I’m delighted to share that I’ve now won 10 Fearless Photographers Awards.

For a wedding photographer, Fearless Awards are a pretty big deal. They are among the most respected international awards in wedding photography, celebrating real moments, creative storytelling, humour, emotion, composition and originality.

For me, reaching 10 Fearless wins feels especially surreal.

I started Treasure Box Photography in 2019, based in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, photographing weddings across Belfast, Northern Ireland, Donegal, Ireland and beyond. Since then, my work has grown into a mix of natural documentary wedding photography, relaxed portraits, creative flash portraits and all the weird, wonderful, unscripted moments that make a wedding day feel alive.

These 10 Fearless Award-winning photographs are not just “pretty wedding photos.”

They are moments that happen week at weddings up and down the country - I just made sure I was in the right place and the right time to capture them.

Champagne corks unexpectedly flying across kitchens. Couples laughing on carousels. Wedding parties causing absolute scenes in playgrounds. Rainy church entrances with wedding dresses hoisted up to avoid puddles. Bubbles, confetti, chaos, colour and joy.

That’s what I love about wedding photography.

Not perfection. Personality.

What Are Fearless Photographers Awards?

Fearless Photographers is an international directory and awards platform for some of the best wedding photographers in the world.

Their awards are highly competitive, with photographers from across the globe submitting thousands of images. Winning one Fearless Award is difficult. Reaching ten is something I’m genuinely proud of.

These awards recognise photographs that go beyond standard wedding photography. They celebrate images with humour, emotion, timing, creativity, strong composition and storytelling.

In other words, exactly the sort of wedding photography I love creating.

1. Bride & Groom on a Carousel

This photograph is everything I love about a wedding day.

Colour, movement, laughter and a tiny splash of fairground madness.

The bride and groom are sitting on carousel horses at Belfast Christmas Market outside City Hall, holding hands across the ride, surrounded by lights, colour and motion. There’s a lot happening in the frame, but the photograph is really about one simple thing: their connection.

They’re laughing at each other, completely in the moment and not caring that there's at least a dozen folks watching them (there's even a random guy in the background making a reel out of the madness).

As a Northern Ireland wedding photographer, this is the kind of image I’m always looking for. Something fun, natural and full of life. A photograph that feels less like a posed wedding portrait and more like a memory someone bottled at just the right second.

2. The Champagne Cork During Bridal Preparations

This is one of my favourite documentary wedding photographs.

During bridal preparations, a bottle of champagne was was about to be opened in the kitchen. The cork flew out prematurely, the champagne sprayed, and every single person reacted differently.

The bride reaches out.One bridesmaid looks horrified.Another has her hands over her ears.The cork is frozen in mid-air.

It’s ridiculous and brilliant.

This is why I love documentary wedding photography. You can’t stage a moment like this. You can only be ready when it happens.

For couples who want natural wedding photography, these are often the photographs that matter most years later. Not just the dress or the details, but the real atmosphere of the morning.

3. Night-Time Champagne Spray Wedding Portrait

Apparently, champagne has become a recurring character in my award-winning wedding photography.

This night-time portrait was created using flash to freeze thousands of champagne droplets against the night sky.

The groom sprays champagne into the air while the bride watches from the side, drink in hand, with the kind of expression that says, “Yes, this is exactly who I married.”

It’s fun, dramatic and slightly ridiculous, which is a very good combination.

Creative wedding portraits don’t have to be stiff or overly serious. I love making images that feel cinematic but still true to the couple.

That’s a big part of my style at Treasure Box Photography: natural moments first, creative lighting when it adds something extra.

4. Wedding Party Playground Photograph

Wedding group photographs do not have to be boring.

This Fearless Award-winning wedding party photograph was taken in a playground at the venue, and the whole thing became one big scene of joyful nonsense.

The bride and groom are on slides being pushed down by their respective mothers. Bridesmaids cheering from behind a fence. A groomsman frog jumping over another. Couples on swings. A bride and groom fully embracing the madness.

I love wedding photographs where your eye wanders around the frame and finds little stories everywhere. I actually have a more panoramic version of this photo but had to crop it in to comply with fearless's rules on cropping.

This is the kind of group photograph I love creating for couples who don’t want stiff, formal photos all day.

Of course, I still take the important family photographs. Your granny deserves her mantelpiece photo. But when a wedding party is up for a bit of craic, that’s where the magic goblin opens the trapdoor.

5. Bride Arriving at Church in the Rain

Not every award-winning wedding photo is loud or chaotic.

Sometimes it’s about seeing the story in a simple moment.

This photograph was taken as the bride arrived at the church in the rain. Everyone was trying to help keep her and the dress dry as she made her way inside.

I photographed it from a low angle, which gives the image energy and drama. The bride and bridesmaid are stepping towards the camera, dresses gathered up, while behind them the wedding day continues with umbrellas, guests and the car.

Rain on a wedding day can feel stressful, but for photography it can be beautiful.

It adds atmosphere.It adds movement.It gives people something real to react to.

Some of the best wedding photographs happen when the irish weather refuses to behave.

6. Champagne Spray Wedding Photo

Another champagne photograph.

At this point, I may need to add “experienced in carbonated projectiles” to my wedding photography bio.

For this photo, both the bride and groom had a bottle each. Champagne went everywhere. The flash froze the spray in the air, turning the whole frame into a storm of bubbles and droplets.

But the technique isn’t the important bit.

Their faces are.

The groom looks delighted with himself. The bride has fully committed to the moment. It’s playful, energetic and completely them.

