the100guy
photo & video in northern ireland
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #11: ELOPEMENT IN THE WOODS
TOLLYMORE FOREST WEDDING VIDEO
My buddy and awesome wedding photographer Andrew McKenna were so fortunate to be the ones who landed this gig. I met up with Andrew early on to have a fry in Newcastle before the wedding which may have been a bad move as we were filled to the brim and ready for a nap afterwards. But as soon as we got to the forest our game faces were on.
When you arrange a forest wedding in Northern Ireland you are very much at the mercy of the weather, but luckily for Dwaine & Lizzy we could not have gotten a better day for this Autumn outdoor ceremony.
Joined by only a handful of family members, Andrew and myself, Ciara the celebrant took us through one of the nicest little wedding ceremonies I have ever had the pleasure to witness
As Ciara, Andrew and I waited for Lizzy's arrival we all speculated as to what she would be wearing. As a blur of white began to appear in the distance we were knocked on our butts as her wedding attire was revealed. In the raw video footage you can hear me gushing
"Oh Man! She nailed it. She's absolutely freaking nailed it!"
After an imtimate wedding ceremony we took a stroll with the dog through beautiful Tollymore forest and then into Newcastle town for a final few shots infront of the mountains before saying goodbye.
I drove home from this one ontop of the world, grateful that this was what I did for a living.
Wedding Photographer: Andrew McKenna https://www.amckphotography.com/
Wedding Celebrant: Ciara Turley https://celebratewiththc.co.uk/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #10: ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THIEVES WEDDING
STATION HOUSE HOTEL WEDDING VIDEO
Well, I found one of my favourite venue ever this August. Zoe & Andrew's wedding day was a bright spot in the middle of a dark time which I wrote about below. The couple were lovely, the guests were great banter, the photographer, Moat Hill, was one of my favourites ever to work with and the venue.... man alive....
The entire ceremony all I could think about was that final scene at the end of Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves, were Robin and Marian marry in an outdoor ceremony in the woods. I needed this wonderful wedding at a rough time in my life and I am so grateful for everyone being so awesome.
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG # 9: SUMMER WAS HARD
One thing you will see when scrolling through the social media of wedding photographers and videographers is how unbelievably happy we all are all of the time, how easy life is, how awesome business is going etc.
I'm going to take a huge detour from all of that and share the reality what happened this summer. But first, let's have a look at one of my July weddings that I particularly enjoyed for obvious reasons.
Summer 2024 was the busiest I have ever had. While I had some awesome weddings in July, like the back garden wedding above, I unfortunately had to battle through some mental issues. But this was the tip of the ice berg. Once those issues were sorted, I was in the middle of shooting a wedding right at the very start of August when I recieved a call to say my mum was in hospital and it didn't look good. August spiralled out of controll from there. Family rushed back from different countries, holidays were cancelled on one days notice in our case and summer was gone. Right in the absolute busiest stretch of weddings I have ever had, I was also travelling back and forth to the hospital on repeat, trying to be a husband and dad, comforting my young kids over the loss of their summer holiday right at the last minute and eventually my mothers funeral. She had been sick for years so in the end we were relieved that she was finally at peace. By the time September rolled around, the dust had settled and the mad rush of weddings calmed down, life got back to normal with the longest editing queue I have ever had in my life.
Onwards and upwards. Life's not always sunshine and rainbows but things are ok now. Thanks for reading.
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG # 8: WE FINALLY GOT THERE
CORCREGGAN MILL WEDDING VIDEO
Alright, the worlds longest and most boring off season is finally over and I'm on the road big time. The lesser spotted Summer 2024 made a rare appearance at this lovely wedding day at Corcreggan Mill in County Donegal.
Corcreggan Mill is a great place for a DIY wedding day. I may have misunderstood the set up, but from what I could tell, they basically open the doors and you work away at creating your own wedding exactly the way you want it.
Tom & Michelle simply could not have had a better day considering this summer has been a low temperature wash out so far.
I believe it was 1.30am by the time I made it home from Donegal all the way back to Bangor, tired, a little sun burned but worst of all, with another wedding to shoot the next day! Everything went well there too, but several caffeinated beverages (plus maybe one or two alcoholic ones) were needed to survive.
As I write this I have been pretty darn flat out with wedding videos (by my standards) and have a lot to share over the next few weeks!
But now its time to head round to my Dad's for a curry.
Venue: https://www.corcreggan.com/
Photography: https://www.laurencarrollphotos.com/
Celebrant: https://spiritualceremonies.ie/registrars/jim-carbin-osui/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #7: 2024, THE BUSIEST YEAR THAT HASN'T GOT STARTED
OLD COURT CHAPEL WEDDING VIDEO
2024 is already confusing the flip out of me.
