# Shine Pics — Full Knowledge Base for AI Agents > Authoritative long-form content for chatbots and AI assistants. Companion to llms.txt (the short map). This file is the corpus the on-site chat assistant grounds its answers on. It is intentionally written as plain prose — agents should quote or paraphrase only from what's here. If a question is not covered, the correct response is to direct the visitor to the contact form at /contact rather than guess. The corpus is built up over time as pages and notebook articles are added. As of the latest update (June 2026) it includes: site orientation (mirrors llms.txt), the full FAQ, venue-specific knowledge for Belfast City Hall (including the council's official booking facts and fees), and Northern Ireland wedding photography pricing context. Service pages and further venue pages will be folded in as they are migrated. --- ## Studio Orientation **Shine Pics** is a husband-and-wife wedding photography studio based on the Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland. The studio has photographed weddings across NI since 2007 and traded as Shine Pics since 2008. Over 700 weddings shot, rated 4.97/5 across 300+ reviews. Coverage runs across all six counties (Antrim, Down, Armagh, Derry/Londonderry, Fermanagh, Tyrone) and the popular venues in between — Belfast City Hall, Belfast Castle, Galgorm, Bangor Castle, Gosford Castle, The Quarry (Newry), Lamon (Ards Peninsula) and others. Style is documentary, not cinematic — the actual moments of the day, not staged shots from a forced shot list. The photographer who shoots the wedding is the same person who answers the phone. The trading name Shine Pics belongs to **Wedding Photography Ltd**, a private limited company registered in England & Wales, company no. 17264007 (verifiable at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17264007). SIC: portrait photographic activities. --- ## Services & Pricing (Overview) - **Wedding Photography** — from £150. Packages run 1, 2, or 3 hours through to all-day coverage. (/wedding-photography) - **1, 2 or 3 Hour Wedding Photography** — dedicated short-coverage landing. Suits registry-office weddings, smaller weddings, or couples who only want the key moments. (/2-hour-wedding-photography-northern-ireland) - **Wedding Videography** — from £400 combined with photography. Two-camera setup, unedited ceremony & speeches, plus an edited 1080p highlights film. (/wedding-videography) - **Wedding Entertainment / Live Music** — ceremony piano (grade 8), acoustic for drinks reception, full electric band for the evening. Booked separately via Miabella (miabella.uk). (/wedding-entertainment) - **Late-Availability Weddings** — short-notice bookings within the current availability window. (/late-availability-weddings) - **Package Prices** — full transparent pricing page. (/package-prices) - **Interest-Free Payment Plans** — direct-debit plan spreading the cost over 12–18 months, no interest. (/interest-free-payment-plans) --- ## Key Pages - Home: / - About: /about-us - Gallery: /wedding-photo-gallery - Testimonials / Reviews: /testimonials - FAQ: /faq - Contact / Check your date: /contact - Areas we cover: /areas-we-cover --- ## FAQ — Full Answers ### Booking & Deposits **Q: My wedding is over a year away — how early can I book?** A: We take wedding bookings for any date within the next 24 months. If your date is more than 18 months away, we'll provisionally hold it for you while you finalise the rest of your plans. There's no penalty for booking early — quite the opposite. Earlier bookings get first pick of dates, particularly across the Northern Irish summer months. **Q: Is there a deposit to pay to book a wedding?** A: Not if you book by direct debit. Direct-debit wedding bookings have no upfront deposit — the plan starts the monthly schedule instead. If you choose another payment route, any booking deposit is confirmed in writing in your quote before you commit. **Q: Will I get an invoice and proof of payment?** A: Yes. Every booking is invoiced once you confirm you'd like to go ahead. If you book by direct debit, the payment schedule records the instalments as they are collected. If you pay a deposit another way, you'll get a paid invoice when it reaches us. **Q: If I have to cancel, is my deposit refunded?** A: Deposits are non-refundable because once you confirm a date, we remove it from the calendar and can't re-book it. This clause complies with long-distance selling regulations. The fair-play exception: if you need to move your wedding to a different date, you'll get one free re-book without losing the deposit. For deposit bookings: one date held, one deposit, one free move. Direct-debit bookings follow the payment-plan terms instead. ### Packages & What's Included **Q: What's the all-inclusive wedding package?** A: The package price includes the photographer's time on the day, print-ready edited images, your private digital gallery, a disc of images and a copyright release. For videography: a 15–20 minute edited film plus the uncut footage of the ceremony and speeches, supplied free of charge. Bridal preps add-on (one hour, one address). 