Wedding Photography for Keith & Ian Tankardstown House

Taste, elegance and style in every sense of each word, details in excess......

From the ultimate venue, to the sequenced boxers, everything was thought through. Yes some wait all of their lives for their day, for Ian & Keith though, finally they could take their vows legally in Ireland and they made sure that they did so in high class.

Arriving at the venue, I was greeted by both grooms, standing by the door they were the perfect hosts, greeting every guest personally and even helping carry bags to rooms.

The day was obviously going to be different from my norm, but I was super excited as today we were doing a first look. Both Ian & Keith would dress in seperate rooms off their suite and we would have the big reveal when they would first set eyes on one another. In that moment, those few seconds, I had a glimpse into their hearts, the joy, the happiness they both felt that this was their day and they truly deserved their day.

So to Ian & Keith I wish you many many more moments to set eyes upon one another and remember this moment, when looking into each others eyes brought tears of happiness.

All of my love and congratulations xxx

Quirky.... Inspired.... Original.... So many words....
 


 Within minutes of arriving I was so excited for the day ahead, a pageboy with converse, a completely individual dress, a flower girl with a quirky here comes the bride sign, so much to work with...








 And then came Michael Schumacher who was so kind to look after the veil for the couple of weeks prior to the wedding!



A school teacher with a dad who looked like he might possibly be the most intelligent person I have come across, Niamh is perfection, simple elegance through and through, she was so excited to be marrying her man of dreams that she had her special stash of tissues to hand all day.
 





 When the heavens opened upon exiting the church even the inches of rain couldnt dampen the mood, whilst sheltered indoors for the few minutes there was laughter and joy.

We enjoyed an afternoon of racing, girly twirls, jumping contests and I am sure after I left the fun just went on and on.





So to Niamh and Peter, the biggest few weeks of your lives have gone by, filled with sadness and joy, ups and downs. Those weeks have finished off making you man and wife and as you stood together before your wedding holding each other up, I hope you continue to do so for the rest of your lives, all of my love to you both and best wishes for your future xx

The Newest Addition - Wedding Memory Key

The sample memory key arrived this week.  In the moment I signed for it I never loved anybody more than I loved my postman!  As I tore open the package with anticipation I thought right I have gone crazy, this is what my life has come to, the best moment of my week, receiving a work sample haha.




I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.  In fact, I beamed all day long and thankfully it was not only me who was excited.  As I walked into the school yard I was collared by Susan, a recent bride who said Rachel, please can I have one, please? 







And after all that, here it is, make your own mind up about how crazy I am but I adore this!

Heather & Colin - Wedding Photography St. Marys Lucan and Leixlip Manor

 I was so excited about this wedding. As soon as Colin mentioned the yellow pick up truck I just thought, yes this is going to be fun.

As is the norm for me, whilst discussing the truck I mentioned to Colin that my dad bought his trucks through that garage and of course, yes there was some recognition there, I can't go anywhere...... 

Putting that aside and focussing on the day itself, entering the bridal suite this morning I was greeted by 3 gorgeous little girls and the handsome baby Conor. I love kids at weddings, they give so much opportunity for photographs and these ones certainly did not disappoint. From the gorgeous flowers in the girls hair to baby Conors smiling face these kiddies were the height of cuteness. Junior bridesmaid Emma really was sure she was the most beautiful girl in the world, but then Heather put on her dress and sure don't we all know, there is nothing in this world that makes a girl look so fabulous as the bridal glow, the glint in the eye, the excitement, the emotion and the months of planning coming into fruition and well, yes, Heather truly was absolutely stunning.
  Colin had an air of giddyness (if that is really a word) about him when I met him and the boys at the church. His eyes watered as he first saw his gorgeous daughter Rebecca but he held himself together like a true man and looked lovingly upon his bride walking down the aisle. The ceremony itself was a delight, the sly whispers here and there, the smiles and laughter, like little schoolkids messing when they weren't supposed to....
 
 I could not fault this pair in any way at all, having chosen my locality to celebrate their big day, St. Marys in Lucan village is a highly sought after church and the Leixlip Manor is a hidden gem with a very country chic feel about it. After an enjoyable day photographing Heather & Colin, or should I say, Mr & Mrs Fairbrother, I sat down to enjoy the most beautiful bowl of soup I have had in a long time which was presented perfectly in a bowl matching my first impressions of the Leixlip Manor house, country chic to the core......

Congratulations to both of you, I had a fantastic day with you and cannot wait to meet up very very soon to go over all of these gorgeous pics I have waiting for you.

Engagement shoots - wedding invitations featuring photography

I really do enjoy engagement shoots, I wish all brides would want an engagement shoot as it really gives time to bond and enjoy both that shoot and the wedding day.

Take Adel & Joe for example, I really love this couple, a word I do not use often but uber friendly!!!  Seriously!  We had so much fun getting the shots for the engagement shoot that when it came to the wedding day these guys were unbelievably comfortable, ready and willing for everything, even wanting more and more, as they had seen the results from a 30 minute session they were more than willing to give that little bit more time to me than usual on their wedding day.  In the end we had indoor pics, outdoor pics, bedroom pics, cake pics, gym pics, tonnes of pics which is JUST the way I like it!

Another option with engagement photos is to have personalised wedding invites made with them.  A simple relaxed photo with caption on a nice 6x4 card is an affordable way to invite guests to a wedding without having to spend a fortune.  Cards are often ordered as thank you cards with images on the front so why not invite cards too?  A set of 100 cards with white envelopes comes in at €120.

