Just married

I had the pleasure (and honour) of photographing the wedding of two friends – Eva and Jonathan – in beautiful Donegal last Friday, and not only was it a great day because of the wedding, but the skies were clear, the sun came out and Donegal itself looked almost as fantastic as the bride and groom.  The reception was held in Solis Lough Eske Castle, a luxurious hotel just outside Donegal town, and on the way back from the church we stopped off for some photos by the lough from which the castle takes its name.

I was staying in the hotel the night before the wedding, as were Eva and Jonathan, who went to the church from there (separately of course) on Friday morning.  Before I caught up with them for a few preparation shots in the morning I took the opportunity to scout out some locations for photographs later in the afternoon.

The main entrance to the castle is via a long tree-lined driveway with the lough on the right-hand side.  About half way along I spotted a gravel path that led down to the water, and at the water’s edge I was delighted to see a bench, which I hoped would help me create a lovely photograph of the newly-married couple.

Skip forward about four hours and we stopped the cars on the way back to the hotel, I walked ahead of the bride and groom, taking some candid photos of them as they made their way down to the water and then, having placed a blanket on the bench to keep the dress and suit clean, left them to just chat amongst themselves, hoping that they might forget about me.  They probably didn’t really forget about me, but I did get some really natural, unposed photos of them – this one being my favourite.

I love the light, and it was a wonderful coincidence that the time of year and day put the sun right behind them and creates that lovely hair light and flare, while also defining the edges of the trees in the background.  I used a little bit of fill flash to keep them well exposed, and underexposed the ambient light a tad to pop them a little from the background.

I love the end result (and hopefully they will too), and what was great about the location and the light was that, having captured this shot, we were able to move just a few steps and get some more photos with the lough behind, and from all angles the background was scenic and perfect for wedding photos.