Emer & Padraig

I was back to Sligo and Carraroe Church for the second time in a couple of weeks for Emer & Padraig's wedding. I had photographed Emer's bridesmaid Karen's wedding a couple of years ago, so was delighted to hear that she now has a 10 week old baby boy, Cian. Emer would have been one of Karen's bridesmaids too, but she was expecting Hannah at any moment, so had to turn down the job. Little Hannah made a beautiful flower girl on Friday.

The reception was in the Radisson, so we headed up to Rosses Point to take a few photographs. Unfortunately, though the rest of the country was baking in the sunshine, there were grey skies overhead and a damp mist rolling in off the Atlantic. This triggered a frizzy hair alert, so we had to run for cover and head back to the hotel, where the craic was good, as there was plenty of time for people to mix and have a couple of drinks before dinner. Avril from Dejá Groove was a guest at the wedding, and no doubt she and the band rocked the joint later on. Padraig and his family are all musicians too and play in different groups and line-ups including Vinegar Bil, so I'm sure it was a late and lively night in the resident's bar.

Julie & Danny

There was a feel of a Mayo All-Ireland Final Day on Thursday, as Kiltimagh closed up shop and headed to Kilronan Castle for the big match between Julie & Danny. This time they were guaranteed a win. The build-up had started on Tuesday, when all the key players checked into Kilronan, so the party had been going for two days by the time I arrived on Thursday morning.

The weather was glorious - blue skies & sunshine, just what everyone wants on their wedding day. Julie looked fabulous in her intricate lace dress, while her bridesmaid Jane did a Pippa on it in elegant blue. Danny too cut a dash, in his Hugo Boss suit from Louis Copeland and his brand-new Audi A5. The guests mingled over champagne on the patio outside the Dungeon Bar before dinner and it was obvious this was a very stylish affair. And there was one guest who attracted nearly as much attention as the bridal party - Julie's cousin Mark, who'd put a great deal of time and thought into his outfit for the big day, before opting for a Jeeves & Wooster look, complete with bowtie, man-bag and non-prescription glasses as accessories to complete the look.

There were lots of familiar faces around on the day - the lovely Annette Smyth did the girls' make-up, Michael Freyene was on video, Sinead Conway sang in the Church and again later as part of The Swing & Soul Review, Carmel from La Belle Fleur provided the flowers, while the cake came from Sharon in Cannaboe Confectionery. As I post this, Julie & Danny are in Frankfurt airport about to get on a plane for a dream honeymoon in Bali & Australia - have fun guys!

Alicia & Andy

I'm very lucky in that I because I only take a limited number of weddings each year, I always meet my couples at length before each one. If I feel I'm not the right photographer for them, I'll recommend alternatives - if I am, then we get to know each other pretty well. So I don't have a stock of wedding nightmare or Bridezilla stories, unlike many photographers. However, it's still unusual to have a day when absolutely everything goes right - beautiful bride, cool groom, lots of time before the wedding with both the girls and the lads, friendly priest, great weather, lovely light, a fun bridal party, more photo time before dinner, and a beautiful reception venue.

Alicia & Andy's wedding was one of those days though - it went like a dream. It was always going to be fun - Alicia is funny & vivacious and I have at least two things in common with Andy - we're both Evertonians, and we're both into our music. I'm sure he's a better guitar player than me though. Instead of exchanging a coin with Alicia as a symbol of all his worldly goods, Andy gave her a silver plectrum. The wedding favour for the guests was a mix tape of their favourite love songs. There's some good stuff on it too.

Alicia had a large salon of ladies-in-waiting to help her - Laura, Louise and Janet Louise the senior bridesmaids, Saoirse & Caoimhe the junior bridesmaids, along with Gabriella and Alicia's two little sisters Alannhah and Eire as flowergirls. She took quite a risk in waiting until her make-up and dress were on before reading Andy's letter, which came with a big bouquet of flowers in the morning. We were expecting tears, but Alicia said she's used to receiving lovely letters, so the mascara survived. Later, the ladies-in-waiting took a break while hubby fixed the veil.

Brian Duignan swapped his still cameras for video for the day, and helped me to scramble up the wall of Lough Rynn's gardens to get the shot of the tower - in fact it was his idea. I didn't like the look of the 20-foot drop on the other side though. Ellen, Ciaran, Michael & Aisling looked after everyone as well as ever, Ellen even ferrying us to and from the gardens in the golf buggy. After the speeches, I made it back to Boyle for the second half of The Champions League final. I don't know if best man Paul got to see any of it. He's a dedicated Man U fan, but gave up his Wembley ticket to come to the wedding - that's friendship. He might have been better off in the ballroom than watching Barca, as it turned out...

Teresa & Stephen

A slight delay in posting pictures from Teresa & Stephen's wedding in Ballinagh and The Crover House Hotel, due to a mixture of being away for a few days, a couple of commercial jobs, as well as a wedding and a communion last weekend. However, it's full focus on wedding work for the rest of the Summer, and with a new super-computer arriving next week, all should be back on track.

At the moment, Teresa & Stephen are kicking back in the sunshine on a Caribbean Cruise, so thoughts of the dire weather we'd had in the run up to the big day will be far from their minds. There was a big storm forecast for the following day, which duly arrived, but the heavens smiled on them, and all we had to contend with were a few heavy showers. In between, the sun kept peeping out, casting some lovely light over the grounds of Crover House. I was in good company too, with Eamon from Big Apple Video filming events.

The moments before the bride arrives at the Church are always tense, and Stephen looked very thoughtful as he waited at the alter. There's quite a contrast in mood with the picture in the Church door as they salute their guests.

One of the highlights of the day were the speeches - the Baxter Brothers are eloquent and loquacious young men. Groomsman Ronan, in particular, delivered a comic routine worthy of Tommy Tiernan or Dylan Moran. Of course Stephen was the butt of most of Ronan's jokes, but he took it all in the spirit in which it was intended. Don't be surprised if you see young Ronan on your TV in years to come. Meanwhile, Niall made the most of Man United's 19th League title to lord it over the groom. I'm not sure he'd have been laughing quite so much watching Barcelona beating them on Saturday though....