Cliff at Lyons Wedding | Rachel & Stephen
Rachel & Stephen, Cliff at Lyons, Co Kildare
There's a moment early on the morning of a wedding, usually before I've even raised a camera, where I get a sense of who a day is going to be. Standing outside a house in Shankill on a bright August morning, I knew this one was going to be something but before we get into this beaut of a wedding, check out my full insider guide to Cliff at Lyons weddings over on the blog now.
Stephen Devine had started his wedding morning the way his late mum Gay used to start every day: in the water at the Forty Foot. It wasn't just a swim. A crowd of Gay's friends had gathered on the rocks, her people, the people who'd shared those early mornings with her. Stephen had brought flowers. There was a small memorial. It was sombre and it was tender and it was exactly right. And then they jumped in.
I photographed those jumps, big joyful ridiculous dives off the rocks, and in that half hour at the sea you had everything a wedding should be: grief held lightly, love made visible, a woman remembered in the place she loved most.
Rachel and Stephen got married on August 17th, 2024. Their ceremony was at St Anne's Church in Shankill and their reception was at the Cliff at Lyons in Kildare. This is their wedding as it really happened, the images selected by Stephen and Rachel themselves as part of their album, which I think is a more honest representation of a day than me simply picking my own favourites.
As a documentary wedding photographer in Dublin, I don't direct or pose. I show up, I watch and I wait. Days like this make that job very easy.
The Morning — Two Houses, One Day
My wife Annie Kheffache, who is an exceptional wedding photographer in her own right, covered Rachel's morning in Cabinteely. From what the photos show it was full of children and warmth, with Annalise, Esme and little Hugo Whelan doing what small children do at weddings. Which is everything, all at once, without apology.
I was in Corbawn Wood with Stephen and the lads. His Sony A7R was sitting on the kitchen table when I arrived. A beast of a camera. I actually borrowed his 35mm lens for a while during prep and had a play, which felt slightly cheeky given whose wedding it was, but Stephen is a genuinely talented photographer himself and seemed quietly delighted by the idea. The energy in the room was easy and relaxed. Black tie but no airs about it.
St Anne's Church, Shankill — The Ceremony
Fr Michael O'Sullivan knew Rachel and Stephen well. That matters more than most people realise. A ceremony with a priest who actually knows the couple has a completely different quality, the laughter lands differently, the quiet moments land differently, the whole thing breathes.
Gay was acknowledged during the ceremony. Tastefully, without overstatement. Just enough to hold space for her presence without making the day heavy. Stephen's dad Eddie was there. Some moments don't need to be described at length. They just need to be witnessed.
After the ceremony came one of my favourite sequences of the day. The bridal party did their exit from the church and then, while the guests gathered at the front, Rachel and Stephen slipped away and sat quietly together by the side entrance. Just the two of them, taking a breath, letting the fact of it land. We're married. I have a photograph of that moment and it's one of the quietest most honest frames of the whole day.
Then the confetti run. Which, after that quiet moment, felt like the release of everything that had been held.
Cliff at Lyons, Kildare — Drinks on the Lawn
Rachel & Stephen arriving in style to the Cliff @ Lyons in Kildare
The Cliff at Lyons is an all round superb venue. You arrive and then gradually the grounds reveal themselves, the walled garden, the river, the sense of space and order and deep quiet underneath all the noise of a wedding.
Rachel and Stephen arrived up the driveway in an open top car. One of those images that writes itself.
Drinks and speeches were on the lawn and it was the kind of summer afternoon that makes everything easier. 120 guests in black tie in a Kildare garden. The light was good and the crowd was loose and happy. Sing Along Social had the evening sorted before they'd even set up and you could feel it.
As a Cliff at Lyons wedding photographer I find the drinks reception is where documentary photography really earns its keep. Nobody's performing. The day has begun and the relief is palpable and real laughter happens at the edges of groups, not in the centre. That's where I tend to be.
The Couple Shoot and a Hasselblad
Rachel had mentioned in their questionnaire that Stephen owns a Hasselblad 553ELX and asked if I'd be willing to shoot some frames on it during the couple portraits. I was. Briefly. Enthusiastically. And then with increasing humility.
I used the 70-300 lens. It is an extraordinary piece of equipment and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with it. The resulting photographs have a quality I can't fully explain, there's something in the medium format rendering that digital can't replicate, but wielding it in a field in Kildare while trying not to miss moments was an adventure.
The fact that Rachel and Stephen wanted me to experiment on their wedding day tells you a lot about who they are. They're not precious about perfection. They wanted something real, something alive, something that might surprise them when they opened the envelope. That's the spirit I try to bring to every wedding I photograph and it was very easy to find it here.
The Evening — Hoolie at the Cliff
Sing Along Social delivered. That's the only way to describe it. The dancefloor was heaving and it never really stopped. Rachel had mentioned in the questionnaire that they were most excited about seeing their guests through their own eyes, the candid moments, the nieces and nephew running wild, the hoolie. All of that happened.
For the first dance, confetti cannons went off. Rachel and Stephen in each other's arms with confetti blasting through the air around them. One of those images where the timing either works or it doesn't, and it worked.
The speeches, split between the drinks reception and post meal, gave the day a good rhythm. The evening had energy from the start and never lost it.
A Note on the Images
The photographs in this blog were chosen by Rachel and Stephen when they were selecting images for their wedding album. I asked if I could use their selections for the blog and they were happy for me to do so.
I like doing it this way occasionally. It means what you're seeing isn't just my favourite frames. It's the images that mattered most to them. I think that's a more honest window into a wedding.
Rachel and Stephen, thank you both. For trusting Annie and me with the day, for letting me loose with the Hasselblad and for the kind of easy warmth that makes the job feel less like work and more like the privilege it actually is. Congratulations.
— Kevin
Planning a wedding at the Cliff at Lyons and looking for a documentary wedding photographer in Kildare? You can see more of my work in my wedding portfolio or get in touch here. I'd love to hear about your day.