Jacksons Hotel Ballybofey Wedding

Congratulations to Orla and Gary who were married in a beautiful Jacksons Hotel Ballybofey Wedding ceremony on the 23rd of August in front of their families and friends. Beautiful weather, beautiful people and a huge dollop of fun made Orla and Gary’s wedding a day to remember. Orla and Gary wanted something different and something special for their wedding day and they wanted it to be very personal to them and something they could always look back on and smile about and they certainly got what they planned for.

The first look is not something that is the norm in Irish weddings and although I have done a few of them now I would love to see it become more of a thing for couples to do. One of the first things Orla spoke to me about was the possibility of doing a first look and I was all for it. With a first look you arrive at your wedding ceremony having done your bridal party and couple location photos which means after the ceremony you just have a few family photos to do before spending the rest of your wedding day with your guests enjoying their company and the craic. Whats not to love about that eh!!

When I arrived at Orla’s home house the girls were busy in hair and make up. On makeup duty for the day was the extremely talented Sinead from Beauty Boutique By Sinead Corrigan-Crowell  and when it comes to getting a bride looking her best in photos there is nobody better than Sinead. The hairstyles were skillfully taken care of by Lesley from Blown Away Hair Salon in Bundoran and Orla’s own hair was done by her bridesmaid and hairstylist best bud Christina. On videography duty for the day was one of Donegal’s and now Monaghan’s finest cinematic wedding videographers James Carr from JC Media. James tried to show us all some magic by attempting to walk through a glass patio door but thankfully the glass stopped him in his tracks!!- sorry James was just too funny not to mention!

Orla was well looked after by her chief bridesmaid and sister Aisling and also her daughter and flower-girl Aoife on the morning of the wedding and I think Aoife really enjoyed being pampered in hair and makeup- the start of things to come for Gary. Once Orla was dressed and we got some quick family photos we jumped into the cars and made our way to Murvagh to meet with Gary and his groomsmen Darren and Shane and pageboy and son Oisin for the first look before heading on for the Jacksons Hotel Ballybofey Wedding ceremony.

The plan was for Gary to be in Murvagh ready and waiting for Orla but he managed to get held up coming over the Pettigo mountain on his way down from Trillick- Orla suspected he might have got distracted by the sight of turf on the mountain and may even have stopped to help foot a few rows!! Once Gary arrived I got him in place with Oisin by his side and then signaled to Orla and Aoife to make their way up to the boy’s. It was such a special moment to be witness to and a brilliant part of my job to capture such a lovely family moment on camera. After a while the rest of the bridal party joined Orla and Gary and we got some lovely photos in the beautiful scenery that Murvagh provides.

On our way to the ceremony we had time to pull the limo – supplied by Glendale Limousines from Omagh-  into Barnesmore gap for a few photos on the old railway bridge before making the trip on to Jacksons Hotel. The ceremony was one of the most personal, fun and loving I had ever witnessed- it was beautifully put together and officiated by Leigh from Irish Weddings and Bespoke Ceremonies who had spent the time to get to know Orla and Gary and find out their story and tell that story throughout the ceremony. Leigh had special parts to play for Oisin and Aoife in the ceremony and with the whole family involved it made for something really special. The whole ceremony was added to by the beautiful music performed by Ciara from Ciara Fox Music. After the ceremony it was time for some family photos and then time for Orla and Gary to party with their guests. The wedding cake was beautifully made by bridesmaid Christina’s mum Pauline and it was a real showstopper and had plenty of photographers lined up to get a snap of it. The music for the evening was by the brilliant Atmosphere band and they had the dance-floor filled right from the off. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Orla, Gary, Oisin and Aoife the very best for their future together and thank them for having me as part of their special day. Below are some photos from their beautiful Jacksons Hotel Ballybofey Wedding …..enjoy……

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