A magical and romantic vow renewal in Howth- my # 1 spot for couples portraits in Dublin

The most magical vow renewal in Howth – WHAT A DAY

In my previous blog, I listed a guide on how to easily plan your vow renewal session in Dublin. One of my absolute favourite spots for couples portraits; engagements shoots, vow renewal and elopement session is Howth Village. It has everything; a beach, a cliff walk, pubs and harbour views.

Becky and Derek fell in love with Howth Village a few years back and couldn’t wait to get back with their close family to renewal their wedding vows. They contacted me to document this occasion for them and I instantly fell in love with them! I wanted to make this an experience thye would never forget. So we planned as many, meaningful spots we could within a 3 hour time frame, ending with the sunset shoot at the Cliffs of Howth – my favourite spot and time of day for couples photography in Howth.

We started with some family photos and classic pub shots in the iconic Abbey Tavern Pub. The bar staff kindly let Becky and Derek behind the bar for some fun drinks shots.

“In 2014 Derek and I travelled to Ireland for the first time together, we stayed in Howth and fell in love with the community, we returned a few years later still enchanted with everything Howth had to offer. On Feb 29, 2020… in true Irish tradition, I asked Derek to marry me. We both wanted to return to Ireland to get married, but unfortunately our plans changed with Covid shutting down the world.”

“We pivoted, married in a small backyard wedding surrounded by family and decided to return to Howth to renew our vows and have pictures taken in our favourite place. “

We then moved to the iconic stone steps just around the corner from the Abbey Tavern some intimate step shots. I’ll give Becky credit for this, they turned out fab! Thanks Becky.

We then moved into the outer skirts of Howth Castle, making the most of the secret enchanted forrest just off from the parking lot – a secret spot I had scouted for them a couple of weeks before. I knew that if we had a sunny Autumn day, the light here would be magical. Thankfully we did and yes it was!

Note about photos at Howth Castle – you can only shoot on the outside of the Castle if you want to shoot for free, the inside is lovely but their is a hefty fee!

From their, we chased the stunning autumn light to the Cliffs of Howth. A vow renewal in Howth is a must have at the cliffs where the light and views are so romantic! It was super cold but Becky and Derek braved the big chill to work with the most amazing light. We were truly blessed.

“This October we travelled to Howth with our parents and our daughter to follow through and celebrate the wedding day of our dreams. The community of Howth made our vow renewal absolutely magical… the amazing warmth from those who we passed in our wedding dress & suit, the congratulations from complete strangers, the cars who waited patiently while we got the perfect photo and those who filled The Abbey Tavern and made us feel like we belonged.”

“Our vow renewal and pictures were a dream come true, better than we ever could have imagined. Thank you Dena again for bringing out the best of our love and capturing those priceless moments. We can’t wait to return back to Howth on our next adventure!”

Finally, we ended our wonderful couples photography session in Howth at the Harbour. I had brought a bottle of bubbles with for the couple to open during a dawn sunset but funnily the bottle didn’t ‘pop’! They still mad the most out of it and drank out of the bottle like complete rock stars.

Here’s what Becky and Derek had to say about their time spent with me:

Vendors:

“We are absolutely THRILLED with our experience with Dena. We contacted Dena from Canada so all our contact was via emails and FaceTime and she made everything so easy. She listened to my requests, researched the locations I asked for and kept in regular contact with us leading up to our vow renewal.

Dena is so likeable and genuine that she instantly calmed any worries I had. She is professional and down to earth, there was no awkwardness and made everything seem so natural during pictures. Our pictures are beyond our expectations, Dena got them to us quickly and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for an amazing experience and stunning pictures.

We are SO grateful to Dena for capturing our dream vow renewal and for creating such an incredible experience for us.”

Hair and make-up The Salon Howth

Flowers: Main Street Flowers Howth