOOT // ASHLING & KYRAN
Even though they’d both grown up in Ireland, Ashling & Kyran met in Dubai after moving their for work. Over ten years later they wanted to come back to Ireland to start a new chapter in life together. Kyran had spent all his summers growing up on the beautiful Achill Island, Co. Mayo and had taken Ashling to visit whenever they’d come over to Ireland. When they mentioned they wanted to get some engagement pictures there, straight away I was up for it! We visited a few different locations on and around the island.
First of all was Keem Bay, which is a extremely popular place for tourists. Not only does it have a great beach looking over to the Mayo mountains, but also some amazing cliffs that are a short, but steep, walk up. Ashling & Kyran wanted to head up to the top of the cliffs, so that’s what we did! We then also visited a small harbour at Purteen and then onto Mulranny Beach which has some amazing large pink rocks!
Here’s 10 Great Tips To Help You Choose Your Wedding Photographer For Your Special Wedding Day.
10 Tips on what should you be look10 Great Tips On What You Should Be Looking For In A Wedding Photographer
Choosing the right wedding photographer can be a difficult task for many couples. There are so many options out there, and it is hard to know what you should be looking for in order to ensure that your photos will turn out beautifully. We have some tips below on what you should look for when choosing a wedding photographer, as well as advice on how to find one that is perfect for you!
1) Evaluate your budget
Wedding photographers can range in price from €500 to over €2000 for a single day of coverage. The more you are willing to spend the higher level photographer you will be able to book. Be sure that you know what is important for your wedding and how much money you have before booking an expensive professional.
2) Save your money.
Photography is an expensive investment, but it’s worth it to get the best possible pictures and memories. Finding the right photographer will only feel like a worthwhile investment after the wedding day. Only then can you really see the value they bring to capturing your memories.
3) What’s Your Priority?
-Think about how you want to spend your day. How much time are you really willing to give to the photographer? This will be linked in with the type of photography you want captured. For example a documentary photographer can be around all day and let you will forget he’s there, but a more traditional photographer may want to stop and pose you for many photos. Do you want a photographer for all your wedding day or do you just need one for the ceremony and reception area?
4) Do some research.
Find out what types of photographers interest you by looking at portfolios, reading reviews from their past clients, and talking with other married couple and learning from their experiences.
5) Ask for a portfolio.
A photographer’s work speaks volumes about the kind of pictures they produce and their style. Take time to look through it before you decide on who will capture your day!
6) What Type Of Photography Do You Like?
Take into account what you want from your photos: are you interested in traditional, posed shots or more candid ones? Do you want the real nitty gritty of the day captured, the good and bad? Your photographer can provide different services to meet your needs.
7) Talk with some photographers.
Once you have a few in mind, arrange to have a chat with them in person, on the phone, or with zoom. Book with a photographer that you feel most comfortable around. A good sign of this is if they are easy to communicate with and that their style matches what you are looking for in terms of photography.
8) Prepare a list of questions
Some things to talk about are how they will be able to capture the little moments and details? Can see more images? How do they like to work? Does their ethos fit in line with yours? How much do they charge? Do they offer payment plans or packages for weddings?
9) Gut Instinct
Trust your gut. If a photographer seems off or their work doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to move on and keep looking until you find the perfect match!
10) Don’t Be Pressured!
Do not feel pressured by anyone! It’s important that you are comfortable enough asking questions, not just about the photography side of things but also general chit chat to get to know them. Photographers come in all shapes and sizes, so be sure you’re meeting with someone who is a good fit for the style of photos that will best capture your day.
If the photographer is just pushing sales, then that’s a good sign they’re not looking out for your best interests.
There’s no one style of photography that will work best for every couple, but there are some things to consider when deciding who to hire. Finding the right wedding photographer for you is worth it! It’s hard sometimes because there are so many, but start early in the process, be patient and make sure you’re comfortable with whoever you choose.
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
It’s not for me to say if I am even a good wedding photographer, let alone the best wedding photographer in Limerick, but it’s nice when you’re work gets recognised and published in the Newspaper!
The Best Wedding Photographer In Limerick? Really??
To be honest i’m having a bit of fun with this. I’m telling you, categorically, that I’m not the best photographer in Limerick. There’s definitely more talented and more experienced wedding photographers out there than me. But let me blow my own trumpet for at least a few minutes and enjoy being featured in the local rag, the Limerick Leader.
This all started when I got a random phone call one afternoon from a chap at the Limerick Leader who had stumbled upon me. He explained they like to do a feature now and again with a local photographer, their back story and some of their favourite images. Being something like this doesn’t come along very often I was more than happy to put something together! Below are the pictures I wanted to highlight as my favourite and a bit of story behind them and me. Please enjoy!