There is food for thought for you, speaking of food ........ brekkie!

Wedding Photography Blog - New found dedication

It is quite unfortunate that I do allow my blog to fall to the wayside from time to time - well no more I say!  Yes I do update daily on facebook but lets face it, facebook is not for everyone so for those of you who are not interested in social networking, I hereby promise to update regularly to the blog and feature weddings, thoughts, photos and so much more.

So from me to the world of internet - I apologise, this is it, I mean it now - HERE I AM, wedding photographer blogger extraordinaire!!!!!!

Different ideas for photography

Photos can be so much, a single photo can be so important to someone it might be the most valued thing they own!  I often think photography can be underappreciated, I don't mea that in a selfish way, I actually mean it.  We can do so much with photos, we can portray a feeling by capturing an image of a flower, we can remind someone of the emotion they felt on their wedding day by capturing that one stray tear or the huge bear hugs from friends but what else can we do.....

I love cuteness, I love attention to detail and ok, I may not be the most artistic person in the world but I have a terrible habit of making a fuss of family occasions.  It mainly began when my dear old dad ;) (dad I know you're not really old, sorry) turned 50, an uncle had written a poem about him years before and I decided to use it, I designed a folded card with old images and verses inside and left them at each table.  After that I decided, well I can do this more often, so I did it for another family friend, this time writing my own poem, then for my mam, then for my dads wedding blessing and so on and so on. 

Anyway, the point is, I have realised a simple and easy way to make the kids feel special, and here it is:

A personalised invite, designed by myself through photoshop and printed at the local photo lab giving me cost effective personalised invitations for my kids parties.

Happy Birthday Baby, love you lots and lots like jelly tots xxxxxx

Susan & Daniel - Army wedding at the Spa Hotel, Lucan - Wedding Photography

When Siobhan first contacted me I was already jealous, a bride who did not even have to arranger her own wedding as it was not Siobhan getting married but Susan, her sister.

Meeting the girls at the hotel to discuss how the day would go I was excited about it from the start, come on girls, you would all be excited to photograph an army wedding with guard of honour, i.e. hunky men in uniforms....

From the very start of the day I knew I was in for some fun, photographing the guys in the hotel getting ready I was in my element, this was my first army wedding and as I photographed the medals and patches on the uniform I was told what each stood for, also being informed that the best man would be the highest ranking soldier there, which worked great to my advantage! Why you ask? How much fun did I have photographing the guard of honour with the best man on my side shouting orders, the lads had to obey, standing to order on command. Pity though, no matter how much I asked they would not salute me, but salute Susan they did and sure why the hell not, from the moment she put her dress on she felt like a princess. Beaming ear to ear, this was her day, this was her dress and he was her man! So to Mr. & Mrs. Hooper, congratulations I wish you all the best in life, let every day be as happy as your wedding day xxx

Busy busy meee

Well here I am in the middle of my busiest week of the year and I am loving it.  I may be taking a little break to write this post but sure hey, we all deserve a break don't we!

Today, for the second time this week, I read a Jasmine Star blog, I am sorry but I will never be able to write the way this girl does, the words just flow so smoothly, everything seems so romantic.  I am what I am though, and I am loving it all.

On Sunday myself and the hubbie with kids in tow went to see the Entourage wedding band play locally in the afternoon.  Jenny really has some voice and as friends had seen us chat before the gig started many came over throughout to say what a superb voice she had with one even saying Rhianna couldn't sing that well!

Thanks to Jenny for giving a little speech on me during the gig too.

Yesterday I met with Danielle & Iain in Dublin city centre, Merrion Square to be exact.  They had a private ceremony in the local registry office and came down the street to meet me for a few pics afterwards.  As I stood there outside the park I was in excited beyond belief to see the married couple, I am usually there for the preperations, watching the nerves and this was my first time to actually meet the couple after the ceremony. 

As they got out of the car I could tell straight away both Danielle and Iain were thoroughly enjoying their day.  Carrying a cooler, Iain was well prepared with a bottle of champers to relax any nerves.

Although I had only arranged to photograph at the park when I heard the reception was to be held in the Anglers Rest in the Strawberry beds I had to go.  Growing up for me close by it was the cool place to be and over the last few years has undergone a huge makeover giving it a very quaint shabby chic feel to it. 

The newlyweds were completely relaxed enjoying the warm weather outside with their guests before the meal started and obliged me for some photographs upstairs too. 

As the saying goes, behind every good man...... well behind every good photographer there is a team of friends and family willing to help.  Not only are they willing to help with child minding and house cleaning  they are also all too often willing to listen to me ramble on about work, which I do you know, it is a personal obsession of mine, about cameras, about editing techniques, you name it.  I know deep down they really don't give a damn why I prefer to with no flash at times and with at other times but they listen anyway as they are genuinely happy for me and how my hard work over the last few years has brought me to this stage. 

So thanks to all of my friends for helping and all of my beautiful brides and grooms for allowing me to be a part of their day, here is to many more!

Glyder Live Rehearsal

So after a few weeks of wedding related work last night I got to let my hair down.  It has been a while since we visited all of our pals in Ballyknockan, fondly known as Ballyrockan because of the immense talent this tiny place has.

The new line up of Glyder put on a great show, their first live performance.  It was great meeting the new lads and hearing some of the oldies along with some new songs too. 

Just before the performance I took the lads outside for a couple of pics, we spent no more than 5 minutes, it hadn't been planned and time was tight so a few quick shots as a group and then inside to get rocking! 

I cannot wait for some more Glyder gigs and here is hoping this is the beginning of something special......