Real Weddings: Photos & Films for Brides and Grooms
KEEPING YOUR WEDDING REAL FROM PREPARATIONS TO THE FIRST DANCE
I shoot Real Weddings in Northern Ireland and Ireland (ROI) for brides and grooms, and yours is going to be one of the best days of your lives. You’ll never forget it. I want to be there to capture every one of these special moments in a beautiful, fun and (fingers crossed) romantic way. Every wedding is different, and yours should be, too. I’d love to hear your ideas, even if they are a wee bit quirky. Check out my wedding photography prices and get in touch if you want to book me. I love candid weddings as I’d be capturing those special moments on the day. I’ve photographed wedding photos for many real brides in 2023 and can’t wait to shoot more this year and beyond. Check out below for real brides who got married at their real weddings; nothing artificial here.
Real Weddings
Real weddings in Northern Ireland for a traditional wedding for real everyday people like you and me. If you look at some of the wedding photos throughout my website, these are for real working-type people as opposed to fake staged bridal-type photos, although, to be fair, I’ve shot a couple of those when starting my career. It can also be an elopement where you and your future husband/wife whisky off, not forgetting your wedding dress, anywhere (within reason) in NI with just a few friends, family members and the officiant to marry you and make it legal. I’m a wedding photographer in Northern Ireland and would love to hear more about your plans, feel free to have a look at my reviews. You can think outside the box, so to speak, and have an outdoor wedding reception or wedding ceremony in the nice, warm summer months or a barn wedding.
As a dedicated and highly experienced wedding photographer, I have been super lucky to shoot at a range of different types of weddings ranging from castles, marquees, estates, country mansions, hotels, and not forgetting outdoor too, which is great for the summer months, great in the winter months lol. Shooting in various real wedding situations and locations makes my job interesting and such as joy. It is especially great to work at a real wedding that I haven’t visited before.
There’s nothing better than shooting real wedding photos for real brides as there is nothing staged or fake, everything real. I have shot some staged model-type brides in the past when I first started my career, but I just can’t stand that kind of styled shoot now, I much prefer to photograph the real thing now. You get better photos as there is more than one person at a proper wedding with the bridal party and lots of guests. You can’t beat real wedding photos.
Real Older Brides
I must say I love shooting real older brides and grooms for a variety of reasons. These are brides (and possibly grooms) who have been married before, but for whatever reason, it just didn’t work out, and they have met and married, which is great. My honest opinion is older brides should have the wedding they deserve and should be the same, if not better, than young brides, it doesn’t make any difference. So what if the groom needs to go for a quick sleep after dinner and before the first dance? Everyone will be chatting away to other guests. I’d love to photograph any groom and bride’s real weddings, so please get in contact with me.
Real Weddings
Let's break down what you get when booking me as your wedding photographer for a full day of real weddings.
Getting Ready
Wedding planning is crucial to a successful wedding day. They start with bridal preparations and are divided up into bridal prep and groom prep, although the groom is not always needed, so this is optional.
The bride, maid of honour and bridesmaids (the bridal party) get dressed usually in the bride’s or mother of the bride’s home but can also be at the reception. At this stage, this is very loose and great craic. Some detail shots here, too, although I don’t take too many. Groom preparation for a wedding involves the groom (of course), the best man and the groomsmen getting dressed, usually but not always, in the groom’s parents’ house. Optional as not every fella wants photos at this stage, or they could just be too far.
Ceremony
The ceremony starts, so depending on what kind of ceremony, you can have photos throughout or very few (as sometimes a religious catholic priest doesn’t want you moving about too much). Photos of the family can be taken afterwards or at the reception. I always try to get some photos here before entering the ceremony. The wedding ceremony is an important part of your day as it’s your marriage and can involve several things happening depending on where it is and what type of a ceremony it is, i.e. catholic, protestant or neither, in a chapel, church or hotel (there are more places too you can have your ceremony in) including readings, vows, singing, music, handfasting plus lots of other things too.
Wedding Party, Family & Reception
At this stage, your wedding planning should hopefully have paid off as things have gone smoothly. A quick mingle with a cocktail, wine, beer, whiskey, tea, or coffee with guests, family and friends before commencing some family photos and bridal party photos too. The reception will include photos of speeches, dinner (no photos), mingling and photos of your first and second dances.
Speeches & First Dance
The wedding day has reached about tea time now, and your wedding speech is usually before dinner but can also be afterwards. This is great as it welcomes each side, and there is usually a bit of light banter and craic involved, too (which is a must). Bride and groom grand entrance, speeches and toasts before some good food. Later on, the first dance is the first dance of the evening, usually followed by the bridal party and then guests. Sometimes, there is a daughter father (or daddy) dance after the first dance.
A small selection of real-life weddings for brides and grooms I’ve photographed in the past. Click on an image to visit the blog post, and if you’ve any enquiries, don’t hesitate to contact me. Coming Soon
I’ve also photographed and filmed real weddings in Ireland and worked along the border counties in ROI. I’d love to explore Ireland much more, so if you are interested, contact me with more info. They can be cinematic but real, too, yes, you can have both. You will get a real highlights film and all footage filmed on the day from start to finish, which a lot won’t give you, sadly, In the meantime, check out my real Irish wedding venues.
I’ve filmed real-life wedding films this past couple of years and would love to film much more. I just love keeping it real, and if you are interested, visit my YouTube channel for some real-life examples. Everything from the bride getting ready to the wedding ceremony, reception and first dance.
Not every real-life wedding weather works out sunny, as the day was mostly rainy, but that didn’t stop this real-life couple.
Not all real-life wedding films are younger couples as these two are a bit older as their grownup offspring were in the bridal party.
Not all real wedding films are filmed off-season, as this one was filmed off-season on New Year’s Eve, but it worked out perfectly well.
A real-life wedding film and video that was filmed all over the town in about four to five different locations as the couples wanted to visit.
