Elaine and Michael

What I’m about to say may well come back to bite me – but I’m going to say it anyway. I think I may well be one of the luckiest wedding photographers out there. I’m not quite sure what I’ve done to deserve it but I seem to be blessed when it comes to shooting weddings. More often than not I’ll get decent weather (I could count on one hand the number of wet weddings I’ve shot), get to shoot in beautiful churches and hotels with stunning interiors and have a lovely brides and grooms who are laid back and willing to let me approach the day with an open mind and creativity. When you get all of that along with a glamourous bride and handsome groom whom you couldn’t take a bad picture of if you tried then you know you’ve hit the jackpot.

I had this very scenario when I got to shoot Elaine and Michael’s wedding at the Wineport Lodge in Athlone. As I arrived at the Wineport that morning is was bitterly cold with frost on the ground and still some ice floating on the lake from the cold night before. The cold temperature however was totally bearable because it one of those really beautiful winter days with a perfect stillness in the air and clear deep blue skies. It would have been an absolute sin to complain about a day that was this beautiful.

I was made to feel so welcome from the moment I walked into bridal suite. Elaine was offering me champagne and her mum was pointing me in the direction of a big tray of sandwiches. I replaced the champagne for a coffee but the sandwiches couldn’t, shouldn’t and wouldn’t be ignored.

The duplex bridal suite offers some interesting angles.

It was a lovely ceremony with light streaming in through the church windows which isn’t easy to shoot in but can offer some beautiful shots when you get it just right.

‘Working it” – This happy couple didn’t seem to feel the cold as they posed for their guests.

Everyone made it safely back to the hotel through the tight, twisty and frost covered roads to a lovely warm reception where I have absolutely no doubt that the mulled wine was the drink of choice. Elaine and Michael though seemed to be having no problem with the dipping temperatures as they took a few minutes away form the guests to have a little walk along the jetty. A brave move on Elaine’s part as that jetty was covered in ice! I was having flashes of this kind of thing happening… I’m glad to say though that nothing of the sort happened.

Soon it was time for everyone to take their seats and be treated to the most wonderful meal – the kind of meal that The Wineport Lodge is famous for. They even treated this lucky photographer to the full shebang. Four, five, six…? I can’t remember just how many courses there was but it seemed that as soon as you’d finished one taste sensation, another would be placed right back in front of you. Delicious!

When it came to the speeches, Michael knew all the right things to say

I put away the camera after the usual 5 or 6 dances by which stage the dancefloor was packed. I’m just glad that I managed to get this shot of the two of them in before everyone else joined in.

True love.

Thanks again to Elaine and Michael for being so laid back and easy going for the whole day. It was an absolute pleasure. I hit the jackpot for sure.

To see a brief selection from there day click here to enter their slideshow.