Gougane Barra will always have a soft spot in my heart. I remember the first time I ever visited it. I couldn’t believe it was real! The scenery is so striking, and with the chapel (or rather; oratory) placed on the quasi-island, it looks straight out of a movie. Then you walk inside, it’s filled with those lovely pink and purple walls. Such soft colours that work so well in these wedding photos and give it so much more character than a standard white wall. Elegant!

YUGAL

The day started a little stormy – although I’ll get back to this at the end. This was David and Eleanor’s big day! Eleanor is Filipino and she incorporated some Filipino traditions into the ceremony. I am always really intrigued by other cultures and traditions and love to learn more about them. I’m well accustomed to the hand binding which is an old Celtic tradition. But I got to learn about a Filipino tradition of a ceremonial cord, called a ‘yugal’ that is wrapped around the couple in a figure of eight. The ‘yugal’ represents their commitment to each other, much like the hand binding. It’s so fun to be a part of these traditions and capturing them as best as I can.

“OMG!

As the ceremony was coming to a close and David and Ellie, now husband and wife, walked down the aisle and we burst out of the oratory, we stumbled upon a crowd of American tourists who couldn’t believe their eyes. “Oh my god!” one of them shouted. They couldn’t believe that they were lucky enough to see a groom and bride the very second they were there! I’ll never forget that really audible “Oh my god!”. Haha!

TAYTO

I often have couples who are worried about the couple shoot. Some of them just feel awkward in front of the camera and don’t know what to do. Especially on such an emotional day like their wedding day. And if you’re one of those couples, don’t worry! I am there to make it as easy as possible, and actually, also really fun!

Eleanor was in particular very worried about this, and as we were talking about the couple shoot beforehand, I suggested that we should do something. An activity where I can capture some lovely shots and they won’t feel so awkward. She came up with the left-field idea of making and eating Tayto sandwiches, a food item that was very close to their hearts. Definitely not something I would have suggested! Haha! But we got such cute photos of the two eating their Tayto sandwiches.

And let’s look at these couple photos. Didn’t they do an amazing job?? I can’t believe they ever had any worries at all. They were adorable!

5-Star Google Review

Eleanor was also amazing and wrote me this 5-star Google review:

“We booked Jan for our wedding and he was a delight to work with! Very friendly and accommodating. Our wedding venue was so small, but I didn’t even notice that he was around documenting everything. He made us comfortable on camera and the photos came out so beautiful! The setting was very scenic but he made it look more magical. Thank you, Jan! More power to you”

— Eleanor

A Storm at Gougane Barra

And before we wrap up this blog post, I mentioned I would come back to the storm. I photographed Maddy and Matt’s elopement also at Gougane Barra, but in this horrendously stormy weather. They were a great couple and were so committed to these photos even though it was miserable out. I was committed as well and happy to keep going but I did feel sorry for the couple. However, when I got home, I couldn’t believe how beautiful these photos were. I wouldn’t wish this type of weather on any couple, but actually, they’re so strikingly beautiful! They’ve become one of my favourite set of wedding photos ever! I hope that Maddy and Matt feel the same way.

5-Star Google Review

Well, we actually see from their 5-star Google review that they were also over the moon!

“Jan was so amazing to work with - exceeded all our expectations and then some. My now husband and I are not very photogenic, photo-loving people but Jan really captured us in such a natural, appealing way and we love them all. He was so easy to work with on site, incredibly prepared and professional, friendly, and had some really cool ideas for types of shots and locations - all of which were especially helpful not being familiar with the Cork area or taking photos in general. His wife also assisted with the shoot and was so kind and helpful, making it a truly a wonderful experience overall. Can’t recommend him enough!”

— Maddy