That’s what I want from creative wedding photography. Not just something that looks impressive, but something that still feels like the couple.

7. Creative Bubble Portrait with Two Grooms

This is one of the more creative portraits among my ten Fearless Awards.

It features two grooms surrounded by bubbles, coloured light and a circular light trail created in-camera.

There’s a lot of technique involved in making a photograph like this, but the goal is always to make the technical side disappear.

The lighting, bubbles and colour create atmosphere, but the heart of the photograph is simple: two people close together, having a quiet moment in the middle of their wedding day.

I love creating these kinds of portraits for couples who want something a little different.

A few minutes after dinner, a bit of creative lighting, and suddenly you have a wedding portrait that feels personal, dramatic and full of atmosphere.

8. Champagne Under a Big Irish Sky

Yes, more champagne.

But this one feels completely different.

Instead of a dark, dramatic night-time photograph, this image uses the huge open sky as part of the composition. The couple are small in the frame, standing beneath bright clouds as champagne sprays across the scene.

I love using landscapes in wedding photography, especially across Northern Ireland, Donegal and the Irish coast, where the weather and scenery can change the whole feeling of a photograph.

Sometimes the best thing a photographer can do is step back and let the sky do the talking.

This photograph is a reminder that wedding portraits don’t always need to be tight or traditional. Sometimes the landscape is part of the story too.

9. Bubble Tunnel Wedding Photograph

This photograph has so much going on, which is exactly why I love it.

The couple are in the centre, surrounded by guests, bubbles and laughter. There are expressions everywhere. People leaning in. A child watching from the side. Bubbles floating close to the lens and disappearing into the background.

A wedding day is not just about the couple in isolation. It’s about the people around them too. Family, friends, children, guests and all the little reactions happening at the edges of the frame.

That’s why documentary wedding photography matters.

Years from now, those faces in the background will mean even more.

10. Carried Away with the Wedding Party

My tenth Fearless Award.

And a perfect photograph to finish on.

The groom is carrying the bride towards the camera, but the real joy of the photograph is everything happening behind them.

The wedding party are laughing, cheering, throwing roses in the air, wearing leather jackets, giving piggybacks and generally causing a beautiful chaos that makes a wedding day unforgettable.

This is the kind of image I love.

It isn’t perfect because everyone is standing neatly and behaving for the camera.

It works because everyone has forgotten about the camera.

That’s often when the best wedding photographs happen.

My Approach as a Wedding Photographer in Northern Ireland

As a wedding photographer in Northern Ireland, my approach is relaxed, natural and story-driven.

I don’t want couples to feel like their wedding day has turned into an all-day photo shoot. Most of the day, I’m looking for real moments as they happen: laughter, reactions, hugs, chaos, quiet glances, dance floor madness and all the tiny bits in between.

When the time is right, I also love creating more dramatic portraits using off-camera flash, smoke, bubbles, reflections, champagne, night skies or whatever else the day gives us.

So my style is really a mix of two things:

Natural documentary wedding photographyReal moments, real people, real atmosphere.

Creative wedding portraitsA few minutes of something dramatic, colourful or cinematic without taking over the day.

That combination has helped my work win awards from Fearless Photographers, Flash Masters, This is Reportage and the PPANI Awards, where I was named Wedding Photographer of the Year 2026 and Reportage Wedding Photographer of the Year 2026.

But awards are not the reason I photograph weddings.

The reason is much simpler.

I love giving couples photographs that feel like them.

Award-Winning Wedding Photographer in Northern Ireland

Reaching 10 Fearless Awards is a milestone I’m very proud of.

It means a lot to have my work recognised internationally, especially when so many of the winning images are full of humour, personality and real wedding-day energy.

These photographs show exactly what I want Treasure Box Photography to be known for:

Fun wedding photography.Natural moments.Creative portraits.Real emotion.A bit of chaos.A lot of personality.

So if you’re looking for an award-winning wedding photographer in Northern Ireland, Belfast, Donegal or anywhere across Ireland, and you want photographs that feel natural, creative and full of life, I’d love to hear from you.

Treasure Box Photography Award-winning Northern Ireland Wedding PhotographerBased in Carrickfergus, photographing weddings across Belfast, Northern Ireland, Donegal, Ireland and beyond.

👉 https://www.treasureboxphotos.co.uk

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FAQ Section

Who is Eamonn McColgan?

Eamonn McColgan is an award-winning wedding photographer based in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. He runs Treasure Box Photography and photographs weddings across Belfast, Northern Ireland, Donegal, Ireland and beyond.

How many Fearless Awards has Treasure Box Photography won?

Treasure Box Photography has won 10 Fearless Photographers Awards.

What style of wedding photography does Treasure Box Photography offer?

Treasure Box Photography offers a mix of natural documentary wedding photography and creative wedding portraits. The style is relaxed, fun, candid and story-driven, with creative use of flash and lighting when suitable.

Where is Treasure Box Photography based?

Treasure Box Photography is based in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, and photographs weddings across Belfast, Northern Ireland, Donegal, Ireland and beyond.

Does Treasure Box Photography photograph same-sex weddings?

Yes. Treasure Box Photography photographs weddings for all couples, including LGBTQ+ weddings, civil ceremonies, humanist ceremonies and traditional weddings.

What awards has Eamonn McColgan won?

Eamonn McColgan has won awards from Fearless Photographers, Flash Masters, This is Reportage and PPANI. In 2026, he was named PPANI Wedding Photographer of the Year and Reportage Wedding Photographer of the Year.