Drenagh Estate Wedding

After 10 years capturing weddings, It’s not very often we are asked to shoot a venue that we haven’t already covered before. We had inquiries about weddings at Drenagh Estate before but we had been booked on those dates, so when Samantha and Leo got in contact and said they were getting married there, we were so excited about having the date free.

The estate is breathtaking and one thing we loved was that everything on the day was at the one location – preparations in the Georgian Manor with it’s stunning rooms and staircase, the ceremony at the Moon Garden which is outside but under cover, and then reception in the marquee, housed within the biggest privately owned walled garden in Ireland. (Well, that’s what they told me 😂)

Bridal & Groom Preparations

Samantha and her bridal party got ready upstairs in the Georgian Manor House and the room there were in was stunning. It had so many windows for natural light that it was a photographers dream. When I first came in to see the girls I couldn’t believe how stunning every single one of them looked.

Samantha is such a naturally beautiful girl, I couldn’t wait to capture her on her wedding day.

The boys got ready at a local B&B but arrived at the estate and came up to the Manor house to put the finishing touches together. They were down stairs, so both the boys and the girls were close by.

I love weddings like this as it means Ryan and I are at the same location in the morning and we are able to both capture the special moments of both preps together. At most of our wedding days I will go with the Bride and Ryan goes with the groom who normally gets ready at a different location. Well, here is our handsome groom Leo….

There was plenty of time before the girls would arrive down at the Moon Garden so Ryan was able to get some shots of the guys around the Estate before the ceremony started.

One of my favourite moments of the day are the reveal shots in the morning. There were plenty of tears all round and the faces of all the bridesmaids made for a really beautiful moment – well deserved for such a stunning bride.

Samantha and the girls had a little moment of prayer and reflection together before heading down the the Moon Garden for the ceremony. I really love this picture….

and while they were waiting for the bridal party to arrive, the boys were…….well, just being boys 🤣

Ceremony

The ceremony always starts with the groom waiting waiting in anticipation/fear/tears 😭 for his bride to be to walk up the aisle……for us it means with that first look picture and we wait eagerly to get that special moment….. There is so much going on in this picture, I love it so much. The connection between everyone in the picture is beautiful and Leo’s face after seeing Samantha for the first time is exactly what any photographer hopes for in a first look picture.

This is one of the shots of the day that you can’t recreate and can’t miss. The first look 😍, then the first kiss 😘 and the first dance 💃🏼….you never get a second chance to make a first impression 😂

The Pastor was a lovely man and because he knew the couple so well, it was such a touching ceremony. It was such a coincidence to hear how his church and a lot of the guests were from church only 5 minutes from our house, even though we were so far away at Drenagh Estate.

Every wedding needs legal papers signed, but for this one, they were left behind 😮…..luckily they were only in the manor house and one of the groomsmen ran up and back so the wedding could be made official 🏃🏽

We had more pictures from this wedding than any other we have ever done. There were so many guests that all wanted pictures and we loved it. At weddings we have to encourage guests to get pictures taken but it was the other way around at this wedding. Amazing ❤️📸

Cake Cut

Right after the cake cut, it was outside for the Bridal Party and shots around Drenagh Estate….as with all weddings, it’s all about having fun. Rigid, staged and posed pictures are kept to a minimum and the whole point is to enjoy the day, including the pictures

Bridal Party & Portraits

We then let the bridal party go and join the festivities and keep the bride and groom for about 20 minutes more for portraits. The Drenagh Estate Wedding photo possibilities are endless. We could have taken pictures for 20 hours, never mind 20 minutes. Samantha and Leo were an amazing couple and it was a pleasure to capture these shots with them.

From here we always say to our couples, go and enjoy the rest of your day and we capture candid shots of guests and the shots of all the details of the day. That takes us through to speeches and then dinner. At any Drenagh Estate wedding, you arrive to the meal in style….

After dinner we always look to get the couple out for a few more shots as the sun turns to the golden hour…

and with Leo and Sam being 2 of the most polite people we have ever met, they went out for pictures at sun down and in the dark. Perhaps a less polite couple would have told us, no more 🤣 That’s obviously a joke, as each picture only takes a few minutes to capture.

And to end it all, we like to try and get something a bit different or unique to end the day off. At this wedding we decided to return to the Moon Garden to use the beautiful round feature in the brick wall.

Sam & Leo, thank you so much for choosing us to capture your wedding day. It was an honour for us to be around you and all your nearest and dearest, on what is one of the most important days of your lives. We loved ever minute of your unforgettable day. ❤️

If you would like to talk to us about capturing your wedding, please feel free to get in touch with us, using the contact page on the website or just give us a call and we’d be more than happy to talk through what we do on the day.

Agnieszka & Ryan ❤️