Maurice Culligan - A Great Musician!

I’ve had the pleasure of watching and listening to the very talented Maurice Culligan – based in Galway – play at a couple of weddings… instead of the DJ!

People are always a little apprehensive at first when we tell them we’re having a piano player instead of a DJ… some of our family thought it was going to be a sedate affair (I’m wording their thoughts politely here) but nothing could be further from the truth.

What Maurice Culligan brings to a wedding is an intimate gathering around his piano after the band have gone home and he rocks the night away with a sing-song.  He has the crowd singing everything from Your Song to Patricia The Stripper and I’ve even witnessed 50 people blasting out a rousing rendition of The Flakiest Milk Chocolate from the Cadbury’s ad.  Mighty, mighty craic and we just had to have him for our wedding!

Like The Marvels, Maurice was unavailable for our original date – he plays The Radisson every year for The Galway Races – so we happily moved the date and are delighted that he’s going to be such a big part of our day… or should I say early morning!!!!

Blu Ray is growing more popular by the day: A lot of homes now have a blu ray player, xtra vision stock more and more blu ray titles on their shelves, and several of Velvetine Studios clients have already asked for and received their Wedding Stories on Blu Ray.  There’s no better way to watch the biggest day of your life than in glorious High Definition.

Call us today to find out more about our Blu Ray options for your Wedding Story…. and remember, if we filmed your wedding over the last year, you still have the option to upgrade to Blu Ray as long as we still have your wedding on file.

Elaine and I realised the importance of great entertainment at our wedding so we were always prepared to invest in a brilliant band…. And these guys were No 1 on my list after seeing them in action at a wedding I filmed in Sneem last year.  The Marvels are a Cork based band and they are fun, energetic, gifted entertainers, and most importantly, they’ve got that something that’s just different about them.  In fact, we liked them so much (and another one of our suppliers) that we moved our date when we learned that they were unavailable for our original date.

Uber professional, super to deal with, and oozing talent… I can’t recommend them highly enough for anyone who’s looking for a great wedding band.

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Aidan & Aoife received their Traditional Gift Box of DVDs last week and I’m so delighted with their feedback: they love them!!!

Elaine and I travelled all the way to Armagh/Monaghan to film this beautiful event (Traditional is normally reserved for Kerry, Cork, and Limerick brides but we can occasionally make exceptions) and we had a memorable weekend. We stayed at Mourne Drive B&B and I’ve got to say that it’s one of the best B&Bs I’ve ever had the pleasure to visit: such a beautiful home, lovely owners, great decor, and amazing attention to detail. If you’re ever in the Newry direction then contact 028 3026 1660 or stephencdowney@hotmail.co.uk – I can’t recommend this place highly enough!!

Aidan & Aoife made sure that we were looked after on the day and they are a fantastic couple: My Elaine was biting back tears during the speeches!!

Kimberly Madden of The Hillgrove Hotel also deserves a special mention: She made sure that Aidan & Aoife’s day ran to perfection and it was an absolute joy for us to work with her.

All in all, and thanks to everyone involved, especially Aidan & Aoife, this was a weekend we’ll never forget!!!

Childhood sweethearts, stunning bride, glorious Fenit scenery, Ballygarry House, wonderful food, great craic…. These are the hallmarks of an extraordinary Wedding Story and Deirdre & Cian had all measures in abundance.  Such a great couple who were kind enough to have me as part of their day… week after week, Velvetine Studios work at beautiful weddings and I need little reminding that I have one of the best jobs in the world… and Deirdre & Cian’s day was one of those special events which makes me feel privilaged to attend and capture.

I always love working at Ballygarry House – such a brilliant venue and Padraig, Cathal and all the staff go beyond the call of duty in their care and attention: they do a ton of weddings but each one is treated just as special as the last – and I also got to meet up with the gifted photographers and always friendly Keith and Evelyn Woodard.  As if that wasn’t enough, Deirdre & Cian treated us all to a beautiful meal and then laid on one of Kerry’s most popular bands Celebrations for our entertainment.

Here’s a short glimpse of their day.

It’s only natural that I’d put a huge emphasis on my own wedding video and it was the first thing that Elaine and I discussed.  She asked me who was top of my list and now you’re looking at them above: Two of the best videographers in the world who are coming all the way from Philadelphia and New Jersey to Kerry for my wedding and I can’t tell you how excited I am to have them as part of the day; and not just because they’re fantastic at what they do but because we have grown to become very good friends over the past few years.

I first met Glen and Darrell in person at a training event in the USA last year.  This year, Darrell invited me to Philadelphia to film Glen’s own wedding and I had such a good time there that I was lonesome after I left.

So my wedding video is sorted and with a little bit of luck and the promise of a green card, we might even be able to marry young Darrell off to one of the village girls from Kilflynn… and in case any of you potential brides are worried or turned off by the fact that he sent two pictures of himself to me then fear not… you see, he reckons he does the work of two men at every wedding and that deserves two pictures on my blog.

Roll on July 24th!!!