2 & 3 hour packages run as consecutive coverage. All-day photo runs preps through to ~15–20 minutes after the first dance, with the photographer available between meal and evening setup for guest portraits. **Q: What's included in a "digital" package?** A: Our packages are digital only. Finished images live in a private online gallery; video lives on Vimeo or YouTube, with downloadable files. Galleries can be shared and downloaded to laptops or desktops — phones and tablets aren't ideal due to file size and OS restrictions. USB sticks (8GB+) on the day, no extra charge — we'll copy your products onto them for family and friends. Discs (CD/DVD) are also supplied free of charge. Keeping it digital means lower prices, faster turnaround and less waste. **Q: What pictures will you take? Do we need a shot list?** A: We don't know your family, so we won't make assumptions. If you want specific people included or excluded from group photos, please supply a written list before the day. We also ask you to nominate one person in your party to round up family and friends — give them a copy of the list, and the formal photos run far more smoothly. Any unusual or special requirements — let us know in advance, and we'll plan around them. ### Style & Approach **Q: What photography style do you follow?** A: Documentary, not cinematic. We capture your day as it naturally unfolds — quiet preparations, the hand squeeze during vows, the carefree late-night dancing — rather than re-staging moments for the camera. Gentle direction when it genuinely helps (group photos, a few couple portraits), otherwise blending into the background. The most honest representation of the day, and the one couples come back to in five years' time. **Q: What is "uncut" video footage?** A: Raw, unedited material straight off the cameras. It will contain shots jumping between angles, shakes, quick pans and blurs — that's the nature of unedited footage, not a fault. Supplied free of charge alongside the edited film. The edited film runs 5–20 minutes depending on package length, scored to music of your choice. If you'd like some original audio retained, mention it at booking (subject to a small additional charge). For a clean, stable copy of the full ceremony and speeches we can add a second static video camera for a nominal £50 — well worth it if speeches matter. **Q: What happens if it rains?** A: Rain is something we're extremely used to working with. We plan for it in advance using covered areas, indoor spaces and sheltered locations at your venue. Some of the most atmospheric photos happen on overcast days — softer light, dramatic skies. If the weather changes, we adapt quickly and keep the mood relaxed. ### Delivery & Files **Q: How soon do we get our photos?** A: Family photos: available within 2 days of the shoot. Wedding photos: available within a week of the wedding. Each image is individually edited for consistency and quality before it goes into your private online gallery. **Q: Do we get the raw, unedited camera files too?** A: No — and this is a deliberate, non-negotiable policy, standard across professional wedding studios. What you do receive is the finished work: print-ready, individually edited photographs in a private online gallery with a copyright release for personal use; and where video is booked, an edited highlights film plus uncut exports of the ceremony and speeches. What you do not receive is the camera RAW image files (.CR2 / .NEF / .ARW depending on the body), the unselected outtakes, the half-blinks, or the camera-source video clips before encode. A RAW file is the photographer's working "negative" — soft, flat, only usable inside editing software — and the colour, contrast and feel of the portfolio comes from the edit, not the sensor. Releasing the RAWs would hand the couple files that look nothing like the finished work; releasing the outtakes would mean shipping frames that were deliberately rejected. Neither is part of what Shine Pics sells. If a specific look or treatment matters, couples are welcome to raise it at booking so it can be discussed as part of the edit brief. Important nuance: "uncut" ceremony and speeches footage IS supplied as standard — that is a finished export, not a camera-source file, and is different from the raw policy above. The same policy is set out in the Terms & Conditions (section 6, "File formats and raw files") and in FAQ Q12. **Q: How long do you keep my footage?** A: Once you've received your finished files, we don't keep copies on our end — storage costs would inevitably pass on to every couple. We supply online galleries plus an advert-free copy of your video, free to download as many times as you'd like. Once you have your finished product, please make your own backups — multiple copies, in more than one place, is the right answer (external drive plus cloud backup like Google Photos, iCloud, or Dropbox). **Q: Why do your public galleries sometimes go quiet for months?