This was another wedding I was really looking forward to photographing. Jennifer and Sam contacted me through Facebook as many brides/grooms do, although I already knew Jennifer from high school years ago. Yes, this was another wedding where I knew the either the bride or groom from school. It’s always great catching up with people you haven’t seen in years and even better to be invited to photograph their wedding day!
I started the morning in Jennifer’s mum’s house in the hills to the north of Castlewellan looking towards the Mourne mountains, the scenery from the house was stunning on that sunny morning. After getting photos of the preparations I had a short drive down the road to Ballyward Church, near Castlewellan were Jennifer and Sam were married.
After that the guests to headed up to Newtownards and round the coast road to Mountstewart for some group photos. After that was finished the guests left and travelled just round the corner to Orange Tree house while Jennifer, Sam and I took some more photos before joining the guests. Luckily Jennifer and Sam got perfect weather for their wedding day, warm and sunny, not something every couple get on their big day in Northern Ireland! Mountstewart is a great looking place even on the dullest day so to get the chance to wander around in the sun taking photos of the bride and groom when all the gardens were full of flowers and plants was fantastic.
Orange Tree house is literally a couple of miles from Mountstewart down the Ards Penisula so it didn’t take long before we joined the guests for the reception and rest of the evening. It’s a brilliant location, right on the edge of Strangford lough, with views of the lough to the south and Scrabo Tower just to the north. With the good weather everyone was outside enjoying the sun, which made for some great photos. All in all it was a really great wedding to be part of, the weather, the locations, the guests and last but not least the bride and groom who were super relaxed and enjoyed themselves all day made it very enjoyable to photograph. I wish them both all the best!
MICHAEL BURCH PHOTOGRAPHY 