RIL- about us

About

I’m Mairéad

(it rhymes with parade for all those non-Irish folk out there)

and I’m a wedding and elopement photographer living in the beautiful and wild county of Donegal. I love the sea and the rain, and Donegal has plenty of those. I love travelling around this wonderful planet – I’ve been to 35 countries and have many more on my bucket list. I love nothing more than having some red wine and smelly cheese with friends by a fire, watching films, singing songs, swimming in the sea, playing with my kitten (or any cat or dog really) and I have what some would call an unhealthy obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although they would be wrong.

I love photography because it tells a story and it allows the people in the photograph to be a part of the story. When these moments are just distant memories, or even forgotten, just looking at a photograph can bring it all back. I love photographing weddings because this is a day that will go by so much faster than you realise, and I want you to be able to look back on these photographs and remember not just what happened or what it looked like, but how you felt. It may sound cheesy, but photographs really are a bit magical.

I ain't afraid to go out in the rain and run through fields or up hills

To help couples have a magical, meaningful, stress-free day that is true and unique to them, without having to live up to others expectations, and create beautiful photographs that will help them remember this day forever.

I mostly photograph in a documentary style – I photograph real moments and emotions as they’re happening. I don’t make you pretend to do things and I don’t tick shots off a list – your day is unique to you and your photographs should be too.

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Photography is important to you?

I only take on a limited number of weddings and elopements each year, this way I can give all of my couples the attention they deserve.

I don’t want to be just another vendor – it’s really important for me to get to know you as a couple. We’ll have at least two meetings beforehand, either in person or more often via video chat, and more than that if we need to! I won’t just show up on the day to photograph you, I’ll help you plan it as well. I’m here to help as much as you need me along the way!

Getting to know you in this way helps me take better photos of you. I don’t go into wedding with pre-conceived notions of what it should look like- instead I want to let you be you and capture your day as it really happened.

Your photos won’t look like everyone else’s, they’ll be unique to you. I don’t force you into traditional poses, but aim to authentically capture who you are as a couple. I also like to take a little time to get creative, to make some beautiful images together with you that you’ll want to print and hang on your wall.

One of the most important things to me is to make the whole process as pain-free as possible, even fun! So many couples tell me they’re awkward in front of the camera, they’re not looking forward to this part of the day. It’s my job to help you relax, make it fun. Pretty much everyone tells me afterwards how fun it was

Awards

testimonials

What our couples say about us

Oh Mairead, I actually got tears in my eyes. They are perfect. You were absolutely amazing, such a lovely addition to the day. These pics are everything I could have asked for and more. You're amazing. Thank you so much

Oh my god we are absolutely delighted with the photos they are so amazing! I've laughed and cried (again) looking at them! They just all look so fabulous. Thank you soooooo much!!” “Agh I keep going back and looking at them, they are fab!”

The photos are super Mairéad! We are so glad you were there on the day, so many beautiful moments you caught and all our friends and family relaxed and happy as their natural selves. Beautiful work. So many favourites already!” What a talent you have. We are delighted with the gallery - this is one of the most valuable souvenirs that we will carry forth into the future as to the day that was ours. In the jumble of restrictions and lockdowns we have these magical pictures to remind us of all the things worth having and what we will all hopefully have again soon. Thank you so much Mairéad, from both of us

I absolutely love the photos - thank you, thank you! I've been looking at them again and again since you sent them and I love them more and more! You were a wonderful addition to our wedding day and weekend - you have just the right kind of personality for your job, so relaxed and friendly! Really, seriously, LOVE the photos! It was an absolute pleasure having you be part of our day

We wanted to say a massive thank you for photographing our wedding! Photography was such a big priority for us so it felt like a big decision to make, but we always felt in such safe hands with you. The photos are absolutely wonderful (all our friends and family agree!) - you are such a talent!”

Brilliant from start to finish! Being a photographer myself, the photography on our wedding day was a top priority and Mairéad didn’t disappoint. The photos are so beautiful! Not only does Mairéad make beautiful images, she was a pleasure to have around. You’re welcome to come stay with us any time

Mairéad was simply the loveliest photographer to work with from start to finish! We really wanted authentic and honest photography and we got that in bucketloads!”

Thank you so much for all of your fantastic work. We love them! Your photographs have captured the day perfectly. You have been absolutely fantastic from from start to finish and I couldn’t imagine having anyone else spend the day with us!”

Her attention to detail and symmetry is outstanding, you can really tell that she has a genuine interest in what she does, and we both really appreciated that. She has an amazing ability to really capture the most precious moments of a wedding without being intrusive

Her photos are not the typical wedding photos you might often see, they more so resemble a work of art

Mairéad captures so much more than a simple photo. Each photo is so full of life, it sweeps me back to the moment

Mairéad was such a pleasure to work with, I appreciated that she really took time to get to know us and our families. She has a great sense of adventure, and if you have an idea she will take it to the next level

We had a blast with Mairéad on our wedding day, I can’t recommend her enough!

We had so much fun looking through the photos (we are still going over them again and again and, if it’s possible, I think they are getting even better each time!) We are absolutely delighted with them, we love them so much

We wanted to say thank you so much for everything. You are so extremely talented and lovely and we had a great time with you on the day, we honestly could not have asked for more. You just “got” exactly what we wanted from the outset and you captured all the different parts of the day perfectly

As you know, I don’t love the camera so I was a bit nervous about the photography side of things but you put me completely at ease and it was actually a lovely experience

Everyone we’ve shown the photos to have all said they have never seen shots like them!

I can’t believe the range of shots that you managed to get as well and our only difficulty is going to be selecting our favourites

Perfect! If you have the chance to hire Mairéad and you don't take it, I pity you!