Some venues make us work for every frame. Tankardstown hands them to us. It is a Georgian manor outside Slane in County Meath, with a cobbled courtyard, a walled garden, and a particular quality of evening light that we have stopped trying to explain to people. We just show them the footage instead.
What makes it special for a wedding film is partly the look of the place and partly the shape of the day it allows. You can get ready in the house, marry in the garden or under glass, eat surrounded by greenery and dance a hundred steps from where you woke up. Nobody spends an hour in a car. Nobody loses half their guests between locations. The day breathes, and relaxed days make better films, every single time.
The whole day happens within a hundred metres, and your film is better for it.
Golden hour through glass
Dinner at Tankardstown happens in a room full of windows, which means the light show arrives somewhere around the main course. On a good summer evening the room turns honey coloured before the speeches, and we always keep one eye on the sky. If it starts performing, we will quietly suggest a ten minute escape to the garden. That little detour has produced some of our favourite footage anywhere, at any venue.
The garden and the house
The walled garden gives portraits structure without any posing. Paths, hedging and flower beds do the work while the two of you just walk and talk. The house itself feels warm rather than imposing, and by autumn the creeper across the front turns a shade of red that makes our colour grading feel unnecessary. Morning preparation in the house is bright and easy to film, with proper windows and room to move.
If you are getting married here
- Trust the one site day. The venue's whole gift is that nothing is rushed. Keep the travel to a minimum and let the place do what it does best.
- Plan a golden hour break. Tell your coordinator we may steal you for ten minutes during dinner. Future you will be glad you agreed to it.
- Use the courtyard after dark. The cobbles at night, a quiet drink away from the dance floor. Some of the loveliest late footage we own happened out there.
- Let the morning start slow. The house is made for an unhurried breakfast and a calm preparation. Give it the time it deserves and the film will show it.
We would go back to Tankardstown every weekend if the diary allowed. If it is your venue, you have chosen extraordinarily well, and we would love to hear what you are planning.
With warmth,
Getting married at Tankardstown?
Tell us about your day and we will check the calendar.
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