Kilshane House Wedding Photographer
As I drove to Kilshane House for Jen and David’s wedding, the weather forecast wasn’t good. The forecast was snow!
It didn’t matter though because I can think of few places better that lends itself to cold weather than the warm and cosy Kilshane House. The wind chill was predicted to be minus five, so I think we’ll take the family photographs inside today.
How many people can Kilshane House hold for a Wedding?
Jen and David were having a big wedding with 180 guests. I love parties this size; there is always an excellent atmosphere, and as a documentary photographer, I have plenty of places to hide in plain sight. Kilshane House can hold 280+ guests.
Bride & Groom Wedding Preparations at Kilshane House
Jen got ready on the top floor of Kilshane House. Some bridesmaids were getting ready in different rooms just off the landing, and I liked this setup. You’re not confined to one room, you can move around, it’s great. David and his groomsmen got ready at The Apple Store, then moved down to the Main House. It was easy to pop up and back to record both sides of the preparations. A quick look at the vendors lists list showed up the brilliant Sarah Boyle whom I’d consider a great friend at this stage, I know her so long. Shauna Lawlor was with her, too.
I’ll never do default details shots, but Jen designed the invites, signage and wedding ceremony leaflets this time, so it was a must to shoot them.
Kilshane House Wedding Ceremony in The Conservatory
The ceremony took place in the conservatory. That big crowd added to the sense of it being a big occasion. Generally, during the wedding ceremony, I stay low and peripheral, trying to keep the attention on both of them. The Celebrant was the ever-smashing Pat Clarke-Brown. Seonaid Renton from Mad About Flowers used a bit of ingenuity to dress the fountain in the middle of the pond.
The plan was to get the family photographs out of the way as soon as possible after the ceremony, which we did. I decided to do them inside the Piano Room because it was chilly out. I always bring a studio kit with me so I can light the family photographs nicely, and it worked a treat this time.
Winter Wedding Photography Portraits at Kilshane House
The Speeches happened in the Orangery at the end of the drinks reception. I’m a big fan of getting them out of the way now. They were super, and seeing Jen with a few words was fantastic.
After the drinks reception, it was on to dinner. We did a very quick 2-minute portrait on the Stairs at Kilshane to take advantage of Blue Hour. The blue hour, also known as l’heure bleue in French, refers to the twilight period—either in the morning or evening—when the Sun sinks below the horizon, creating a gorgeous blue light. It always contrasts nicely with inside incandescent bulbs. March is a terrific time of year to do this.
How long does the bar stay open at a Kilshane House Wedding?
All the guests were seated in advance. As you can imagine, there was a massive cheer as they walked into the room with 180 guests.
The night unfolded as it does after dinner. The cheers from drinking games at different tables filled the room. The brilliant Sax and the City Wedding band came on, and things got a bit rowdy, which is what you want at a party like this. Jen & David’s first song was Fisherman’s Blues by The Waterboys. Terrific song! You couldn’t keep the guests off the floor!
It was a great wedding. The first day of spring typically brings the cold weather, but it didn’t matter. At Kilshane House, the dance floor was on fire. And, oh yeah, it did actually snow 😉
Shane this is absolutely incredible! We’ve watched it multiple times already and are just so delighted with how the pictures have turned out. You really captured the day so well. Thank you so much for being a part of it. You were brilliant fun on the day – exactly what we wanted! We spent the evening going through all the photographs and we are absolutely in love with them! It’s really helped the post wedding blues. We’ve started the process of picking our favourites but you certainly haven’t made it easy; there’s some really amazing ones in there – of us and of the guests. It looks like you got a great spread of everyone who was there which is exactly what we wanted.
Jen & David
Kilshane House Wedding Story over on MyWed
Profile on Vogue Magazine
Photographer: Shane O’Neill Aspect Photography
Venue: Kilshane House
Florals: Mad About Flowers
Entertainment: Katherine Gavin (Ceremony & Drinks Reception)
Hair: Shauna Lawlor + Sarah Boyle
Make-Up: Nas Ghaedi + Tracey Clare
Stationery: The Bride herself, Jen
Band: Sax and the City
Shoes for Dress:Dune
Cake: No Wedding Cake