This story starts with us hiding in the bushes in Botanic Gardens ready to jump out and photograph someone who really wasn't expecting it. Before your mind leaps to places it shouldn't, it was all because Kevin, the big romantic, wanted to propose to Laura in the spot where he and Laura became a couple. It was a spot in Botanic Gardens in Belfast, and there and then he told us we'd be coming back at the same time next year to photograph his wedding. You don't say no to Kev.
We first met Kevin at a wedding, many years ago. There's a time in the evening when our work is winding down and the wedding band is arriving. It kinda feels like a changing of the guard. We instantly got on with Kevin and his amazing band, The Rare Aul Stuff, and have gotten to know the lads really well over the years. It was only after jumping out of a bush with our cameras that we got to meet Laura - she's every bit as amazing as he'd told us she was. And then, there's the girls. Their four gorgeous, sweet, talented and hilarious daughters who, like their parents, are just such good craic.
On the wedding day, we took all their photographs before the ceremony, which left everything from the ceremony onwards really relaxed and candid. It also meant we didn't have to take them away from their reception - though Kevin did get Deci to do an impromptu Raparees/Rare Aul Stuff band shoot at one point.
When we arrived at the Dark Horse for their wedding ceremony, instead of hiding and then making a grand entrance, Laura and Kevin stood at the door and welcomed all their guests. We loved how that set the tone for the rest of the day.
And speaking of the venue... We have to give a massive shout out to The Dark Horse. This was our first wedding here and the setting and the staff were top class. If you want a wedding in a Belfast pub, we cannot recommend it highly enough! The courtyard is a great place for a ceremony, in the shade of a gorgeous oak tree, surrounded by art celebrating famous locals. This is probably the first wedding we've shot where there is a mural of the groom on the walls at the ceremony... Kev is a living legend, though.
How is a pub wedding different? It's probably more relaxed than the average wedding, for a start. And in place of a traditional sit down meal, they had an amazing grazing table, followed by ice cream and then, later, burgers. That's pretty much all our favourites right there.
Music, of course, was at the very heart of it all, with their incredible friends performing all day from the ceremony onwards. Check out the (extensive) list of performers at the end of the blog. While there was no 'official' first dance, we can't actually remember any point when people weren't dancing. Honestly, it felt like one of the best Paddy's day nights out that you can imagine. The poor bouncers had their work cut out keeping out the hundreds of tourists that wanted to join the party - we're half surprised that Kevin didn't call them in.
If ever a wedding has reflected who a couple are, it's this one - centred on friends and family, having the craic with plenty of music and free-flowing Guinness. It was a festival - as pure a celebration of love as you could imagine. So many of the traditional elements of weddings were missing but not missed. They did it their way, and that's what made it great.
Musicians:
Rare aul stuff
Rapparees
Roving out
Luke ward
Ruairi Canaan
Niall & Rachel Hanna
Neil grant
The reckoners
The muddlers club
Conor Blaney and the real shindig
Aaron o hagan on the uillean pipes
Dj baz Conor Markey and Paul McKenna from the Paul McKenna band
Noel Maguire The devils punch bowl