sneak peak of Gill & Jason's Wicklow engagement shoot

Here's a little sneak peak of Gill and Jason's sweet engagement shoot in the woods of County Wicklow yesterday evening. These pictures are from Trooperstown Forest near Laragh, and there are more shots to follow this week from Glendalough. Enjoy!




 

emily's communion in Kill, County Kildare

Emily made her first holy communion in Kill, County Kildare recently. They had a beautiful ceremony in the church, complete with one of the teachers accompanying their singing on the guitar. And isn't Emily's dress beautiful? Irish designer Aideen Cross, based out of Rathangan County Kildare hand-made the dress. Such lovely details! It was a great opportunity for Emily to get lovely photos that she'll treasure for a lifetime.









 

meet Mary and David who won the engagement shoot contest! Coole Park, Gort, Co Galway

On a really rainy Sunday morning recently, I got to meet a sweet couple who won my first contest for a free engagement shoot. Mary and David live in Galway, and I was able to meet up with them at the famous Coole Park in Gort, County Galway. As you may know, Coole Park was once the home of Lady Gregory, co-founder of the historic Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Literary luminaries of the day such as George Bernard Shaw and W. B. Yeats to visit here and even signed their names on The Autograph Tree (of which you can see in the background of the above shot).





Mary's sister Katherine had entered her in the contest, and I hope she is happy with her engagement shoot. I wish Mary and David all the best for their upcoming wedding in Castlebar, County Mayo! Can't wait to see your pictures!
The full gallery of photos can be seen here.
 

our etsy ireland shoot featured on US blog Borrowed and Bleu!

 

A big thank you to US blog Borrowed & Bleu which featured our Etsy Ireland photoshoot at Burtown House. See the feature here

little sneak peek of the engagement shoot that was won in my first contest... at Coole Park, County Galway

Just a little sneak peek of the engagement shoot that I did in Coole Park recently. They had won the shoot in a contest I had a couple of months ago. More to come next week...

fun photographs of a little actor and his family at his communion in county clare

This little guy celebrated his first communion in County Clare recently. A communion is a great time to have a professional photographer get some portraits of the family. Everyone in the family is dressed up and everyone is together having a nice, relaxed time.

I love the little boy's expressions! He takes acting classes, can't you tell? And I loved getting some portraits of his supremely stylish family in their beautiful new home. Thank you everyone for letting me join in on your celebration!

US blog DIY BRIDE features its first Irish wedding...Fidelma and Dan's Dublin wedding at Stephen's Green Hibernian Club

 

Thrilled that the original DIY wedding blog from the US, DIY BRIDE featured Fidelma and Dan's Dublin wedding. It was the first Irish wedding to feature on DIY Bride! Fidelma and Dan's wedding had lots of cute DIY elements like the cute little cow table seat chart, the Mass Cards made by Dan on Microsoft Publisher and sealed with wax by Fidelma, and the cake which was made by Fidelma and her bridesmaid. See the original blog post here then head over to DIY BRIDE here and leave some comments!

  

tanja and wesley's barberstown castle wedding in the new summer issue of B Magazine Ireland!

I'm so excited that beautiful Irish brides magazine B Magazine has published Tanja and Wesley's Barberstown Castle wedding as one of their exclusive Real Weddings. This was truly an inspiring wedding with beautiful flowers from The French Touch and couture dress from Kula Tsurdui

Thank you so much to B Magazine! This is a huge summer issue that can be picked up at most places where magazines are sold, or you can register for free on Weddings Online. They will send you an email confirmation which you can take to their registered supply agents to pick up your free issue.

Irish wedding blog One Fab Day features Claire and Cian's County Clare, Ireland engagement shoot

Claire and Cian's engagement session in Tulla and Quin County Clare were featured on One Fab Day. Thanks for sharing this cute session which included a cute puppy at the thatched roof cottage :) The original blog post is here.

you should let your photographer in the dressing room because the bridal preparation can be fun!

In my previous post, I illustrated the first reason you should let your photographer in for the getting-ready shots: the details. The second reason is because the getting-ready shots are a chance to have fun. Usually it's a bunch of girls in the room, and let's face it... we get giggly. Especially before a wedding! The getting-ready shots can be a lot of fun especially if there is some popping of champagne corks! Hopefully these inspiration boards from some former weddings that I've photographed, provide inspiration for your own bridal preparation shots. Have fun with your photographer! I'm sure you've been practising your poses in the mirror since you were young :)

why should I let my photographer in the room with me while getting ready?

Some people may be used to the idea of a more traditional photographer who only takes photographs during the ceremony and a bit after. However, today many prefer a more contemporary style of photography where the photographer is there all day, including the getting-ready shots of the bride and/or groom. Believe me, you will want your photographer to get all kinds of beautiful artistic shots of all of the details you laboured months over to plan. And before the ceremony starts is the best time to get these. With these details shots in mind, I've made a couple inspiration boards from some weddings that I've photographed. I will add some more this week as a theme of getting-ready shots from the bride's room and the groom's room. I love getting these kinds of shots!

Imelda and Dave's Cavan Castle wedding on UK blog Only Gorgeous Weddings!

Imelda and Dave's Cavan Castle wedding was featured last week on Only Gorgeous Weddings.
Sarah used to have a blog called Not So Witty Witterings, and she just debuted her new wedding blog last week. She has some seriously gorgeous inspiration for all of you!
The full blog post I originally did is here

resurrecting the first wedding i ever photographed in Ireland....

I thought it would be fun to resurrect the first wedding I ever photographed in Ireland. What strikes me about this wedding is that it is so timeless. A lesson to couples everywhere. Even though the wedding was nearly five years ago, the photographs still look fresh. Partly because the bride was dressed simply and elegantly, and partly because I, as a photographer, wasn't dabbling too much in special colour effects and toning. I gave them their photographs in simple coulour, and black and white. Today I do experiment a bit with vintage toning, but not too much. I really think people will look back on the retro toning styles as dated and so 2010/2011!

 
 And wasn't it just my luck that it was an outdoor ceremony and it rained! It's a big risk to have a ceremony outside in Ireland, so make sure you're prepared with a marquee like this couple were at their family home.

They had converted an old granary on their property into a reception hall for the wedding. Fabulous!

And look how cute the little origami name plates are that the Japanese bride made. A beautiful, timeless wedding!