Ballyvolane House: Wedding Weekend in Ireland
Dave and I found ourselves going to Ireland at the start of June, for the first time without children in fourteen years of traveling there, for his cousin Donn’s wedding.
Donn and Cathy got married at Ballyvolane House in Castlelyons, County Cork. I was attending as a wedding guest, and gratefully so as I was able to dance until 3:30 a.m. (But as an aside, if you are planning on getting married at Ballyvolane House or in Ireland and are seeking a wedding photographer, I think you should reach out and talk to me!).
Most Irish weddings I have been to (and we had one ourselves!) have a two day element, and so the day after we sat by the fire outside in Donn’s family home & garden in Fermoy. This back garden is really like walking onto the pages of The Secret Garden.
To say the wedding weekend was beautiful, poignant and fun are massive understatements. I will require an entire box of tissues for any wedding that includes John O’Donohue poetry & blessings. (Take a listen to this interview with him on the podcast On Being)
For the photos, I made sure to never get in the way of the Official Photographer because that’s just a real jerk thing to do, as well as made room for being present for all the storytelling and ‘piss-taking’ that happens in Irish conversation. This means you will only see a brief, candid appearance of the actual bride and groom! However I think you’ll enjoy the visual journey of our travels.
Last call out- we’re heading out to the West Coast of Ireland for two weeks in August, if you are around and want a session, drop me a line here.
Until then, Enjoy!
The Best of 2018
Three weeks into 2019 and I have wrapped up and finalized all the photographs I took over the last year. Looking back, I realize just how much was done, how much I traveled, how much my kids changed, and how much I learned throughout.
It is really hard to single out the “best” and in this case, I wanted the photographs to give some sense of chronology and story. There is a mix of photographs from our big family trip to Nicaragua, my girls roadtrip to a friend’s place in Martha’s Vineyard, a quick weekend getaway to Boston, family vacations, … to the weddings, engagements, portraits, and corporate events I shot for work. Throw a few small vacations in the mix, graduations, new schools, big birthdays, the Spartan Race, an ankle injury, kitchen dancing… and somewhere in there I managed to read 22 books. You guys! Reviews remind you of all that you have done.
This year is looking to be a remarkable one again, I kick off my wedding season officially at the start of May heading to the Mount Stephen Hotel in Montreal - leading up to this we’re taking on some massive renovations to our 100+ year old home here that we’ve lived in for a decade. It’s time. Travel-wise we’re trying to keep it minimal, but already we know we’ll be in Ireland for a wedding in June; plus I am crossing my fingers for a cultural dose of portrait gallery fangirling in Paris & London in the Fall. We’re planning our family holidays as I type and you see? Already it is Christmas.
The good news is that if you are looking for a wedding photographer for the summer, I do have some spots that remain open… the best thing to do is to fill out this form here.
Until then, enjoy the year in review :)
