A wedding photographer in West Cork, Ireland

Where do I begin? Seriously. Where do I begin…

This would be the forth or fifth wedding from the same group of friends, so I already knew Shona and Matt from meeting them several times before. When they booked me for their wedding I knew (I mean I really knew) that this would be a wedding to remember, and I was excited to find out it would be in West Cork. I had never been before and I could not wait. Its only a short drive over, and shamefully this would be my first time in Ireland.

I took a few days before and after the wedding to explore Ireland, and following some recommendations I had the chance to visit some truly stunning locations. The drive down from Rosslare along the coast is worth every minute. The whole time I was there, the weather was picture-perfect. Blue sky almost every single day and beautiful warm weather.

So, on to the wedding. As I had met many of those who would be attending this wedding before, I thought I knew what to expect – but I was way off. Way, way off. It was so far beyond my expectations. They sure know how to party, damn do they know how to party..…

The whole time I was with Shona, Matt and their combined family and friends I was made to feel part of the wedding. It is a privilege to be included in such a way.

It would be hard to pick out my favourite parts of the weekend (although I heard the steak on Wednesday evenings BBQ was pretty good), because so many things were going on and with almost 200 people for the wedding there was no shortage of characters to keep everyone entertained (see photos below). The Sloe Gin was out of this world, and the food was even better. However, I would have to say that the evening party at the West Cork Hotel really stood out. Not that it took anything away from the ceremony, but things really took a different direction after the food had been served. Wow. That band knew how to get people moving on the dance floor. Mix that in with the Bedford lot, Shona’s family from Ireland and a healthy amount of booze and you have a party. I’m thinking of inviting them all to my place for a weekend just to have the party again. They really raised the roof.

All in all, the Wednesday night BBQ, the wedding, the evening party, the crab fishing on Sunday, the live music and Thai food on Sunday, the Sloe Gin, 200 guests – a week to remember.

Shona, Matt – I cannot thank you enough for a truly memorable week in Ireland. Not to coin a phrase, but the people you meet really make the memories. Thank you so much, and I hope I get to see you all again very soon.