Gougan Barra Church Wedding
A wedding day like no other in Ireland
When I first met Patricia and Joey at a local wedding fayre and they told me they were planning to get married at Gougan Barra Church and then go on a road trip to all of their favourite places for photos, I knew straight away I wanted to be there to capture their day.
A wedding at Gougan Barra Church is something truly special — the views, the lake, the mountains — and with the road trip thrown in it was going to be the perfect mix of storytelling moments and incredible portraits in breath-taking scenery.
I knew this was going to be a wedding day like no other — probably one of the most real and honest I’ve ever photographed. And by that, I don’t mean that they really wanted to get married (of course they did!), I mean they were doing it completely their way. No stressing about what other people wanted or trying to please everyone else. This day reflected Patricia and Joey and everything they love.
Gougan Barra Church is set on a lake surrounded by mountains in one of the most peaceful and beautiful spots in Ireland. We could have spent all day there and not run out of places to photograph. But we had an incredible road trip planned, which ended at Dunquin Pier at sunset.
I am so excited to share the previews from this brilliant weekend — including the pub the night before, when both families met for the first time, and the moment the day after when Patricia and Joey dropped off their marriage certificate. Both things that I don’t usually get to be present for and perfectly start and end the story of their day.
If you’re planning a wedding at Gougan Barra Church, this is the kind of day that shows just how magical it can be and perhaps it will encourage you to be a little more brave when it comes to deciding the flow of your own wedding day. No you don’t have to do the same thing and go on a road trip but perhaps if there are certain things you were only doing to please someone else or because you felt like you had to, now, seeing this, you may be brave enough and feel empowered enough to do things your way.