Sinead and Simon were married at a charming little church just down the road from Sinead’s old family home. Despite the heavy downpours the clouds broke in time for them to exit in a blast of warm spring sunshine, a perfect end to the ceremony. It was then back to the majestic Dromoland Castle for a reception in the grand banqueting hall and rounded off with an evening of celebration and dancing.

Sinead: “My dad is from County Clare and from a very young age I always wanted to go back ‘home’ to Ireland to get married. On one of our yearly trips when I was around 7 or 8 my dad took us for a drive up to Dromoland Castle to show us what a ‘proper Irish’ castle looks like. I was in such a daze with its beauty and said very loudly “I’m going to get married here one day”! I was met with a sceptical ”Ok Sinead…”. However when Simon and I got engaged I still knew I wanted it to be in Ireland (which luckily Simon was happy with) and I knew I’d like it to be in County Clare as I’ve always loved the whole area. My mum said to me “Well what about Dromoland?” It wasn’t just the beautiful castle that sold it for both me and Simon. It was the beauty of County Clare in general and the people who’s kindness and generosity are renowned. The castle offering a clay pigeon shoot for the grooms party and its golf course were a perk for Simon as well”…

As exciting as it was to be working here and to be a part of Sinead and Simon’s day it was also a highly emotional occasion. Sinead’s mum Nell had passed away only a couple of weeks earlier after battling illness. Not only was she incomprehensibly missed but she’d played a key part in the planning of the day. Nell’s touches were in abundance and with wonderful tributes paid to her in the speeches there was time for respectful acknowledgement in the midst of a day of otherwise immensely happy celebration.

Sinead: “The flowers were by Anne Romer the florist at Dromoland. Simon and I just loved Anne from the moment we first met her, she is lovely, honest and so down to earth that she soon put you in your place if you acted like a ‘bridezilla’. I knew I wanted the flowers to be colourful and simple as I didn’t want to take anything away from the location or to go over the top, that was really important to both Simon and I. Simplicity was the key for both of us. When my mum and Anne first met they talked for over 2 hours non-stop and after that first meeting I knew the floral arrangements were sorted. Blue and white Hydrangeas. They were then the theme we followed for everything else from bridesmaid dresses and grooms ties. The flowers personally for me were the centre of attention throughout the day and the most important for me as my mum had so much input to them, they even changed the colour backdrop in the room to blue to complement the floral centre pieces in each table. 

The reception (inc. inhouse flowers) : Dromoland Castle

Sinead’s dress: Suzanne Neville

Sinead’s shoes from Pink Paradox

The Hall and grounds are stunning and the event hospitality team first class. I am always blown away by how professional and accommodating they are. Wedding host and events manager Sharon keeps the day running perfectly while with her husband, head chef Steve, serves up superb culinary treats leaving some very happy and full guests to enjoy their surroundings.

After we’d finished a whistle-stop shoot at the church we headed for the coast and the perennial favourite location of Southwold. This remains a great place for pre-wedding photography with the pier, beach and town all offering typical Suffolk seaside loveliness.

Since then our paths have crossed at several more weddings of shared acquaintances so it’s a huge pleasure to have been asked to shoot their own big day later this April.

As both Lorna & Will are from agricultural backgrounds they chose to explore Will’s family farm in south Norfolk as the backdrop for their pictures. It was a really fun couple of hours and we got some nice rurally, farmy* feeling pictures.

*I’m aware that “farmy” isn’t a real word but you know what I mean?…

” Hi Simon it’s Simon, er, just ringing you in regards to tomorrow…I played hockey today and got a stick in the face so I’ve got a big shiner…”

Fantastic news, thanks for that. I’ve known Simon for a very long time and to be fair, I wasn’t that surprised.

Luckily this didn’t end up being Elephant Man territory (despite the offers of a hessian sack) but a shiner it was indeed. With only a few weeks until the big day and no opportunity to rearrange we went ahead anyway. There’s only so much deft Photoshop skills can achieve in these situations and you’ll see I’ve left the battle scars in place. Bruising can be dealt with, swelling, not so much! Besides, it will act as a reminder to hang up the hockey boots for a couple weeks before the big day!

Sinead and Simon will be holding their wedding at the magnificent Dromoland Castle, Co. Clare later in the spring. For their pre-wedding session however we stayed a little more local using the area around Simon’s family home in south Norfolk.