In February I spent a couple of days in Dublin being the official photographer at Doc Day after event organisers - two amazing documentary wedding photographers , Kevin and Annie Kheffache put their faith in me to document their brilliant annual Documentary Wedding Photography Conference - which they run in partnership with This is Reportage, and Loxley Colour.

Unsurprisingly given the nature of the event my brief was to turn up & capture the goings-on as it happened - my favourite way of working!

Similarly to when I have photographer the Learning to Fly Wedding Photographers Retreat it's a slightly surreal experience to be the photographer in a room of amazingly talented contemporaries - happily they are supportive group to work among and photographing among my peers encouraged me to raise my own standards rather have any negative impact! Although the build up to sharing my work was slightly more nerve-wrecking - after some great feedback (some of which I've included below) I've a small idea of what it'd be like to have Paul Hollywood enjoy your baking...

The inspiring photographers seen giving the main talks are  Ronan Palliser, Marisa Martins, Linda Bouritius, Leonard Walpot Franco Carlisi and Jay Doherty - the others among the crowd are too numerous to mention...
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Here's a recap of the main day of the event, and a bit of the afterparty too...

​When Lori first made contact, she shared her and Mark's vision for wedding day photography that focused on candid, natural moments; they wanted their photographs to capture the joy and energy of the day as it unfolded — real smiles, real laughter, real love.

(Although with family travelling from Australia, America, and as Mark's dad mentioned in his speech even Greencastle they also knew the opportunity to fit in a few family portraits was too good to pass up...)

I'm sure there would have been some trepidation from their international guestlist (with Mexico & New Zealand also represented) around the January weather in Ireland, few would have predicted the blue skies and glorious sunshine that illuminated the Redcastle Hotel throughout their day...

As I often find with people attracted to my photography Lori & Mark planned a day to fit around them and their families other than ticking a list of must-include traditions, and from their one flower-girl bridal party, their ring warming ceremony,  via their heartfelt & partly free-styled vows to their sidestepping of a first dance to go straight to a bouncing dancefloor the day reflected who they are as a couple...

Here's a preview of their amazing day...

A wedding day is a series of moments some big, small, planned, and occasionally totally unplanned. For me, the magic of documentary wedding photography lies in capturing those unscripted moments, alongside the expected headline ones. Which leads to this photograph - during during groom's prep at an Inishowen wedding...

After the the usual pre-wedding hustle, the grooms party had time to kill so the groom's father decided they might as well head into the field at the front of the house to check for eggs - a perfectly ordinary task everyday task on any other day!

As we made our way across the field the ducks decided they weren't in the mood for company - happily I was able to positioned myself in a way that they'd run between me & the grooms party - and from there this photograph came into being. This is what I love about documentary wedding photography: the authenticity - there's no way we could have stage or rehearsed this — it's just real people, real moments, and real ducks!!

To delve a bit deeper though the photograph isn't just the groom and his groomsmen randomly passing some ducks in a field — it’s a small moment on the wedding day that represents the groom's family life - the view from the front of the family home, and the ducks are a wee insight into the his dad's daily routine - all told with a little bit of humor.

It's the kind of image that can makes you smile, brings you back to a feeling, and reminds you of how wonderfully imperfect life can be.
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If you're planning your wedding and want a photographer who will focus on the always real, sometimes raw, and in their own way always beautiful candid moment I’d love to help capture the story of your wedding day