Elaine & Tomas got married on the 27th of April at Orange Tree House in Greyabbey. This venue has a unique atmosphere with a beautiful stone barn style building which was once a church used for the ceremony and the reception.
Before making our way to the venue we met up with Elaine at her Mum and Dad’s home in Dollingstown to photograph everyone getting ready. It was a relaxed morning with Elaine showing no signs of any wedding nerves at all. As well as getting to meet Elaine’s Mum, the bridesmaids and the flower girls we were also able to make friends with the family pet Roxy, a beautiful and very friendly Husky.
Upon arriving at Orange Tree House, we were immediately blown away by the amazing view across Strangford Lough. This was the first time we have photographed a wedding here and it is easy to see why it has become such a popular venue. Tomas arrived in style, as a last-minute surprise Elaine had arranged for Tomas and his groomsmen to brought to the venue in an awesome bright yellow Camaro which was a replica of the car used in the Transformer movies. Elaine arrived in a white stretch limousine not long after Tomas. Unfortunately, some of the guests had some problems with transport to the venue from a local hotel and arrived a little later than expected. This meant that the ceremony had to be delayed until everyone had arrived.
Grant who performed the ceremony did an amazing job of making it a relaxed and fun wedding and this was one of the most laid-back ceremonies we have photographed without a doubt. As you will see from the photographs there was plenty of laughter and huge smiles. Karissa Glenn Music sang beautifully throughout.
After the ceremony we left for the ruins that Greyabbey is best known for with Elaine & Tomas. This is somewhere we do know well having visited many times before. Elaine & Tomas where really good fun and we really enjoyed this little bit of time that we had with them. The ruins themselves provided an interesting backdrop for the photographs. Normally we like to photograph the bridal party and family just before or just after our couple but as the ceremony had been delayed we had a lot less time than normal so we opted to leave those until after the speeches and dinner.
The speeches where brilliant, really funny and emotional too. Afterwards as well as photographing the bridal party and family we had time to grab a few more photos of Elaine & Tomas on the beach at Strangford Lough. Once back at Orange Tree House it was time for the first dance with music from the awesome wedding band, The Promise.
At the end of the first dance Elaine arranged for a slideshow to be projected on to the ceiling while she shared a moment with her Mum. The slideshow was a tribute to her Dad who unfortunately due to illness was unable to attend the wedding, this was an emotional moment for everyone. There was then some tradional dancing before everyone hit up the dancefloor.
