Wedding Photography

Lauren and Michael - Engagement Couple Shoot Gougane Barra /  by Jan

What a sunset! What a gorgeous couple! What a location!

Let me introduce you to Lauren and Michael. So what is the special occasion for this couple shoot? Well, handsome Michael here has recently popped the big question to Lauren. I believe I see a sparkling ring here.

Now that’s a good sized ring!

We had planned this lovely sunset photo shoot at St Finbarr’s Oratory, followed by some more photos in the Gougane Barra forest. Some amazing locations! But these locations don’t always play ball with us photographers.

When I checked the weather forecast the day before, I got a bit of a shock. Not only was there a torrential rainstorm expected, but also lightning and thunder! I couldn’t do that to the poor couple. So a quick ring to Lauren and an unexpected question, “Hey, do you wanna do the shoot tonight instead?”

And just like that, the shoot was saved. I’m still so grateful to them both for being so spontaneous and fun!

Luckily we were bathing in this sunlight, and with Lauren’s dress and the flowers, I’m already getting some romantic wedding vibes from this shoot! I can picture it all already! Well, the location is probably the main contributor. I mean this is one of the best hotspots for intimate weddings in County Cork (one I’m actually booked for next year – can’t wait!).

After all the glorious sunset photos at St Finbarr’s, the cloud cover did come over as we headed into the forest.

Originating from Limerick, Michael met Lauren abroad in Canada and have now moved back to Ireland, staying in Cork city. Lauren was so unaccustomed to our entire lack of predatory animals in our wildlife, always looking out for bears and other creatures we thankfully don’t have! Always good to be on the lookout though!

5-star Google Review

I received this lovely review from Lauren, who said;

“My fiance and I had a great time doing our photoshoot with Jannik, he made us feel at ease and we absolutely love the photos!”

I can’t wait for my next shoot in this area, so if you want to make my day and want to do a couple shoot similar to this in Gougane Barra, do say hello to me here.

And remember, besides couples photography, I also photograph the following:

• Wedding Photography Shoots in Cork

• Proposal Photography in Cork

• Adventure Family Photography and Couples Photography in Cork

• and more!

A&E - Wedding Photography at the Maryborough Hotel /  by Jan

I enjoyed photographing this wedding so much, I split it up into two blog posts. So, click here if you want to see the wedding preparation photos of the bride and groom beforehand. They’re lovely photos that were so much fun to photograph with the architecture of the hotel. I’m such a sucker for tall windows! Haha!

With this wedding, I had a second shooter with me, Nic, who was a fantastic addition to the day. She was able to capture extra photos of the ceremony from another angle, which added so much to the final results of the photos. Having a second shooter might not be in everybody’s budget, but I would heavily recommend couples using this option!

Usually when I write these wedding blogs, I hone in on my three favourite parts or aspects of the wedding. And with this wedding, I will continue that tradition.

Reason 1 - Magic

I think one of my favourite parts of the wedding was the setting: the Orangery at The Maryborough. For those who don’t know, the Orangery in Cork is a venue with expansive glass walls, lush greenery, and cascading natural light. It’s a fantastic wedding venue as it let’s in so much light and has a magical botanical look to it.

It almost looks like the couple had a destination wedding with how exotic the Orangery looks. I am not aware of any other wedding venue in Cork that looks like that – and would recommend it for its views of the greenery and gardens outside

Reason 2 – Heart

Heart

“…my second favourite part of the wedding was the best man’s speech during the ceremony.”

On a more personal note, to the couple, my second favourite part of the wedding was the best man’s speech during the ceremony. He absolutely knocked it out of the park with what he said: it was a perfect balance of hilarious banter, that made everyone laugh, and heartfelt moments. That’s exactly the way it should be.

Reason 3 – A photographer’s obsession

And my third favourite thing, not that these are in any order at all, has to be the staircases! This is a wedding photographer’s dream. Both the indoor and main outdoor stairs that lead up to the main entrance. These staircases were great as they add height, interest, and architecture to the shoot.

It’s funny as well, both Aisling and Emmett are both relaxed and easy-going people, but the one demand Aisling did have was that we had to do the couple shoot on the staircase! In black and white! Haha, don’t worry Aisling, that was my thought too!

Thanks for letting me photograph your wedding!

Have a look here at my wedding photography packages for 2023/2024.

5-star Google Review

Aisling and Emmett clearly enjoyed the photos and the whole wedding day with us as well. They left me this lovely Google review:

“We used Save The Journey as our wedding photographer for our wedding in May. We have only great things to say about them.

From the first point of contact to the day of the wedding Jannik was so helpful, informative and overall just a lovely person to deal with.
On the day of the wedding Jannik and Nikki were fantastic, super professional while still making the whole experience fun and relaxed. We both said afterwards how much fun we had getting the couples photos taken!

We are absolutely thrilled with how our photos turned out, they are exactly what we had asked for! If you are considering using Save the Journey as your wedding photographer 100% go for it!! Thanks again for everything Jannik and Nikki! 😊”

If you’d like me to photograph your proposal, say hi to me here. I’d love to hear from you!

And remember, besides proposal photography, I also photograph the following:

• Adventure Couple Shoots in Cork

• Proposal Photography in Cork

• Event Photography in Cork

• and more!

Getting Ready - Wedding Preparations Photography /  by Jan

We find ourselves at the Maryborough Hotel in Douglas for a wedding. The weather is surprisingly good, compared to the last week or two, and later on in the day, we’ll actually have beautiful sunlight and our first taste of summer.

The wedding couple, Aisling and Emmet, are in their separate hotel rooms. Having stayed at the hotel since the previous night, they are having very different experiences right now. Aisling is nervously excited, drinking champagne with her girls, music is on in the background, with the make-up and hair stylist doing their rounds.

Emmet is bricking it. From his balcony they can see the room his future wife is in, but they can not see her. He gets out a bottle of whiskey, pours himself and his boys a bit of courage, and then himself a little bit more. Generous is the word I’m looking for, I think.

We’ll get to the rest of this wedding on another day with a follow up wedding post, but I wanted to focus in on just theses wedding preparation moments here, as I had such a great time photographing this part of the wedding. Getting those detail shots of the wedding ring, the wedding dress, and all the important bits for a wedding was such a joy. Aisling and the girls were so relaxed and fun, I managed to capture so many lovely little moments.

The room itself was gorgeous as well, and I took full advantage of those tall windows letting in so much natural light. It made for some fantastically dramatic and dreamy wedding photos. It was especially great for these mother and daughter moments.

And talking about the parents, what about when Aisling’s father got to see her in her wedding dress for the first time? What a moment! It’s so sweet.

As the bridal party is heading towards the ceremony which is in the Maryborough’s Orangery, a conservatory style wedding venue, here is Emmet seeing his bride for the first time!

Maryborough Hotel Wedding

“…here is Emmet seeing his bride for the first time!”

In the next blog post, you will get to see the full wedding ceremony, the wedding couple photo shoot and the afters! I will link it here once it has been posted. So make sure to come back in a couple of days to see those photos.

If you want to see more wedding photography blog posts, you can view those here, including the couple photo shoots I do in and around Cork.

Looking for a wedding photographer and wondering about different wedding packages? Please see these pages and give me a call with any questions or say hello here. We can chat about pricing/price list and availability and all about your wedding plans!

Edit: Here is the second blog post with the remaining wedding photos at the Maryborough Hotel.