Going into this year I had more wedding videos booked than ever and it stands to be my busiest year ever. Yet, in late May as I write this, I have only shot 4.
My biggest year ever for wedding videos is all crammed into a space of a couple of months. I'm about to transition out of my longest ever off season in 12 years into my busiest ever wedding season and after the seemingly endless boredom I've felt over the last six or so months, I'm ready for it. Let's get going.
In the last of what I'm calling my off season wedding videos, Lyndsey & Patrick had the utmost best days weather for their very chilled wedding at Old Court Chapel, Stangford, Northern Ireland.
Lyndsey assured me in the run up that this was going to be the most relaxed wedding ever and she was not exaggerating.
We've had a miserably long Winter here in Northern Ireland and I declare this weding to be the first day of Summer.
Bring on the 2024 wedding video season!
Venue https://www.oldcourtweddingcompany.co.uk/
Photographer https://paulagillespie.com/
Catering https://yellowdoordeli.co.uk/event-catering/
Harpist https://www.ruthcorryharpist.co.uk/
Guitar https://www.emily-roseweddings.com/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #6: NEW SHOWREEL FOR THE YEAR'S END
As 2023 draws to a close I thought it was about time I updated my wedding showreel to include some of my more recent weddings, especially including my string of destination weddings which I still can't quite believe have happened.
This job keeps growing and taking me the new heights year after year, so here's to the future!
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #5: ESCAPING A LEGIT MAJORCAN HURICANNE
Bryana & Tom's wedding in Majorca Spain
In 2022 I shot one of my favourite, if not my absolute favourite, wedding videos ever in Magheramorne House. Shortly after delivering that wedding video I received an email saying "Hey you shot our friends wedding the other week. Are you free to shoot ours next year? It's in Majorca."
To say I was excited to book this one would be an understatement.
What an utter delight it was to travel to Majorca to shoot Byana & Tom's destination wedding in Finca Comasemma. I can honestly say I have never shot in more stunning surroundings and had so much wonderful food and drink provided all day long. The banter was unreal and well worth me making the trip over from Northern Ireland for!
What came after was less than ideal....
The day after the wedding the Island woke up to one of the worst storms it has seen in a very long time. The funny thing is, I was totally unaware of this when I woke up, got ready and left my hotel for the city center. I'm thinking "It's a bit cloudy today", not knowing that earlier that morning the island had been devastated by winds and rain. It turned out that I was walking into the city during a lull and when all hell broke loose I was stuck in the city center, about a mile from my hotel with no option but to run all the way back in the heaviest rain I have seen in years. On the easyjet app they couldn't make up their mind as to the status of my 6pm flight.
Arriving at the airport was more like arriving in a warzone. People were lying everywhere. On every sign, every flight had that dreaded red writing beside it. Flights from 6am were only boarding now a solid 10 hours later. Countless flights were cancelled.
And then there's me, taking off just 30 minutes late and getting home absolutely no problem, not even with any turbulence. I actually felt guilty getting home so easily.
THEN the next day is when the entire UK air traffic control system went down and caused unprecedented air travel chaos across Europe, while I sit at home on my sofa drinking coffee and following it on the news. Man alive did I get away with that one!
Venue: https://www.fincacomassema.com/en
Photography: https://www.instagram.com/emmafentonphoto/
Entertainment: https://panelaproductions.com/
Planner & Catering: https://en.grupoamida.com/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #4: BORDEAUX BOUND
Daniel & Carol's Château wedding in Bordeaux, France
In 2022 my buddy Mark McCullough and I were blessed enough to shoot a beautiful wedding on the Croatian Island of Hvar, where we may or may not have gotten trapped in a castle for several hours before escaping with a ladder that we found in the staff room.
Fast forward about 14 months and we are back on a plane and shooting that couples friends as they married in the unbelievably beautiful Bordeaux countryside in Chateau Renon. This was the first wedding ever held here so it felt like a genuine honour to even be there, never mind shooting the wedding video.
Mark and I spent a day in the city beforehand exploring skateshops, having beers and eating pizza. After we rented our hire car we could not believe the scenery of the wine region outside the city. It was like something straight out of a movie.
The wedding went off without a hitch thanks to planner Amandine's immaculate time keeping and arranging and good times were had by all.
I would rush back to this region in a heartbeat to shoot another wedding video!
