The Mill at Ballydugan Wedding | Hannah + Liam

Hannah and Liam got married on the 1st of February. The ceremony took place at Orangefield Presbyterian Church in Belfast with their wedding reception being held at The Mill at Ballydugan in Downpatrick.

Hannah first met Liam when she went to study in New Zealand for 6 months. She actually ended up staying on for 2 years, which is just as well, as it took Liam a little bit of time to wriggle out of the friend zone. They first contacted us about their wedding while they where still living in New Zealand and all of the arrangements where finalised before Hannah returned home. It always impresses us when a couple are able to make all of their wedding arrangements while living so far away and still pull off an amazing wedding with no hiccups on the day at all. They arrived in Northern Ireland a few months before the wedding and while it must have been a bit of a culture shock for Liam having lived in New Zealand all of his life, they seem to have settled into living here perfectly, although they have long term plans for more adventures elsewhere. Wedding Photographer Downpatrick

We met up with Hannah on the morning of the wedding at her parent’s beautiful home in Ballygowan. While everyone was excited it was a pretty calm morning, Hannah even found time to do a bit of dusting while everyone was getting ready. Everything was meticulously organised and Hannah’s Mum even arranged for the guys at Molly Moo’s to cater breakfast. Hannah said she was started to feel a little nervous after she had got her dress on, but she looked more excited than nervous to us. Once everyone was ready, we left for the church to meet up with Liam.

We only had time to say a quick hello to Liam and grab a few quick photos before the start of the ceremony but it was easy to see how excited he was to make Hannah his wife. The ceremony itself was pretty traditional with a few New Zealand elements thrown in for good measure. Hannah and Liam opted for an unplugged ceremony and it was great to see everyone so invested in the ceremony and sharing the moment, rather than clicking away taking photos and videos on their iPads and phones. Only the minister got the chance to grab a quick selfie once the guys had said their I do’s. Liam got a little emotional as Hannah came down the aisle, and we loved how the guys danced back down the aisle at the end.

After the ceremony we headed off to Inch Abbey in Downpatrick along with Hannah, Liam and the bridal party. These guys where all such good fun and even though it was a particularly cold day even for here with gale force winds and some rain, they were all so enthusiastic the bad weather didn’t matter at all.

On arriving at The Ballydugan Mill we got to spend a little more time with Hannah and Liam at the lake, were we lucked into some beautiful late afternoon light before grabbing a few family photos at Ballydugan Mill itself.

Back inside the Mill it was time for the speeches. It is tradional in New Zealand to have a few more speeches than here so as well as the speeches that happen at every Northern Ireland wedding, both Mum’s said a few words as did Hannah. They all did great!

After dinner instead of a couples first dance Hannah and Liam along with everyone else hit up the dancefloor for an enthusiastic ceilidh dance.