Windy and wonderful Donegal Wedding

Windy Donegal Wedding :) 

We all know I'm a bit of a puddle jumper when it comes to wedding photography.  Getting down and dirty with quirky wedding couples is what I love to do and this is exactly what this wedding was :)

Meet Madelene and Danny.  A young and vibrant cute couple who were just very pleased to be in each others company. They had no themes or definite trend throughout their day, they didn't need it as their personality shone through with their big smiles and beautiful donegal backdrops.  The groom chose hired suits with purple cravats and the bride gave the groom a silver pocket watch for his wedding day.  Her flowers were delicate tulips my favourite flower in a very vibrant pink mixed into the calla Lilly's in maroon with a sprinkle of purple iris flowers to make a wildflower style wedding bouquet.

They had a little page boy Hunter who carried the rings on a pillow by his teeth:) thats a first for me! He wore a terrible cute tartan kilt with sporran and actually blew the cuteness factor off the richter scale.  They had one junior bridesmaid who carried a basket of flowers up the aisle and was very poised and took her duties very seriously. She wore a large furry coat outside as it was freezing as you can see from some of the bride and groom portraits below.

Their mode of transport was a volkswagen camper van from cool classics cars (https://www.facebook.com/CoolClassicsCarHire) they are based in Co Derry / Co Donegal and are very professional the van really just put the icing on the cake of the care free style that the bride and groom wanted.  Plus it fitted her enormous bridal party!

As you can see by the dramatic skyline the weather was on the turn for the worse.  The camper made it up the very narrow lane to the top of the hill where you can see three counties from the highest point.

We took a few bridal party portraits at the top of the hill and then we ran with the bride and groom to the fort where we got a few quick snaps.  You can get more dramatic shots from the inside of the fort but the weather wasn't great plus the steps are tiny and super slimy in the winter so we gave it a miss!.
This didn't dampen the spirits of the glowing bride and groom who trotted slowly up and down the hill with the cane in tow.  However the veil didn't make it, as it blew away!
There is such a dramatic backdrop to the fort that  its herd not tp be impressed with this as a location for photographs.  However its only for the brave like Madelene and Danny who don't care that their hair was blowing that the rain was falling and that the veil was halfway across a field.

I think these photographs speak for themselves and we were so delighted that they let us blog about their special day.

As Danny said in his wedding speech 'We aren't in love We are love'  and you can tell :)

Copyright www.pure-pictures.co.uk Belfast based wedding photographer but we travel all over Northern Ireland to shoot beautiful wedding photographs of creative and brave weddings.

A few links to the location :
http://www.stonepages.com/ireland/grianan.html
http://www.discoverireland.ie/Arts-Culture-Heritage/grianan-of-aileach/73795

WEDDING SPEECHES HELP!!!

Best Man Wedding Speeches Tips 

As you know www.pure-pictures.co.uk Belfast wedding Photographers stay for the speeches.  Its an important aspect of the day.  Not that you are going to blow it up on your wall but it captures very natural and as there have been some cracking speeches over the years and with the wedding season in full swing I am going to suggest a few pointers for anyone who is going to speak publicly at a wedding.

At this stage in the game we have been to 100's of weddings we have heard heart filled tear jerkers and laugh out loud roars from bridal party and guests.  But this little humble tips are what I think makes a good wedding speech, wether your a bride, groom, or proud mum heres my tuppence worth.....


KEEP IT CLEAN :
I have been to a few weddings recently where the Best man speech has been a tad raunchy, to even include blow up dolls and sexual positions.  Know your crowd.  If there are grannies and grandad's there looking proudly at their grandchildren getting married probably best to skip the 'lads night out' jokes.


SAY SOMETHING PERSONAL:
I'm not talking about their favourite cereal here.  Im talking about saying something really personal about the person, something that when you think about it, it makes you smile.  A story about the person and what makes them special.  For example a funny childhood story or recent encounter which will make anyone laugh.  Help the guests get a better feel for the person that you are talking about.


DONT FORGET THE OBVIOUS:
If you are proud shout it from the rooftops.  Tell the bride she looks awesome, the bridesmaids look great and thank the ushers for showing up :). Check out the official duties of your post and try not to thank everyone, do a blanket 'Thank you' to everyone who helped the bride and groom come to this special moment. Your not writing an oscar acceptance speech.

TIME YOURSELF:
People enjoy the speeches but you want to keep it 'like a mini skirt, sort enough to keep your attention but long enough to cover the essentials'.  Try not to bore people, try it out on a few HONEST friends who will tell you your speech sucks and you need to add a few things.

USE PROPS:
Its always good to share a few things that can be passed about the tables for guests to use.  People can pass around baby photos, sometimes they put the grooms head on brad pitts body anything that will get a PG rated laugh from all the guests not just the young ones.  Paddy Power have a betting slips which can be fun http://content.paddypower.com/weddingsweepstakes/index.php 


EYE CONTACT:
Write speech out in note form so that you look up at the guests.  this is important because as a photographer we wait until someone lifts their eyes to take a photograph.  Secondly it helps you gauge how well your speech is  going down.  If there is tumbleweed move on to the next point on your cards.

A WEE BIT ABOUT LOVE:
We at Pure Pictures love love :) if you end on a note about something beautiful then you can't go wrong by ending on a good note.  Here are my personal favourites that I have been collecting for a year :) I believe in every single one, pick your favourite and say.  'When I think of blank and blank together i think of the saying ....'
http://www.pinterest.com/purepicsbelfast/quotes-for-wedding-speeches/
my personal favourite are
"May your love be modern enough to survive the times and old-fashioned enough to last forever!"

“Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things you do.”

"Marry someone who would walk you home in the rain, and whose first kiss you will always remember".

CHECK IN WITH THE MATRON OF HONOR:
You don't want to cover the same things and also if she does this your screwed :)
http://vonweddingfilms.com/2013/09/rap-a-wedding-toast/

A FEW MORE POINTERS:
These guys have every type of speech imaginable and some really good tips too.
http://www.simplythebestman.co.uk/bestman-speech.html

Good luck and look up!
c
xx

www.pure-pictures.co.uk
Wedding Photographer Belfast and Northern Ireland