I meant to write this blog last week…last April my cousin Ronan and his fiance, Parul, got married in the incredible Dromoland Castle in County Clare. They live in New York in Greenwich Village and had friends coming from all over the world to their amazing wedding. I usually go to New York once or twice a year and always meet up with Ronan and Parul for a night out or for a bite to eat (they know the best restaurants!). Unbelievably this was the weekend of the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland and as such a great number of the guests couldn’t make it to Ireland for the wedding.

I would say Dromoland Castle has to be one of, if not the best venue for a wedding in Ireland, it’s just unbelievable. As a guest at the wedding it was great to just relax and have a good time with those closest to me. I think we often get caught up with our day to day lives (I do anyway) and a wedding is an opportunity to take some time out and celebrate an amazing occasion with your family and friends.

When we arrived at Dromoland Castle the weather was incredible, so we availed of the free bikes to ride around the estate. My dad went old school tucking his trousers into his socks and that provided a few laughs.

The night before the wedding Ronan and Parul hosted an amazing dinner and they had some traditional Indian traditions as Ronan, his brother Killian and my uncle Paddy donned traditional Indian dress to greet Parul and her family in similar dress. Great fun and a bit of a late and fun night. A highlight was when a group of people arrived that had used trains, ferries and cars to make it there in time for the wedding.

The next morning I woke up really early and went outside to capture some images of the castle at dawn. Later in the morning we got some fishing rods from the castle and went out on the lake in boats for a bit of fishing, but unfortunately we didn’t catch anything, but not for lack of trying.

The service was inside the castle and with my uncle, Canon John Kearney, officiating the service it was really special. I especially liked my cousin, Aisling’s reading from Winnie the Pooh! After we had the chance to relax and have drinks in the sun in one of the stunning gardens. During the meal I sat with Ronan and Parul’s friends from New York and I enjoyed the exceptional meal and great company. The speeches were hilarious as expected from the Donnelly clan! In a really nice touch, they had a slideshow/video of both Ronan and Parul growing up and then some video messages from those who unfortunately couldn’t make it to the wedding. After the meal we were treated to some amazing Irish Dancing, before hitting the dance floor for Jai Ho! Great craic and we partied on until the wee hours!

Shot on my iPhone on our bike ride around Dromoland Castle Estate.

A couple of images I shot of the castle early on the morning of the wedding.

Ronan and Parul looked amazing – what an awesome couple!

Another shot with my iPhone – loved the theme of the wedding and this novel idea for holding the place names. The attention to detail with everything in Ronan and Parul’s wedding was outstanding.

I didn’t take many photos at the wedding at all, I think I had my camera during the service and got a couple. I’ve got to mention though Ronan and Parul’s photographers. They had hired Joe Dickie, a photographer based in the US, but because of the volcanic ash cloud he couldn’t make it over. So he organised for two of his photographer friends, David Pullum and Anil Tohani to jump on a ferry from England to come over to shoot the wedding. The guys were really nice and their photos from the wedding are exceptional. View David Pullum’s blog of the wedding here.