Filming a wedding at Kilkea Castle

Niamh and John married at Kilkea on a bright April afternoon, and the thing we remember is how quickly the day settled. Some castles ask their guests to behave. Kilkea does not. By the time the drinks reception moved out onto the lawn, nobody was standing on ceremony, and that is the point at which the good footage starts.

The castle sits in open countryside outside Castledermot, far enough from any main road that the background of your film is birds and conversation rather than traffic. Couples rarely think about sound when they choose a venue, and it is one of the biggest differences between one wedding film and another. We record vows and speeches on personal microphones, but everything else rests on what the place sounds like, and Kilkea sounds like the middle of Kildare.

A castle that puts people at ease is worth more to a film than a castle that impresses them.

Why spring suits it

April is a gamble anywhere in Ireland and it went in their favour. Spring light at Kilkea arrives at a low angle through the afternoon and stays soft, which flatters grey stone in a way the flat overhead light of midsummer never quite manages. The castle photographs and films better at that time of year, and the grounds are green without being overgrown.

If you are still choosing a date and you like the idea of spring, the building is on your side. If you are set on July, plan your portraits for later in the evening rather than straight after the ceremony.

The grounds do a lot of work

There is more space here than most couples use. Between the walled garden, the parkland and the approach to the castle itself, a twenty minute walk gives us three or four completely different backdrops without anybody getting into a car. That variety is what stops a film feeling repetitive, and it costs you almost nothing in time.

It is also open enough for drone work, with the castle sitting clear of anything modern. If aerial coverage matters to you, this is one of the more straightforward venues in the country for it.

Three things worth deciding early

• Let the drinks reception run long. The lawn is where the day loosens up. Every wedding we have filmed here has produced better candid footage outside during the reception than anywhere else on the property.
• Take a lap of the grounds together. Twenty minutes, no schedule, no shot list. You get a break from your own party and we get the part of the film you will rewatch most.
• Plan your portraits around the light, not the clock. Tell your coordinator you are flexible on timing. If the sky does something worth having, we will want ten minutes, and it is easier if everyone already expects it.

Niamh wrote something to us afterwards that we think about often. "The whole day was a blur but this has really helped fill in the gaps." That is the honest argument for a wedding film at a venue this size. You will not see most of your own day. There is too much happening and too many people wanting a word with you, and a film is how you get the rest of it back.

You can read the rest of what they said on our kind words page.