Gail & Alan - 13th August, Village At Lyons

I was venturing further afield on Saturday, and had been looking forward to this one for a while. It's always good to discover a new venue, especially when its as picturesque as The Village At Lyons. First stop was at Gail's house in Rathcoole, where I got a nice surprise when Gail's sister Gwen answered the door to me. Gwen was Chief Bridesmaid at Zarinah & Cathal's wedding last Summer but I hadn't made the connection.

Saturday underlined to me again just how important professionalism is to people on their wedding day. The bride and groom have never been through a wedding day before, but those of us who have - photographers, videographers, florists, make-up artists, hairdressers, musicians, chauffeurs, hoteliers, etc, all have a duty of care and a responsibilty to our Clients to help them through the process smoothly, allowing them to enjoy the day as much as possible. One of the most important aspects of that is paying attention to the schedule and timings. It is not good for the nerves when the bride still hasn't had her hair and make-up finished five minutes before the ceremony is due to start!

This would have rattled many couples, but Gail and Alan were able to take the delay in their stride. As you can see below, Gail looked stunning in her deStafford dress, and was all smiles when she arrived at the Church, though I'm pretty sure that quizzical look in Alan's eye as they sat down at the alter is asking "what time do you call this?".

By the time we got to The Village At Lyons, all we had to contend with was the weather. After a heavy shower put paid to our first attempt to get outside we took shelter in the bar with a glass of bubbly before regrouping and taking a stroll along The Grand Canal, bringing Patrick Kavanagh to mind -
"Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal
Pouring redemption for me"...
In truth it was less poetic and more good craic, as the bridal party enjoyed themselves. Groomsman Tom has a future as a male model if he wants. The pose below is only one of many he struck during his 60-second individual session.

For anyone studying the more technical aspects of photography, the first one below was shot hand-held at 1/13th of a second to blur the water flowing over the mill, while Gail and Alan were kept sharp by firing off-camera flash zoomed to 105mm from rear and left. Gail's Dad Jimmie is a recently-retired professional photographer so he might be interested at least! Thanks for sending on the evening pics Jimmie. Cathal Farrelly filmed the video on the day - it was my first time working with him, and it was a pleasure. Deuces Wild got them dancing, and the very elegant Bentley Flying Spurs came from Privilege Limos.