mark capilitan photography ¦ specialist in weddings & portraits ¦ 087-6685400

So I had a really nice wedding last Saturday, starting in Sligo again! Helena & Darragh were fab to work with, super relaxed & happy to go along with whatever photos were needed. The weather could have been better, but at this stage in the middle of May with the thermometer barely hitting 10 degrees I’ve almost given up on heat! So with hail, sun & wind on the radar, I just got ready to shoot inside all day, and that makes things a little easier, and working in Kilronan Castle, that’s not a bad thing anyway!

Starting in Helena’s house in the morning, things were really relaxed. With loads of detail around to shoot & another morning of dodging champagne corks – that’s becoming a health hazard almost!!! And the girls ready nice & early, I was able to get some nice portraits before heading to the Cathedral to photograph Darragh & the guys.

Following the ceremony, everybody made their way to the Castle in Ballyfarnon where we got all the photos inside in the dry & calmness of the palm court & spa area. And with photography inside (or outside) the most important thing I’m looking for is the light, followed by the connection between the couple. The photographs will naturally come then.

Shooting alongside me on video was Niall from Complete Weddings, and getting the party going in the evening was Deja Groove!

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It seems 2013 is a year of firsts for me, even though it’s my seventh year shooting weddings…first time to photograph a bride & groom at sunset, first time shooting in St.Annes church in Sligo and getting to shoot a bride & groom in Sligo Abbey! These last two opportunities presented themselves for Lorraine & David’s wedding last Saturday! Having driven around 600km in two days the previous weekend, this wedding took place all in Sligo town, so it was the complete opposite, really short distances between venues!

Starting in the brides house, all the girls were ready really early, which is always great, as it means we can spend a bit more time getting some bridal portraits, and when the wind isn’t cooperating, a little more time inside was needed! It also means I get to head off to the church to photograph the guys, giving the bride & girls a little time alone without a camera around!

Having shot the guys quickly, Lorraine arrived pretty much on time, and I have to say I hope I get to shoot in St.Anne’s church again, as it’s really nice to shoot in…big, wide, bright and has nice colours behind the alter! Following the ceremony we headed just around the corner to Sligo Abbey to get some images of the bridal party & bride & groom. This is a wonderful location for images and I could have easily stayed a couple of hours shooting! But we only needed about 10-15 minutes to get all the images we needed before we headed up to the top of Doorly Park to get the family formals and a couple more shots of Lorraine & David in amongst the flowers!

With all the images completed, myself, Danny from Smart Video and everybody else made our way to the Southern Hotel in Sligo. Being a bank holiday and a big crowd from Sligo, this party went on all night I’d say!

Enjoy the preview images!

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From Galway then Mayo then Sligo on Friday, to Mayo and Sligo again on Saturday! For Michelle & Paul’s wedding I got to shoot in Knock, somewhere I haven’t been since I was a kid! With Ann Young doing all the make-up in the morning, pretty much everybody was finished & ready when I arrived, which meant loads of time for nice candid photos and no last minute panics! With everybody ready, I got a few quick bridal portraits in the glorious sunshine before heading to the church to shoot Paul & the guys, his biker friends and some guests arriving, before a very timely Michelle turned up!

Following the ceremony, and some of the quickest family shots I’ve ever had to do because of a 3pm mass that none of us knew about! That was pressure and thanks to all the families we got everything done with about 2 minutes to spare!! Myself & the bridal party then went around the grounds of the Knock Shrine which is pretty nice & got all the relaxed portraits there before making our way to the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone complete with motorbike convoy leading the way!

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After the last three posts of some of the most important wedding details for inspiration, a culmination of 6 years of shooting, it’s great to get back to a real wedding post again! After all, that’s what I do…I don’t shoot set-up features for mags/blogs…I shoot weddings, I am a wedding photographer!  And as a selection of images from last Friday’s wedding, here are a few moments that happened throughout the day…moments that helped define this wedding, and what the couple, Joan & David, will hopefully remember in years to come. Moments & people – the most important elements to a wedding. We all love details, especially me coming from a detail oriented sport like Formula 1 where even tape strip looks cool, but what makes a wedding is the people and the moments created by those people.

It’s not often I shoot an image & know right away it’s up there with my all time favourite images that I’ve shot. The shot of Joan & her mum at the entrance to the church (image 8) lasted all of two seconds maybe, before they walked up the aisle. This is where knowing light and working on the fly made capturing this moment possible. That comes with years of shooting, and just knowing how many stops difference in light there is between inside & outside the church.  There are no second chances with an image like this, it’s split second decisions or the moment will be gone. Convince me to shoot RAW…no way, JPG all the way!!!

Church – Kilrickle, Loughrea, Co.Galway.

Reception – Lisloughrey Lodge, Cong, Co.Mayo.

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