Rosie & Kevin at Segrave Barns, Dunany — A Colourful Barn Wedding in Co. Louth

Every so often a wedding comes along that feels less like a job and more like being handed a front-row ticket. Rosie and Kevin's day at Segrave Barns in Dunany, Co. Louth was exactly that, a beautiful sunny day, an outdoor ceremony I'll be thinking about for a long time, and the most colourful crowd of people I've photographed all year.

A venue like nowhere else in Louth

If you haven't come across Segrave Barns yet, it's one of the most unique wedding venues in the North East, a cluster of beautifully restored stone barns tucked into the countryside at Dunany, a short stroll from the sea. There's a lovely story behind it too: the owners, John Cooke and tenor Eugene Ginty, bought Segrave House back in 2009 looking for a quieter life, and an impromptu outdoor concert in the garden in 2010 snowballed into the venue it is today. Music is baked into the place, and you can feel it.

The barn itself is spectacular: stone walls, timber beams, tasteful in a way that needs almost no decoration. And the outdoor ceremony setting is, honestly, unbelievable. When the sun is out at Segrave, you'd swear you were somewhere in the Mediterranean, right up until the sea air reminds you you're in Louth.

The coolest couple at the coolest venue

Rosie and Kevin are both from the art world, Kevin's a spray artist, and the day looked exactly how you'd hope an artists' wedding would look. Colour everywhere. Great outfits, great characters, zero stiffness. My job on a day like this is simple: stay close and don't miss anything, because something brilliant is always happening just off to the side.

It was a proper family day too. Their little one Croía was at the heart of all of it, and there's something about photographing a couple with their child at their own wedding that beats any posed portrait. Those are the frames that end up on the wall.

The evening

The Buskin Bandits took the reception and ran with it, exactly the right band for this crowd, and the barn (remember, this place was built on music) made the whole room feel electric. And the cake from Baked Sweets was almost too good-looking to cut. Almost.

The dream team

• Venue: Segrave Barns, Dunany, Co. Louth

• Makeup: Sarah-Jane Wall

• Hair: Ellen

• Flowers: Flowers by Anne

• Dress: Frilly Frocks

• Band: Buskin Bandits

• Cake: Baked Sweets

• Photography: Bang Bang Visual

Thinking about Segrave Barns for your wedding?

If you want something different from the hotel ballroom circuit, something tasteful, relaxed and genuinely unique, this is the one to see in Louth. Ask about the outdoor ceremony; on a fine day there's nothing like it in the North East. I photograph weddings at Segrave Barns and right across Louth, Meath and Dublin, and I'd love to hear what you're planning. Get in touch through the enquiry page.