Eoghan and Tijen’s elegant wedding in Castlemartyr was one of the most loving, romantic weddings I have ever photographed. It might seem like a strange thing to say but weddings aren’t always all that romantic! This one was, and it was my pleasure to be there to witness and photograph it all. Thank you Eoghan and Tijen for allowing me to share some on here.

The lucky Cork boy met the stunning Tijen of Turkish Cypriot extraction on a train journey in London and they hit it off immediately. When they got engaged happily they decided on Cork for their wedding. Together they planned a very thoughtful humanist wedding ceremony which was celebrated in Castlemartyr by Geraldine O’Neill. There were lovely traditions from both cultures, little bells tinkled during the ceremony, they did a traditional hand fasting ceremony and had some beautiful poetry read by friends. Later when they were announced into the dining room the traditional Turkish music rang out and the couple walked around the room 3 times. Later there was another tradition involving a clay pot…

We broke with tradition in other ways by photographing the couple before the ceremony. The advantages of this are numerous and I wish more people would consider it. I think Tijen was a little nervous about the day but as soon as she and Eoghan saw each other they both seemed so happy and it think it made them that bit more relaxed for the remainder of the day. It also made sense from a light and time point of view. It was a winter wedding so by the time the ceremony was over light was fading fast and it had gotten quite cold out. Our earlier shoot also allowed them more time for mingling with guests during the drinks reception! Win, win, win!

It was also lovely to see the O’Neill family again. Back in 2006 Eoghans sister and her husband Nick were among the first weddings I had photographed and they had been kind enough to let me use their wedding as a sample album. Which I did for years. I felt really delighted that they remembered me. It was great to catch up with Una and Nick too and meet their two beautiful, smart and funny children.

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