A huge portion of the photography that my wife, Nic and I do is wedding photography. We offer a three different wedding packages which suit a large range of weddings. But in this blog post it’s all about our largest package that we offer; the ‘Diamond Package’ with the option of a second shooter. This has quickly become our most popular package, tied with the ‘Gold Package’.

Couples have the option to book Nic as a second shooter, or, if they want a more low-key wedding, they can just book me. But we are the dream team so almost all couples choose to book both of us, which is great because we love working together!

So what does the ‘Diamond Package’ include and what does a day look like when you have two photographers at your wedding? Well, it’s actually more relaxed than having just one photographer.

First off, what does the ‘Diamond Package’ include?

• 12 hours of coverage

• 650 photos

• a larger 40 photo couple shoot

• plus an additional after dark couple shoot of 5 photos

• 2x A4 framed prints

• -20% discount on all print orders

• and a digital slide show

The Dream Team

We love photographing weddings together!

The Wedding

Inchydoney Island Lodge

“Beautiful backgrounds in every direction, with cliffs and oceans, what more can we ask for?”

Mairéad and Sean’ s wedding had a beautiful location! The wedding took place at the Inchydoney Island Lodge Hotel, overlooking the ocean and splitting the beach into two. We love these kind of locations, because it gives us so much to work with for the couple shoot. Beautiful backgrounds in every direction, with cliffs and oceans, what more can we ask for?

Getting Ready

Having the pre’s covered was very important to Mairéad, so we arrived nice and early. The great thing about having two photographers there in the morning, is how, contrary to popular belief, it actually makes the morning more relaxed. I suppose people might think that having two photographers there would mean loads of instructions and photographing and stress, but really, it allows for a way very laid back atmosphere.

The reason being, that Nic is able to stay with the bridal party the whole time and capture really authentic and happy moments, with a few scripted and posed ones in between, when it suits. In the meanwhile, I am able to photograph all the detail shots of the rings, the bride’s and the bridesmaids’ dresses, shoes and all of their accessories, the bouquets, gift bags and any other items that might be important.

Groom

Once that is done, I then run over to the groom and his groomsmen for some shots of them getting ready and some fun group photos.

And of course we can not forget the rings which were hand modelled beautifully by Sean’s best man!

When that is captured, I head to the ceremony room to photograph the empty room, the decorations and flowers, the all important green folder, the usual ‘getting married’ sign and more, before I then capture the guests filing in and getting ready for the ceremony. This also gives me a moment to chat to the celebrant and go through any last minute changes and amendments that might have been made to the ceremony programme.

All the while, Nic is still with the bride.

This is great as it allows for way more timing fluctuations. If the bride is only able to get in her dress half an hour later than planned, that’s fine. Or if one of the bridesmaids smudged her make up and needs a re-touch before doing the group photos, that’s fine, we have the time for that. So there’s a lot less pressure and the schedule can breathe a little. And I think that especially shows in these photos. They had such a fun and relaxed time together, that they were even able to capture all these extra photos like playing Scrabble. A game that is very important to the couple.

As a sidenote, Mairéad and Sean live in the UK, and Mairéad loves her local hairdresser so much, she flew him to Cork to have him do her hair before the wedding. Incredible!

The Ceremony

The ceremony room was gorgeous. The hotel is pointing to the south, so we had all of this gorgeous sunlight shining in through the windows. This allowed us to capture not just the couple beautifully but also the guests.

Personally, this is one of my favourite parts of the wedding, to capture these genuine split seconds of emotions, be it tears or laughter. I’m ready with my telephoto lens to shoot this moments that only last a fraction of a second!

While I take the lead with the ceremony, Nic is also there, not just to photograph from a different perspective, but also to support the bride and the bridal party. She’ll be accompanying the bridal party to the ceremony room, and making sure that each bridesmaid and the bride walk out at the right time to the music and especially for me to capture each one of them the best. We want to make sure that every bride has the best possible photos of them walking down the aisle, in this case with her brother.

Having Nic help capture the ceremony from a second perspective is also great as one of us might have a better angle for certain moments, and while I do move around a lot, it is always refreshing to have more perspectives available of the ceremony.

This ceremony had it all, starting with a ring warming, then lighting the candles, readings by multiple guests, and a hind binding. They’re such beautiful traditions that are always so fun to capture!

