A Fun Family Portrait Shoot /  by Jan

5-star Google Review

“Jannik and his partner were perfect and professional. He emailed in a timely manner given I’m from the states and unsure of any good location to take photos. My husband is from farran and he suggested a couple of places near by. The rain was near, kids were cold, but the photos didn’t give any of that vibe. Photos of the group, kids and individual family appear flawless. He returned the photos edited in a fast manner with a clickable link because only two of my husband family live in Ireland, so this makes it easier for all. Overall amazing!”
— Sonia

Family photo shoots are something I do a lot of, they’re really fun. Sometimes it might be a celebration of a newborn joining the family, sometimes it’s to just celebrate the milestones which don’t have set occasions. And sometimes it’s to celebrate that everyone is together for first time in a long time.

So for this family reunion, I headed just outside of Cork city to the gorgeous Kilcrea Friary. With its ancient Franciscan friary and rolling green hills, this location is the perfect blend of Irish heritage and natural beauty. Plus, it was also near the family home. Handy!

I love doing these extended family shoots; they offer the perfect excuse for all those uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews to gather and enjoy some quality time together. In this case, families from all corners of the world came together for the first time in a long while.

Photographing such a large number of people can be at first feel overwhelming. In this case it was 17 people in total, 10 adults and 7 children. But my approach to these family shoots is to make it easy and fun. First starting off with the full family as a group photo, I then break up the groups into smaller subdivisions and family units. We even get some couple shots in there, which are particularly special; so many people find the moment to be reminiscent of their wedding day – a time where the focus was simply on them as a couple.

And to finish it off with a high, I staged a race with the kids and let them run wild. They took it very seriously and it led to these adorable pictures. Not to be outdone, the adults had their turn too, to my surprise. It’s those spontaneous moments that can be so much fun on a shoot like this!

If you would like to book me for your family reunion or would like a regular family photo shoot, say hi to me here!

Aidan and Lorna - Ballymaloe House Wedding Photographer /  by Jan

Relishing Ballymaloe

Ballymaloe, not just a culinary experience but also such a beautiful wedding location! Ballymaloe House has rightfully earned its stellar reputation not only for its delectable farm-to-table cuisine and artisanal relishes but also as a stunning space to host a wedding celebration. While some popular wedding destinations don't always live up to their hype, that's certainly not the case here. Stunning gardens and the house itself make the perfect, picturesque backdrop for your special day.

But let’s start at the ceremony. Taking place at the registry office in Cork city, it still holds a special place in my heart as it’s where I got married. The nerves still kick in sometimes as I remember my own vows, and I’m always impressed how lovely the ceremonies are for being a government run entity. The officiants really do their best to make the ceremonies still feel special. You’re invited to bring any music you may want and an opportunity for speeches is given. While the ceremony itself may be brief, it's undeniably sweet and meaningful. Perfect for Aidan and Lorna, who will still have a proper wedding in France, but needed to get the paperwork done in Ireland first.

5-star Google Review

“Jannik was fantastic. Super friendly, very accommodating and he captured our day superbly. The turnaround for the photos was extremely quick. Would 100% recommend!”
— Lorna

Usually, after an elopement ceremony, I’d take the couple around the city for their couple shoot. However, with a beautiful venue like Ballymaloe waiting for us, I decided to go straight there instead, eager to capture the moment.

And it wasn’t just Ballymaloe that was gorgeous, but how about these wedding outfits? Lorna deciding to go with a custom made suit instead of a dress. We alternated the shots in terms of the blazer, taking some photos with it on, and some without. Although personally, I loved how the outfit really came together with the blazer on, just absolutely flowing.

Ditching the dress

“Lorna deciding to go with a custom made suit instead of a dress.”

I’m definitely looking forward to photographing at Ballymaloe again! So if you’re thinking of booking this venue for your wedding, say hi to me here and I’d be delighted to send you my wedding packages. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Anthony and Mairead - Kilkenny Wedding Photographer /  by Jan

It’s not often that I leave the rebel county behind! Surprisingly all of my photo shoots so far have been within County Cork. It is the biggest county after all, although I did get close to the border of Kerry several times, just a stone’s throw away. But this was officially my first time leaving the safety of Cork behind me. Save the Journey is now branching out into neighbouring counties!

Kilkenny. What a place!

I had previously met Anthony and Mairead as guests at this beautiful Sea Church wedding of Ann and David that I had photographed. So when they asked me if I could photograph their wedding, I just had to say yes. Anthony was surprised that I immediately agreed, thinking he was just chancing his arm by asking, but I was up for the travel, treating the whole wedding as a little weekend getaway. Plus it would be great to see Ann and David again - Ann this time a bridesmaid. Also, as a lovely surprise on the day, Noreen, who I did this newborn shoot with, was also a bridesmaid. What a coincidence!

We start this wedding day at Mairead’s family home. With the ‘Child of Prague’ having kept a watchful eye on the weather, we were set for a beautiful day. He really put in his overtime for this wedding as it was absolutely pouring rain the day before and would again the day after the wedding, but on the actual wedding day it was sunny and warm. Last minute preparations included hair, make-up and some prosecco. Oh yes, and some quick mechanical work to attach the ribbons to the cars.

The wedding ceremony took place just a short drive away at St Patrick’s church in Kilkenny city centre. I thought it was quite a pretty church, very striking. And was it full! Coming in at 180 guests it was the largest wedding I had ever photographed. Although I learned later on that this is considered intimate in Kilkenny. A normal sized wedding in Cork would be considered to be between 80-120 guests, so 180 was huge! I still find it funny how you don’t have to travel far in this small country for cultures and accents to change so much. I was informed later on that 250 guests is a normal size in the Marble City.

5-star Google Review

“Jannik and Nic were amazing!! They were so accommodating, enthusiastic and made the whole experience so relaxed. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. The quality of their work is fantastic! Amazing work and an amazing couple! 10/10!”
— Anthony

After the ceremony, Anthony and Mairead had requested that we go to St Kieran’s College for the couple shoot and the group photos of bridesmaids, groomsmen and all the important family members.

The stairs provided a beautiful setting with the incredible architecture of the college. I love photographing groups on these large staircases as there are so many different arrangements one can implement and it’s great to have people of different heights perfectly visible.

I also really enjoyed doing the couple shoot with these two. The setting under the tree just worked so well on such a sunny day. I feel like so many of my shoots lately have been in overcast conditions, so to have some actual summer sun was amazing. The leaves almost glowing in the background. The two were also so smitten with each other that getting these candid moments was such a breeze, and it was just so beautiful to be a part of!

The next stop for the reception was the Newpark Hotel. The Newpark Hotel is absolutely no stranger to weddings and it shows. I think this was the most organized and efficient, yet completely stress-free wedding venue that I have ever photographed at.

After some mingling and ice-cream, I took the two into the gardens for just a handful more couple photos. And before I knew it, it was time for the speeches! With these many tears and so much laughter, it was clearly a good set of speeches.

Another cultural difference that I experienced was that each table had a bet of how long the speeches would be, they were then timed and the winner of each table got a free drink I believe. This must be a Kilkenny thing because I’ve never come across this before. My bet was embarrassingly low, which I will put down as benefit for the quality of the photos. No drink for me.

If you are interested in booking me for your wedding day, be it in the county of Cork or elsewhere, say hi to me here. I’d love to hear from you! I only do a limited amount of weddings per year so make sure you get one of the final spots in my calendar.