Photography: https://www.markmcculloughphotography.com/
Awesome DJ: https://www.belevent.fr/
Planner: https://www.perfectasplanned.com/en/home/
Catering: https://www.chefadomicilebernadet.fr/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #3: CASTLE LESLIE IS LEGIT
Maria & Stephen's wedding video at Castle Leslie Estate
Any time I receive an enquiry to shoot a wedding video at Castle Leslie Estate I have to hold back from replying something like "YES PLEASE!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME SHOOT YOUR WEDDING VIDEO!!!"
This was the second of two wedding videos in a row for me, which is something I rarely book. I'm not exactly old, but I'm certainly at the point in life where shooting back to back wedding videos makes me feel like I have been hit by a truck! But when day 2 is in a venue like this it's hard to turn it down.
The place is just awesome. Genuinely one of the finest venues I have ever had the pleasure to shoot in. Maria & Stephen were awesome, full of smiles and fun. Loved this one.
Venue: https://www.castleleslie.com/weddings/
Photography: https://www.darrynjbradley.co.uk/
Bridal Wear: https://www.destaffordbridal.ie/
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #2: "WHERE AM I?! WHO ARE THEY?! WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?!"
Martijn & Leonie's Dutch wedding & goodbye party video. Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Even if I have just met you, it won't take me long to start talking about my love for The Netherlands. I can always bring it up pretty quickly in a conversation. I have loved the place for years. If I'm honest, it's a bit of a dream to relocate there someday. Amsterdam is my favourite place in the world (so far anyway).
Because of this, I have made multiple contacts with Dutch wedding suppliers. One such supplier was Sunnie, a wedding photographer based in Rotterdam.
So one day Sunnie messages me asking if I would like to come over and shoot Martijn & Leonie's wedding video. I hit the roof.
Martijn & Leonie were already legally married, but as they were relocating to America, they decided to have a full blown wedding celebration and going away party on the same day just outside Eindoven.
After a few sleepless nights trying to get my head around all of this, I was booked on a flight out of Northern Ireland's second best airport for Amsterdam, where I would hop on a train to Rotterdam to stay for two nights in a whacky little place called City Hub. I have stay in the City Hub in Amsterdam and can't rate the place highly enough.
The next morning I'm walking around Rotterdam, waiting for Sunnie to pick me up and the realisation hits me: "I'm about to get into a car with someone who is basically a stranger to drive out to the middle of nowhere, to shoot a wedding video for a couple I have never met and had one bit of contact with and it's all taking place in a language I don't understand."
I kinda live for situations like this. I love the random. I love the whacky little adventures and bizarre situations life can throw at you and I believe you should embrace them and challenge yourself to (to quote Yes Theory) seek discomfort.
Well, when we arrived at the location, my mind was rather blown!
After the ceremony (none of which I understood, but I was able to follow along based on the general vibe and the fact I've shot 200+ wedding videos so far) there was plenty of partying, amazing food, drinking games, fireworks, dancing, you name it!
The vibe was unreal. It was genuinely one of the nicest and most enjoyable wedding videos I have ever had the pleasure to shoot. Sunnie was a dream to work with too!
Right at the end of the night, one of the guests found out I was from Northern Ireland and absolutely demanded that we drink whiskey together. This was as my bag was on my back and we were headed out the door! He dragged me to the bar and asked for two whiskeys for him and his "Irish friend". I'm shaking my head like crazy as (despite the fact I love whiskey) we really had to leave. Thankfully the pop up bar wasn't serving whiskey so he assured me "I'll get it sorted" and started looking around for a whiskey source. I'm not gonna lie, as soon as his head was turned I ran.
The bar has been set pretty high, but I can only hope this videographer from Northern Ireland gets to shoot more Dutch wedding videos!
Thanks to everyone involved for making it happen. The craziest part? The next weekend I was off to France to shoot a wedding video In Bordeaux! Back to back foreign wedding videos for this guy!
WEDDING VIDEO BLOG #1: WELL IT ONLY TOOK ME 11 YEARS
11 years and several hundred wedding videos later and I'm finally writing my first blog post! I have officially joined the 21st century.
Wedding videos weren't even remotely on my radar until I was asked by my now wife, then girlfriend's cousin if I could shoot hers. My response was something like "Uh, I guess?" and now here I am.
It's currently July 2023 and this has been a weird month. Despite summers normally being a very busy time of year, I only had two wedding videos this July. But what made this month super busy was that they were both destination weddings! The first one being in The Netherlands and the second in France. On top of this, my wife and I had a trip to Amsterdam to celebrate ten years of marriage. So six flights later and I'm wrecked!
The first 'proper' blog coming up will detail the random story behind my last minute trip to shoot a wedding video in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
