Documentary Wedding Photography For Couples Who Embrace The Perfectly Imperfect
Covering Meath, Cavan, Dublin And All Across Ireland
Hello you awesome people…
Feel free to check out some of the awesome weddings I’ve had the absolute honour of capturing for some amazing couples but if you don’t have the time or patience ha you can check out my portfolio here.
Let’s work together.
Like every wedding photographer on the planet this is what we live for and if we could we would shoot weddings 365 days a year but that’s physically impossible. So if you think I'm the one for you don’t delay and ensure your date is available as space is limited. Instagram or Facebook will be the quickest response but for booking please fill in the form from the link below and check your spam cos your reply could end up there, I'm so excited to see what we can create together.
Rathsallagh House Wedding Photographer
I loved being a Rathsallagh house wedding photographer. It’s one of my favourite venues I’ve photographed at in 2024 having the privilege of traveling up and down Ireland for weddings this year. Here are some images from Ais & Petes awesome day back in September. The day full of emotion, colour and even their dog turned up for a couple of snaps. With family and friends at the heart of everything they planned that was evident in the atmosphere throughout the day with all the hugs, inside jokes and a few tears here and there.
As a documentary wicklow wedding photographer, I was excited for this one as it was the first time I got to be at Rathsallagh house. Winning the wedding suppliers country house venue of the year for a second year in a row they really know how to run a wedding. located in Ireland just south of Dublin ( 55 mins Dublin Airport) on the Kildare Wicklow border, Rathsallagh is closed exclusively to couple’s on their wedding Day. with fantastic fantastic scenery to enjoy, the wonderful facilities and the great location Rathsallagh has to offer with 270 acres of Parkland and Walled Gardens.
They have been hosting wedding parties for almost 30 years now and their experience in that regard is hard to surpass. They can comfortably seat from 50 up to 250 guests . Smaller Weddings are a speciality at Rathsallagh as it is set up to provide a soft romantic setting with lots of candles and garden flower arrangements provided at no extra charge. Because you have exclusive use of the estate on your big day , Rathsallagh is considered to be one of Ireland’s more unusual and exclusive wedding venues. and no detail is over looked by the team.
Thank you so much to Ais & Pete for having me along for the ride and what a day it was!! enjoy the images below and if you’re planning to have your wedding at Rathsallagh and need a wicklow wedding photographer who will just let you enjoy your day and capture awesome wedding photos that don’t need to be set up then contact me HERE for availability
Why I Photograph Close up To Get The Images You’ll Love
Castleknock Hotel Wedding - Fujifilm XT-5 + Xf 18mm 1.4
There is a famous quote in the photography world - “If your photos aren’t good enough you’re not close enough” by the legendary and often mythologised war photographer and founder of Magnum Photo Agency - Robert Capa
When I first picked up a camera I always wanted my images to be about something instead of just something. When starting out I would photograph landscapes, you know churches, ruins, Poolbeg (if you don’t know Poolbeg is the famous red and white chimney stacks located on the south side of Dublin City). But this didn’t or couldn’t hold my attention cos it’s not what drove me. As a documentary Cavan wedding photographer I quickly realised why that didn’t hit me as a creative the way I wanted it to. I wanted to be know for something more, to give people something they could cherish to leave something behind and in those first few weddings I felt I was always holding back, like I was shooting the wedding from the outside. Now my coupes loved their photos and I did a good job but I wanted more from me as a photographer and I think that comes deep from my childhood more likely my teenage years into my 20s when I just wanted more from my life. My expectation of myself is always so high and sometimes Kerri (my better half) has to be the voice of reason for me, but for me I always have to be better not only for me but for my couples the ones who put their trust in me.
Dublin City Hall Wedding - XT-3 +Xf 18mm 1.4
My favourite lens I’ve owned as a documentary wedding photographer is the fujifilm Xf 18mm 1.4. This lens changed everything for me. It’s the equivalent of a 28mm focal length in full frame terms and to the non photography folk thats kinda like the 1.2x on your iPhone. So why 28mm ? This lens made me realised I needed to get closer to my subjects to be able to make people feel like they were back there at the moment of the photo, to get more of the story in the frame but also allowing me to crop if I needed to. whats out of the frame is sometimes as important as whats in the frame. As my mentor Phil Salisbury says crop it until you think you’re right and crop it some more. If you want to see more how I approach your wedding day then click here. The couples I tend to attract are people who love photos but hate posing. Fun Couples who want to do things differently like Suzanne & Ross’ crazy fun wedding in The Medley in Dublin on new years eve. For couples that look for timeless, moment driven photos that can be passed down to future generations.
