Airfield Estate Bridal Shoot

We shot in June, when the gardens were absolutely bursting, herbaceous borders going full chaos in the best possible way, roses climbing everything in sight, that particular quality of early summer light that makes you want to just leave the camera on and never stop shooting. It was genuinely stunning. For jewellery? Gold against greenery. Diamonds in dappled light. A Victorian house that looks like it's been waiting to be photographed. I could not have asked for more.

The house interior gave us something the gardens couldn’t. Warm, slightly worn, deeply characterful kind of beauty that only comes with age. Original furniture and wallpaper, light coming through old windows. It was a completely different energy to the gardens, and it gave the editorial a real range. By afternoon the gardens were fully lit and the flowers were doing all the heavy lifting. 

Getting the fashion right for a bridal jewellery shoot is everything. You want clothes that complement the pieces without competing. Something beautiful enough to feel considered, understated enough that the jewellery stays the star.

The wedding dresses came from AL Bridal Couture in Dundrum, and they were absolutely gorgeous. Beautifully made, with that kind of quiet quality that photographs brilliantly, the kind of dress that makes a piece of fine jewellery look exactly as significant as it is. Our models Bobby and Lauren wore them with total ease, which helped enormously.

The suits were from Louis Copeland, and if you know Louis Copeland, you know that the tailoring is just impeccable. There's a reason they've been dressing Irish men properly for over a century.

The flowers were provided by The Garden at Powerscourt, and I cannot say enough good things about what they put together. Lush, seasonal, completely in keeping with the Airfield surroundings they added texture and softness to the images in a way that felt completely organic. We shot six jewellery looks across the day, moving through the house and gardens as the light shifted. Having that much space and variety meant each look felt genuinely different.

Bobby and Lauren were our models, and they were just wonderful to work with. There's a real ease and warmth between them that came through in every frame.

Sarah Lanagan did makeup across all six looks, and her work was absolutely beautiful. Understated, precise, and totally sympathetic to both the styling and the setting. She has a real understanding of how makeup reads on camera in natural light, and it showed. Across a full day of shooting and changing looks, she was consistent and brilliant throughout.

Shoots can go any number of ways. You can do everything right and the light doesn't cooperate. You can have a perfect location and the chemistry just isn't there. This day had none of that. The light was extraordinary from the moment we started, the team was relaxed and talented and genuinely enjoying themselves, and the jewellery, Gear Jewellers' pieces are genuinely stunning, which helps enormously, just looked incredible in every setting we put it in.

There's also something about Airfield that puts people at ease. The gardens, the quiet, the sense that you're somewhere that's been looked after with real care for a very long time. It's a generous location. It gives a lot.