Cashel House Hotel Connemara wedding photography - Anna & Mark

Anna and Mark's wedding came at the end of a three week adventure up the west coast of Ireland in my campervan (more on that shortly). By the time I reached the tiny village of Cashel in the Connemara, Co. Galway, I had fallen well and truly head-over-heels in love with Ireland, and have to admit I shed a little happy tear when I first set eyes on Anna and Mark's venue, the beautiful Cashel House Hotel.

The hotel was set in abundant gardens, with a plethora of flower-filled nooks and crannies to escape to for our couples portraits, not to mention an atmospheric windswept waterfront across the road. The wedding came at the end of what I believe could be termed as something of a heatwave by Irish standards, and Anna and Mark were blessed with a mostly dry day.

Every part of the wedding was painstakingly considered to make sure it all had a personal feel, from their close friend leading the ceremony, to the hand gathered petal confetti which the couple had been collecting everywhere they went (including their Greek holiday). Guests enjoyed traditional Irish music in the evening, followed by a playlist put together by Anna and Mark - it must have hit the spot because the party was in full swing as I ducked out!

Suppliers as follows - Makeup: C Beauty with Fiona; Hair: Helga Kampff at It's Fabulous; Flowers: Yes Flowers (hair flowers by the Bride); Dress by The White Room

Ireland wedding photography by Olivia Moon Photography. Olivia Moon is a UK wedding photographer, Irish wedding photographer, destination wedding photographer specialising in creative storytelling documentary wedding photography in England, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Fiona and Dave's luxurious Irish wedding

Fiona had emailed me to warn me that Irish weddings were "a bit different" to English ones - she explained that they tend to go on longer and later, and that the Irish enjoy a good party. Well, all I can say is that they didn't let me down!

Fiona and Dave are long-termers - it was clear from our first Skype meeting that they had been together a long time, and that their wedding was to be a celebration of their relationship and a bringing together of the families with their son Cormac. They chose to hold their wedding celebrations at the beautiful Castlemartyr Resort near Cork, Ireland, to give their guests the chance to enjoy the luxurious setting with good food and wine.

Fiona had sourced some lovely handmade elements from Etsy (Fran Johnson House and Personalised by Post), and her beautiful beaded dress was Theia Couture from Folkster Bridal, with hair by Jenny McSweeney of The Upstylist and makeup by Liz McCarthy. The beautiful flowers were by The Village Florist Castlemartyr.

Steve and Laura's wonderful winter Walcot Hall wedding

I love a bit of alliteration, so how could I resist this winter wonderland Walcot Hall wedding? Steve and Laura chose a December date to say their vows at one of my favourite local venues, Walcot Hall, just a few minutes down the road from me in Shropshire.

It's lovely to see more couples going for winter nuptials. I think they're magical - all those twinkling lights, winter foliage and log fires, not to mention the building excitement in the approach to the festive season. The low light is also an opportunity for a wedding photographer to get creative as it poses a unique set of challenges!

The cosy fires and warm atmosphere meant that the whole day felt more intimate than some of the summer weddings I've shot, and it was a joy to be part of Steve and Laura's lovely day.

Olivia Moon is a Shropshire wedding photographer based in Bishop's Castle, and available for destination wedding photography bookings in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

Matt and Tabs' idyllic rural Shropshire wedding

Tabs grew up clambering around the Shropshire countryside in school holidays when she visited her family holiday home, so it was the perfect location for she and Matt hold their dream wedding. They chose to get married in the village church at Hopesay, where Tabs had attended many Christmas services over the years, and moved to the next village along for the reception at the beautifully renovated Edgton Village Hall.

Surrounded by rolling Shropshire Hills, the village hall provided an idyllic rural backdrop to the celebrations. Inside the hall had been festooned with local hops and beautiful blooms by Flowers by Daisy. It was a wedding photographer's dream!

Matt and Tabs met at university, which made for a great gathering of mutual friends, a lot of whom knew each other from university days - the energy of weddings where this is the case is my absolute favourite atmosphere to shoot in, being equal parts raw emotion and a stonking good party, and I didn't want to leave at the end of the night!

Sammy and Jack's Shropshire festival wedding

Aware that Jack had a history of putting on great parties and raves in the forestry around Shropshire, I had an inkling that his and Sammy's festival wedding at Mahorall's Cider Farm on Clee Hill would be an affair to remember. We were all keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a sunny day, but I woke up on the morning to post apocalyptic scenes of storm damage - trees had fallen along my route and the view from Clee Hill was obscured by thick cloud. The drive was slow, and with Sammy's admission of there not being a wet-weather plan ringing in my ears, I'll admit to being a bit nervous about what I might find when I got to the venue.

I needn't have worried. The bride and groom, and most of their guests were seasoned festival-goers - having spent many a wet weekend up to their knees in mud, a bit of drizzle wasn't going to stop them having a good old party! After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a delicious buffet provided by T Catering (I should know, I got in on the action too), and then took to the dancefloor for a Ceilidh! The music went on into the night with live electro swing from perfect festival wedding band The After Hours.