Shoot How It Feels, Not How It Looks
This is so important to me as a Cavan wedding photographer. That myself and my couples are on the same page. If you want me to have you posed in every nook and cranny in your wedding venue you then I might not be the photographer for you. Now don’t get me wrong I will do some portraits I’ll always take my couples on a wander around the venue just a quick 10-15min break from the chaos but what want for my couples is for the in between moments to become their new favourite memories. That’s what drives me thats what I want my wedding photography remembered for.
Marlfield House Wedding - Fujifilm XT-5 + Xf 18mm 1.4
Like this tender moment between between Megan and her mom in one room and her sister Amy getting her make-up done in the adjacent room. for context as a wexford wedding photographer I’m backed right up against the wall in the hallway with the two rooms split by the door frame. Patiently waiting for things to line up and sometimes thats all you need to do as a moment driven photographer is to wait and let it unfold in front of you and thankfully thats what happened here. It doesn’t always pan out but thats ok the more you do this the more you'll see the moments that your couples will come to love. thank you for reading this far and enjoy a few more images
Like What You See? Click Below And Let’s Chat About Your Wedding plans
Wedding Planning Tips 2024 - Pt1
Planning a wedding will be one of the most exciting times in your life. You are planning to celebrate your love with all your favourite people, HOW AMAZING!!! but it can be stressful and worrying if you don’t keep on top of things. The biggest strain to couples is over-spending and time running away on them, you know how it is you blink and 6 months have passed but don’t worry it’s gonna all work and out and its going out be awesome!!!
You’ve popped the question, they’ve said yes so what now??
Pick Your Venue.
I would say that the very first thing to do is settle on your venue. Now, I don’t mean, rush off and view that place you’ve been ogling on Instagram, booking it on the spot and figuring out the details later. Before that, you really need to get clear on what you want from a venue. Yes, the heart element should be strong in this decision, but you should try to let your head take the lead on it. A venue is so much more than a famous view and cool chairs. It has to function the way you need it to and have people running it who will make your life easy and your wedding day seamless. Do you want a “traditional” church wedding? Do you want a humanist ceremony? An all in one from a hotel ? Or do you want the very popular city hall and a restaurant for the reception, these will all factor in the timeline for your wedding. Once you have a date secured with your venue, then book your key suppliers, having ensured that the date you’ve chosen is going to give you enough time to lock in the vendors you really want and to be able to comfortably afford your dream day.
2. Create A Timeline.
Create a detailed planning timeline as soon as possible. Including every single thing that is needed to make the wedding happen in the way that you want it. Everything from chasing RSVPs, to choosing the first dance song, to picking suits, hairdressers to flowers to should get a week on the calendar, and this way, broken down into a task or two a week, it shouldn’t seem so daunting. Delegate the responsibilities between both yourselves and people who are willing to help out.
If like me you are a fan of a techy solution, here’s some apps to help you on your way
Postable - for collection addresses for invitations
Top Table Planner - for designing your table plan
Appy Couple - for keeping your guests up to date
Spotify - hear a banger on the radio that you know will have people up dancing save it to a playlist and send it to your DJ
Wedding Snap - Collecting Guests' Photographs you can never have too many eyes on a wedding day your photographer can’t be every where all at once so getting your guests to upload their pics helps - bonus its a free content creator ha
Tripit - For planning that perfect honeymoon
3. Research Your Vendors.
The best way to find vendors that you really vibe with is to go on a social media deep dive. Find a local vendor you like a lot and follow them online to get a sense of their personality and who they are as a person and business. they are the people you will likely spend the most time with on a wedding day so not only do they have to be good at what they do, you have to like them as a person
My advice is to pick your top 5 vendors in each area and go down the list from 1-5 ie top 5 photographers top 5 Make up artists etc this way you will end up with vendors you love.