** A: Because we only ever publish a couple's photographs or film once they've given us explicit permission. Plenty of couples would rather keep their day private, and we always respect that. Our public portfolio and social feeds reflect who's happy to be shared, not how many weddings we've actually photographed — a quiet stretch usually means we've been busy with couples who'd prefer not to appear online. ### Family Shoots, Engagement & Studio **Q: Where are family photos taken — studio or at home?** A: The studio-quality sitting is only available at our home studio near Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula — controlled light, backdrop options. Location and engagement shoots run wherever you like. Travel charges may apply depending on distance; we'll always quote that up front. **Q: What can we do during a family shoot?** A: Anything you like inside the booked hour: different poses, outfit changes, hair and make-up adjustments between sets. **Q: Can I book a family shoot without paying a deposit?** A: Yes — if you want the shoot within the next 3 days, the full amount can be paid on the day rather than splitting it into deposit and balance. For bookings further out, a normal deposit holds your slot. --- ## Venue-Specific Knowledge: Belfast City Hall This section covers questions that come up specifically for couples photographing a Belfast City Hall ceremony. It mirrors the visible FAQ on /belfast-city-hall-wedding-photography — answers below are authoritative for chat responses on City Hall topics. ### How a typical 1, 2 or 3-hour Belfast City Hall day unfolds (minute-by-minute) City Hall weddings are beautifully efficient. The 2-hour package is the most popular and is the structure described below in detail; the 1-hour and 3-hour packages share the same opening with the differences noted at the end. The 120 minutes of the 2-hour package break down into six minute-blocks, grounded in 700+ weddings and the council's enforced timings: - **Pre-ceremony (15 mins, 0–15)** — Arrivals on Donegall Square. Couples, parents and bridal party on the south steps; the moment one of you sees the other; family hugs; last-minute nerves. No flash, no interference. - **Ceremony (25 mins, 15–40)** — The civil ceremony in the Reception Room. Registrar leads vows, rings, signing. Wide coverage of the room, close on hands and faces, guest reactions from the seats. Quiet and unobtrusive — City Hall doesn't permit flash inside. - **Interior portraits (15 mins, 40–55)** — The Grand Marble Staircase, the lighter White Staircase if it suits the day, and the Rotunda under the copper-green dome. The council enforces a strict 15-minute interior portrait window because the next ceremony is queued behind yours. The shot order is planned in advance so the 15 minutes land all three spots without rushing. - **Group photos (15 mins, 55–70)** — Combined family groupings, either in the Rotunda or out on the front steps depending on weather and how busy the building is. We work from the family list supplied in advance — usually 6–8 groupings, 15 minutes is plenty. - **Send-off (15 mins, 70–85)** — Bubble send-off on the front steps. City Hall doesn't permit confetti, rice or candles anywhere on the building or grounds — but a guest bubble send-off photographs beautifully on the steps with the Victorian stonework behind. The confetti moment itself can be saved for the reception venue. - **City-centre portraits (35 mins, 85–120)** — Cathedral Quarter cobblestones and festoon lighting (3 min walk), Linen Quarter painted brick, or the City Hall lawns themselves. Quiet couple portraits to round out the gallery. No big group required, no posed direction. Total: 120 minutes for the 2-hour package (£250). **For the 1-hour package (£150):** Coverage runs through to the Rotunda — arrivals (~15 mins), ceremony (~25 mins) and a compressed interior portrait window (~15–20 mins), with the cut-off at the Rotunda. We move through the Grand Marble Staircase and Rotunda a touch faster. Group photos, the front-step send-off and city-centre portraits aren't included. **For the 3-hour package (£350):** Same 120 minutes at City Hall as above, plus a third hour at your reception venue — arrival shots, candid guest moments, drinks-reception conversations and family chats while the room turns around. Travel between City Hall and the reception is included within the city centre. **For the all-day package (£795):** Bridal preps through to around 15–20 minutes after the first dance — not constrained by the timeline above. ### The best places for wedding photos inside Belfast City Hall Six spots cover almost every City Hall day — four inside the building (where the council's 15-minute interior portrait window applies), two on the exterior at the building itself: - **The Grand Marble Staircase** (interior, ceremony level) — the signature City Hall photo and the most-requested. