Locals win at Irish Wedding Awards
RAVENSDALE photographer Diane Feeley was named as the wedding photographer of the year at the Irish Wedding Awards which were presented in the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport Hotel recently.
Diane, who only started working as a professional wedding photographer two years ago, says she is thrilled to be honoured at the awards which ‘recognise those who go above and beyond to make a couple’s special day the best experience it can possibly be’.
A native of Dublin, Diane moved to Anaverna with her husband Marcus eight years ago and gave up her job as a project manager to pursue a creative career,
‘I always felt I wanted to do something I felt more passionate about an I was always interested in photography,’ she explains. ‘ My grandfather had a huge interest in photography and had so many different cameras - you never saw him without a camera. He was a big influence on me and all my family are camera mad so I suppose it was a matter of time before I turned to photography.’
After the birth of her son Eoghan, who is now four and a half years old, Diane decided on a career change and completed a number of courses in photography and Photoshop at the Shaw Academy. ‘I got a mobile studio and began bringing it to people’s houses for family events like Communion and Confirmation,’ she recalls.
As word of mouth about her photography skills spread, Diane began doing weddings and has lots of bookings for this year and 2019.
She loves helping couples to capture memories of their special day, whether it is a small intimate affair or a lavish occasion.
‘One of my brides-to-be last year was a farmer who adored her cows, so on the morning of the wedding we went down to the fields as the sun was rising to take a photographs of her with her cows, wearing her wellies!’
She finds constant inspiration for her photography in the beautiful scenery around her mountain home and is also a member of the mid-Louth Camera Club.
A career change led to Louise Clarke setting up Heavenly Cakes, which was named as the Regional Wedding Cake Designer at the Awards.
‘I am based in Carlingford and I set-up Heavenly Cakes in 2007 after a change in career as I had previously worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry since graduating as a Chemical Engineer in 1992,’ says Louris. ‘I always loved art and I also liked good quality food, so I decided to specialise in bespoke wedding cakes as this combined the two.
Louise says she loves her work and enjoys working with couples on the design of their wedding cakes for their big day. ‘Each cake is unique and I have met and got to know so many lovely customers over the years.’
She uses the best quality ingredients to ensure the cakes taste as good as they look, and keeps up with all the current trends, reporting that butter creamed sponge cakes with fresh fruits or flowers, sparkled cakes with edible gold leaf or dusting and storybook cakes that represent the happy couple are particularly popular.
The award for Regional Wedding Florist went to Caroline Shevlin of The Flower Studio, The Ramparts, Dundalk who was also a winner at last year’s awards.