Elaine and Barry's wedding in the Salthill Hotel

Elaine and Barry were recently married in the Salthill Hotel Galway

Wedding Preparations in Shrule Mayo

Although Elaine and Barry had their wedding reception in the Salthill Hotel in Galway, their ceremony took place in Shrule Mayo…a place not too far from me.
Elaine and Barry have built the most beautiful of homes just outside Shrule and it was here that Elaine’s preparations took place on wedding morning. Their house is distractedly beautiful, loved everything about it and it lent itself to good photo opportunities too.

Elaine’s bridesmaids were her sisters Edel and Mairead and were good people to have around you on wedding morning. There was no fussing with preparations running smoothly and the girls were good people to be around. John Murphy from Avalon Video was with me when we called to Elaine’s home and we were lucky men to be photographing such a pretty bunch of girls! They were looked after by Anne Marie Hughes on Make Up and Redz Hair Design looking after the hair. They all looked truly stunning and fair play to them for having the girls ready in plenty of time!

Barry’s preparations took place a couples of hundred yards away from his new home, and I nipped over for a few shots of him with his groomsmen Robert and Eoin while Elaine was hopping into her dress.

Wedding Ceremony St Joseph’s Church Shrule

The wedding ceremony took place in St Joseph’s church in Shrule. I love working there, not least of all because Fr Vivian is a thoroughbred gentleman and a team player. Anytime I’ve worked with him, be it in Glencorrib, Shrule or Headford, he’s so welcoming and very much a team player. It’s all about the newlyweds on the big day and he’s so accommodating.

Shrule is also a lovely church with plenty of room around the altar. It looked particularly awesome on wedding day thanks to Enchanted Weddings for it’s wonderful church decor. Factor in Nicola McGuire doing church music, everything was Rosy.

Elaine and Barry had refreshments arranged for their large number of wedding guests after the ceremony. The Ice Cream Van was inundated with guests trying to cool down. We were experiencing warm summer weather and they were a welcome treat for both guests and wedding suppliers!!

We used the altar for the family portraits after Elaine and Barry greeted all of their guests. We also used the beautifully decorated aisle for some bridal portraits before making the journey back to Salthill in Galway

Memorial Gardens Salthill

The Memorial Gardens directly outside the Salthill Hotel is a busy spot for wedding photos, and rightly so. I shoot a lot of weddings in both the Salthill Hotel and the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill and couples are fond of using the wonderful piece of nature that’s on it’s doorstep. During the summer months, it also offers some shelter from the high winds when the tress have plenty of foliage. We did our bridal party shoot here before Elaine and Barry took a quick stroll across the road to the Prom.

It was a busy spot on this beautiful sunny day. As mentioned in previous blogs, I love seeing the goodwill extended to couples on their wedding day by complete strangers. Be it walking the Prom in salthill or walking up Quay Street in Galway, there’s always a lot of love extended to couples and indeed it’s good for the soul to witness same.

Salthill Hotel Wedding Reception

Our final stop was the Salthill Hotel. Colin Fahy was entertaining guests with his awesome repertoire of songs and he had Elaine and Barry’s guests in might form for their arrival.

We were back in the Salthill Hotel about an hour before the bell was rung for the meal…and important hour in my book for Elaine and Barry to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends before their dinner.

Thanks so much guys for trusting me with your wedding photography. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about your day and you were both super people to be around…..and I appreciate your cooperation with regards to your wedding photography. Until we cross paths again, mind yourselves!!

Some photos of the day are below and a photo slideshow can be viewed at the bottom of the page