J’aime Jamie’s eye for a photo
WHEN Jamie Gillies first got into photography he thought the last thing he wanted to do was deal with people and photograph a wedding. It is now his passion. “Unposed, modern and creative documentary wedding photography,” is how the Carrigkerry based Englishman describes himself.
Jamie was born and raised in a little town in Kent called Dymchurch – home to the world’s smallest public railway. “I’ve always had an interest in photography but never took it seriously until I visited the highlands of Scotland in 2015 and was blown away by how beautiful it was. I found that the pictures I took didn’t do it justice and then before I knew it I was out catching the sunrise or sunset in many places around the UK learning landscape photography.”
Jamie said he really enjoyed landscape photography. “The last thing I wanted to do was deal with people and photograph a wedding, how wrong I was! My friend was getting married and didn’t have a wedding photographer so I offered to do it, loved it and now haven’t looked back.
“As a Jehovah’s Witness a bigger love I have though is in teaching people about the future that the Bible reveals to us. I moved over to Ireland 18 months ago to help the congregation in Newcastle West and ended up marrying a Limerick girl who I’ve known for over 10 years!”
The question we have asked all participants in this series is their opinion on what makes a good photographer? “When I analyse my own photography the thing that I keep coming back to is trying to let go of my fears. To not be scared to try new things, to not worry about what other people think, to get in closer, to not feel bad about standing in someone’s way and not be constrained by tradition. “So essentially what I’m saying is a good photographer is one that doesn’t stand still, is always learning, always trying and doesn’t stop.”
Ballybunion, Kerry, Ireland.
Ireland is honestly so beautiful when it comes to people and the landscapes. Ballybunion isn’t far from me and over the summer I went down one lovely evening with my wife. The camera is more of a reason to get out of the house than to come away with a great picture and it forces me to just slow down and really take in what I’m experiencing. Just after the sunset you can get some amazing colours and combined with a long exposure to really slow down the moving waves of the sea. This picture conveys how I felt that evening – calm, relaxed and happy.
Camber Sands, East Sussex, England.
Before I started wedding photography I was really enjoying landscapes. I chose this picture as it reminds me of home back in England where all my family are and who I haven’t been able to see for over a year now. My parents have this one hanging up in their kitchen. It’s also the first picture I took as part of a vlog I did on YouTube (Click here to watch it!).
Landscape photography has been heavily about finding a composition and waiting for the light to come which has heavily influenced my wedding photography. This shot involved getting up for a 7am sunrise that didn’t happen because there was so much cloud, but I waited and waited and was rewarded by the sun shooting through.
Marousjka & Nikki
Maroesjka and Nikki did things a bit different on their wedding day. They wanted to do all the family and group pictures before the ceremony at the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Dublin. Because of this we did a reveal where they saw each other for the first time which was really lovely. After the family pictures I followed them wandering around the gardens to take their couple portraits. One space we entered had some fairy lights hanging up and I shot away as they were laughing and enjoying their time together resulting in one of my favourites from their wedding. Must also be one of Maroesjka’s favourites as she has it as her WhatsApp profile pic!
Robert & Tamara
This was the most recent wedding I shot and it was reduced to six guests. That didn’t stop Robert and Tamara finding a way to still include all their loved ones over Zoom. Throughout the ceremony they had over 200 Zoom participants join in from all over the world which was amazing! Later on they and their close family and friends joined Zoom again for speeches and a few little party games. Zoom made the day so much more and I wanted to capture a shot that showed that.
Robert and Tamara played a game where they sat back to back, they were asked questions like “who’s the messiest?” and then raised the shoe of the person the question applied to causing everyone to laugh. This was again a way of finding the composition and waiting, this time for the right moment when Robert’s arm is raised and everyone on the screen is laughing.
Ian & Amy
In the build up to the dancing at Ian and Amy’s wedding, a father and his young daughter were just dancing away by themselves. When I’m capturing these kinds of moments I do love to try and make them something more and to do that means finding a good composition, foreseeing what can happen and waiting for the exact moment.
A lot of people were just sitting on the edge of the dance floor chatting to each other, so I used these two gentlemen as they were engrossed in conversation as a way to frame the dancers on the floor, waited for the father and his daughter to twirl into the middle of the frame and then took the shot.
Grace & Johnny
Family and group portraits aren’t my favourite things to photograph to be honest, but they are a great opportunity to capture some real candid moments.
Before leaving for the ceremony Grace wanted to get some family pictures with her grandad who wasn’t able to attend the wedding. In the moments between taking the family pictures are when the nice interactions happen and this was a great moment. I love pictures when there’s many things going on at once, but also added in is the compositional balance of an “M” shape.
Recently this shot came in the top 10 of the MyWed.Com Award 2020 category!
- 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.