Riverbank Hotel Wedding

Mark and Linda are mates that I’ve been looking forward to photographing their wedding for a while now.

Preparations

My morning started at Linda’s family home where the girls were just finishing up with hair and makeup. Everyone was bustling around finishing up the final bits before the big event. It’s really easy to photograph a wedding when the bride is relaxed. I went through the usual routine of making sure I had the detail shots in the bag, so she could carry on getting ready without me getting in the way. I started with the dress, which we hung on the staircase as there were interesting light and shadows down the hallway. Next I position the shoes and flowers on the stairs which gave a nice contrast to the bright colourful flowers. Abigail, their little daughter was dressed up and looked adorable, so I got a few photos of her on the stairs. With her daddy being a photographer himself, she had plenty of time in front of the camera and knew how to work the extra cuteness. :)

Linda was helped into her dress by mum and the bridesmaids which gave me an opportunity to get some laughs and details shots of the dress being buttoned up.

It was time for me to go catch up with Mark and the lads at the church. St Mary’s church in Newbawn, Wexford was just up the road from the house where guests were slowly trickling in. Again the weather was great, if on the slightly chilly side, at least the sun was blazing. I know it sounds funny but you really have to think more when photographing a wedding in bright sunshine, as the light direction plays an important part that could make or break a photo. I usually prefer the sun behind my subjects as this lends a nice soft light on the face, making much more photogenic.

Aaron, their son had the job of pageboy and was diligently attending to his job of handing out the booklets for the ceremony.

The ceremony

The church was decked out in Christmas decoration, being the time of the year, so added a nice warmth and vibrancy to the interior.

I had just enough time to get some shots of Mark and his groomsmen before Linda arrived. Aaron greeted his mum with a big kiss good luck.

The ceremony was like most weddings in Ireland but kept slightly shorter.

With rings and vows exchanged the deal was sealed. The register signed, the last thing left to do before they exited the church to greet their guests was get a group photo of everyone in the church. I usually take one from the altar looking back at the congregation, as everyone is already seated, it just makes it a lot easier and efficient than photographing from the balcony.

Once everyone was greeted and congrats to the couple we made our way to the reception.

The reception

The Riverbank house hotel was the venue set on the banks of the River Slaney. On arrival, I suggested getting some of the outside photos out the way as the sun was already starting to dip. We started with photos overlooking the dock with the sun setting in the background, this gave a really Mediterranean feel and added a real warmth to the images.

Next up was some indoor photos, cake cuttings and lastly on to the family pics.

It was time to wrap up for the day as the dinner bell was about to sound. I stayed for dinner which was superb.

Linda is the chef at the hotel and chose the venue for it’s great quality of food and service.