Lusty Beg Wedding. Where does the time ago? It’s three years now since my friend Cyril and Kate’s wedding day. I thought I’d work on some re-edits and share some of the memories with you.

Cyril and Kate got married on Lusty Beg Island. This is a fabulous spot in the countryside of County Fermanagh. It’s not only a great wedding venue but also an ideal spot to get away from it all. The Island is located in Lower Lough Erne and a ferry runs the short distance carrying cars and guests back and forth from the mainland. Lusty Beg is a haven of tranquillity surrounded by nature with a variety of activities available including water sports and archery.

As a wedding photographer I’ve shot several weddings at the Island and each one has been both enjoyable and unique. The staff have been very hospitable, not only with guests but with wedding suppliers such as myself. It’s always a pleasure to photograph and visit and it’s one of my favourite wedding venues.

Cyril is a silversmith and creates unique jewellery for a living. He runs Ember Jewellery in Belfast and he designed and created the rings for his own special wedding to Kate.

The couple enjoyed an outdoor wedding with over 200 guests. The ceremony was performed at the lakeside on a sunny spring afternoon. The conditions were perfect with some nice clouds diffusing the sunlight. This also worked out great for the portrait shots later in the day. We hung out at the pier starting with some group shots before everyone went to get refreshments. I had planned on getting some striking photos of the couple incorporating as much of the surrounding scenery as possible. We then took a walk around the other side of the lake which has secluded woodland contrasting the lakeside location. I used off-camera flash to balance out the light for most of these shots.

With my wedding photography it’s important to allow at least 2 hours for portraits. I make the shoot fun and enjoyable and even couples who really don’t like being photographed always remark on how much they enjoy their wedding shoot with me. It’s important to make the couple feel at ease and I provide guidance with subtle posing direction.  I also find the shots tend to improve after a while as the couple relax more.

The Lusty Beg Wedding reception was of course a lot of fun. I try not to get distracted during the speeches and focus on capturing the expressions and body language of the bridal party and families.  I normally cover table shots and then focus on how guests are interacting in a covert manner. Well, I try to be as inconspicuous as a 6 foot 2in guy with a Dslr and 200mm lens can be. I also like to use my 50mm during the dinner (Not just as covert) and I try to get a few shots of the food being prepared and served when possible. Lighting at some receptions can be a challenge and sometimes the white balance needs fine adjustment in post processing. This is something I’ll discuss in a later post or video.

After dinner I continued to cover the evening and the celebrations. I normally finish up just after the first dances but as I was staying at a nearby hotel on the mainland I wasn’t in a rush to leave. It was a superb day and one of my favourite weddings so far.

ONTO THE PHOTOS

Here is a small selection of images from the day which I hope you will enjoy.
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