After the ceremony, we kinda play it by ear. Usually, I’ll stick with the couple as the guests line up to congratulate them and give them hugs and kisses. This is such a fantastic time to get some lovely, genuine moments.

The Reception

While I am photographing all the hugs and kisses and the congratulations, Nic goes around the reception and makes sure that every single guest has at least one photo. She’ll either do couple or candid group photos. We even get some cheeky kisses, handheld fans or other props, holding their polaroids from the polaroid station for the guest book, and of course, some tasty drinks!

We are then prepped for the couples big entrance again! Sporting sunglasses and drinks, the party can start now!

Bingo!

Also, friends of the couple hosted a game of bingo during the reception. A wonderful injection of energy, especially at this time of the day!

It was pure coincidence, but Sean, the groom won himself a prize!

Bingo

Consider hiring these guys for some bingo!

Cake Cutting

We’ve never seen this one before. A sword for the cake cutting. It certainly made for a very memorable photo opportunity and had some of the guests looking on nervously!

Group Photos

We always encourage couples to make a name list for each group photo they would like. We can of course help and make suggestions but every family is different and to some couples, certain friends might be incredibly important or a specific family member or godparent. We will then have that list with us so that we can then be 100% sure that we get every single one of those shots with everyone included.

With two photographers, we can herd and organize everyone better more swiftly so that all the guests can get back to the party as soon as possible!

Couple Shoot

After the group photos, we usually do the couple shoot. We always make sure to do the group photos and couple photos in the best possible light on the day without messing the scheduling up too much.

Nic and I do the couple shoot together, alternating taking shots. It’s also great to have an extra person to keep an eye on the outfits, hair and prevent things like phones in pockets or hair bobbles on the wrists. We can also do some more fancy shots with Nic there, like having the veil blow in the wind. While a bridesmaid could do this as well, it’s always better to have a professional do it who’s done it hundreds of times before.

Nic and I sometimes also do the poses with each other to show the couple visually. When you’ve just gotten married, your head can be all over the place. This is why we structure everything to be super easy and enjoyable. Most couples also love doing the couple shoot as it’s great time have a bit of breather and break from everything and to have some time on your own to process it all. This is at least the feedback we get from nearly every single couple.

After Dark

With this being the ‘Diamond Package’, the couple gets 40 couple photos, instead of 30 and 10 photos with the Gold and Silver Packages. And we also include a second, after dark couple shoot, as well.

While the first couple shoot is all prim and proper with perfect hair and pristine white shirts, the second one after the sun has already started setting, is more of a hair down affair, usually done by the bar with some lovely stout pints. But with the beach right at the doorstep, we figured it’d be a shame to not go out again!

No suit jacket this time, rolled up sleeves, top button undone. Mairéad in sneakers and without her bouquet but still looking gorgeous, we took some more casual, yet intimate photos.

Speeches

In between the two couple shoots we had the speeches followed by dinner. As per usual, the groom got absolutely destroyed and we got to laugh along to the anecdotes told. Snapping everyone laughing and crying, similar to the ceremony photos.

Dancing

Now this is one of the major benefits of booking the ‘Diamond Package’ is that we also get to stay for the evening and photograph the dance floor!

Getting those dancing shots is such a fun highlight of the day and really rounds off the whole wedding album. It’s not just about capturing the wedding couple having a blast and their first dance, but also getting these lovely intimate moments among couples.

Recap

So with the ‘Diamond Package’ you’d get a full day of coverage. From the morning to night.

Once the wedding day is over, you get to look forward to more photos and you get to chose your two favourite photos to be printed in A4 size with beautiful wooden frames made in West Cork.

With Nic as your second shooter you’d have:

• A more relaxed and fun morning

• Someone to take you to the ceremony room and pace your walking down the aisle

• More variety of photos of the ceremony

• Guaranteed photos of every single guest

• Quicker group photos so that you can get back to partying sooner

• More support at the couple shoot

• More opportunities for entertaining candid moments to be captured

We really love photographing weddings and celebrating your big day with you! And for us to maintain this high standard, we limit the amount of weddings we do every year to just 12. This allows us to be well prepared and full of creativity for each individual wedding.

So if this sounds like a wedding package that you would like to have for your wedding, get in touch with us here. We’d love to hear from you and see if we’d be a good match for you on your big day!