Tinakilly House Wedding Photography | Anne & Andrew

Some people you feel like you’ve known for years even if you’ve just met. When I arrived on the morning of Anne and Andrew’s wedding and found Anne having her hair done in her suite, we chatted like old friends straight away. In a way, we were. I had photographed Andrew's sister Liz's wedding the year before, and walking into Tinakilly House that August morning felt like coming back to something familiar and warm.

Tinakilly House in County Wicklow is one of my favourite venues anyway, a place I always recommend my friends take a look at when they’re wedding planning (so I’ve been a guest there lots and not always a wedding photographer!). The country girl in me loves the oak-lined avenue, the Victorian house, the gardens rolling out toward the sea — it holds a kind of stillness that seems to slow everything down in the best possible way. For Anne and Andrew, who are both busy pilots who met during their training (and rarely get a stretch of grounded time at home together!) it was the perfect place to unwind and have the time and space to be together and be with their loved ones.

Getting Ready at Tinakilly

Anne got ready in one of Tinakilly's beautiful manor house rooms (with more of my favourites, makeup artist Stacey Brennan and hair stylist Doireann Kenny) and the morning had exactly the energy she brings to everything; easy, warm, no drama. Just a small circle of people who love her and a room filled with soft light and easy conversation.

Across the house, Andrew was with his dad, his brother and his brother-in-law Ben. I know Ben well. He married Liz the year before and I spent their whole wedding day with them. It’s always lovely to revisit a family on another wedding day. It feels like a reunion with friends. It also helps them forget I’m there to photograph them for that “guest with a camera” feel that I love my photos to have.

Wedding CeremonSt. Joseph's Church, Glenealy

Anne and Andrew had their wedding ceremony in St Josephs’s Church in Glenealy, a short 10 or 15 minute drive from Tinakilly House. It’s a small, rural church with a gentleness about it that you feel the moment you step inside. Fr. Paul has that same quality — quiet, kind and welcoming. The ceremony felt less like a formal occasion and more like a gathering of friends dressed up.

Anne and Andrew didn’t have bridesmaids and groomsmen as such but they had family so clearly by their side at all times and little Aoibhín the flower girl guiding their walks in and out of church with her basket of petals. At the end she got a big spin and twirl from Andrew and was clearly delighted with the job she had done. It was a day of lovely little family moments like that.

Drinks Reception and Teddy’s Ice Cream

Back at Tinakilly, we got the all important family photos done straight away so everyone could get down to the business of lawn games and ice cream. Exactly the kind of wedding reception I love to photograph. There is something about an ice cream van at a wedding that removes every last trace of formality from a day. The adults queued like children. The children were beside themselves. I felt very at home, being a Dun Laoghaire girl the sight of Teddy’s will always mean home to me.

Outdoor Speeches on the Lawn

Before the meal, the guests gathered on the lawn for speeches in the open air. There’s no better way to do speeches, when you get the weather, than informally on the lawn with the Manor house as gorgeous backdrop, drinks in hands, guests and speakers relaxed. Anne and Andrew both spoke at this stage, leaving only Andrew’s dad Ramon’s speech for the dining room later.

Portraits at Tinakilly

Anne and Andrew are not people who want to be taken out of their own wedding day for an hour of photographs. I understood that completely, and we worked in short five-minute pockets — in front of the house as guests arrived back from the church, at the garden viewpoint with Wicklow spread out behind them, and later on the woodland walk as evening came in. Those small windows were enough, and more than enough. There’s nothing I need you do for me on a wedding day as your wedding photographer, I can fit in what you need from your photos wherever you like - 5 minute pockets here and there so you don’t miss the party? No problem for me, I love a party.

Dinner, First Dance and a party in the woods.

Being the big fans of “in-the-moment” photos that they are, one of the parts of the day they were most looking forward to seeing in their wedding photos was the entrance to the dining room. Tinakilly House do a great entrance to dinner at the Pavilion with a quick guest practice of napkin twirling before the couple arrive, it gives such a buzz and great photos! And Anne and Andrew were loving it, I love these kinds of wedding photos as much as they do!

The first dance was outdoors, in the forest, at dusk. Need I tell what a dream this is to photograph? Can we see what a great time I’m having? I really love the Tinakilly outdoor first dance!

First dance in the woods while the band set up. And then it became a party. Anne and Andrew danced with their people in the dark under the Wicklow trees. It was joyful and a little wild like all the best wedding receptions!

Anne and Andrew thanks for the best day! I missed you like old friends when it was over.

Ceremony: St Josephs Church Glenealy Reception: Tinakilly House Celebrant: Fr Paul Hampson Hair by: Doireann Kenny MUA: Stacey Brennan, Making Faces Ceremony music: Leinster String Quartet Band: Wow Party Band Florist: Helena’s florist Cake: Arc Creations