Sammy and Jack's amazing festival wedding has to be one of my favourites of the summer - from all the guests getting down for a boogy as the couple walked up the aisle together to all the beautiful handmade touches, not forgetting my turn as a "human drone", balancing atop a stack of haybales to fill in for the drone photographer who had cancelled because of the weather! Thanks for having me guys, it was truly memorable!

Claire and Matt's idyllic rural Powys wedding

Claire and Matt's Powys wedding promised to be different to my usual kind of wedding - for starters, with both the Bride and Groom coming from farming backgrounds, the guest list was almost twice the size of any wedding I'd shot before; and then there was the fact that the vicar at Montgomery Church had requested that I stand still in one place for the entirety of the service; not to mention that Claire and I were old school friends so I was even more emotional than usual on the day.

Claire had been a little bit worried that Matt might not feel comfortable in front of the camera, but as you can see she had nothing to worry about, even though they had the hillocks of Montgomery Castle to contend with! Nothing beats wedding photography with a view, and the panorama of Powys and Shropshire that Montgomery Castle offered was a perfect backdrop, even if it wasn't the sunniest day!

I've had some lovely feedback from Claire and her family, which always puts a smile on my face:

"Fantastic photos - you did an excellent job! You captured people looking natural and really showed people enjoying themselves. We couldn't have asked for a better photographer - you paid so much attention to detail, and I didn't know that you'd roped my bridesmaids into helping you take some shots of my dress outside until I saw the photos! You were so enthusiastic and really seemed to capture every moment - we actually commented that you seemed to have been everywhere at once!"

Winter is coming, what's a wedding photographer to do?

It's official, autumn is here, and we all know what that means. Winter is coming. Tis the season of short days, long nights, bedsocks, hot water bottles and extortionate heating bills (especially for those of us who work from home). 

And so begins the quiet season for us wedding photographers. It's not quite here yet - I've got a full week of editing after a wedding and an engagement shoot at the weekend, and one more wedding in December - but let's face it, the year is winding down and so am I! So what does this wedding photographer get up to in her down time?

Well usually this time of year would mark the beginning of wedding season down under in Australia and New Zealand, where I am also resident. But having only just moved home to the UK after 4 years in Sydney, I'm craving a cold British winter and all the cosy things that go with it (see paragraph one). So here are a few of the things I'll be filling my time with this winter:

1. My other business.
Yup, that's right. I've got more than one string to my bow. As well as being a wedding photographer I also run a little business called Bunny and Moon, creating custom couples portraits and printing photographs onto handmade wall hangings. With Christmas approaching, it's actually one of my busiest times of year with Bunny and Moon - come November I'll have couples illustrations coming out of my ears! I also want to spend some time developing some new products, like custom illustrated wedding cake toppers and other wedding themed products. Watch this space (or actually, follow me on Instagram @bunnyandmoon for all the Bunny and Moon goings on).

2. Improving my dressmaking skills.
Recently I've been getting inspired by my friend Tifaine and her lovely sewing blog - she's attempting to give up clothes shopping and instead has been busily making her own amazing clothes. I'm armed with a well-stocked fabric cupboard, a pinterest board that's bursting at the seams and a new copy of Tilly and the Button's book, Love At First Stitch. I'm not a stranger to making my own clothes, but I'm certainly a bit rusty and am looking forward to making some wardrobe staples!

3. Travelling.
The thing about being a wedding photographer is that summer tends to be pretty full on. I'm lucky to be able to take my work with me, and next year have weddings in Ireland, the USA and France, but nothing beats a bit of wind-in-the-hair, carefree exploration. So this winter I've resolved to venture to some of the colder destinations that have been firmly on my travel bucket list for years - think Iceland, Scotland and Scandinavia. I'm not too sure that I'm going to be able to persuade my Aussie man to go colder than he is right now, so am accepting applications from willing travel buddies!

4. Non-wedding photography.
This time of year is perfect for family shoots. With the beautiful autumnal colours, low lying sun and early morning mists, there's no better time of year to get rugged up and have a family photoshoot. In this vein, it's also time for me to shoot a new season of kids clothes for Bobbi of Bobbi Handmade - I love love love these photoshoots as it's an excuse to don my wellies and get really playful with whichever gorgeous kiddies she's rounded up to model for her. 

First look: Jo and Amie's Shropshire wedding at Walcot Hall

From the moment we had our first "meeting" on Skype, I knew Jo and Amie were one of "my" couples. They were talking about making signs out of pallets, about their big day being about their family and friends as much as about them as a couple, and it was clear that this was going to be a fun day to photograph in one of my favourite Shropshire wedding venues, Walcot Hall.

Jo and Amie wanted their wedding photography to reflect who they were as a couple, as well as capture the fun and games of their wedding day and the beautiful Shropshire setting.  Amie was a bit worried because she is a bit camera shy, but the emotion of the day carried them through their couples shoot and I'm so pleased with the photographs I got!

The party got going with a ceilidh as their first dance, which was something out of the ordinary for me to shoot - the party was such fun, those northerners sure know how to throw a good old knees up! Thanks for letting me share your wonderful wedding with you ladies!

Shropshire wedding photographer Olivia Moon Photography. I am available for bookings throughout 2016 and 2017 for UK wedding photography, Sydney wedding photography, natural wedding photography and destination wedding photography. Contact me for more information.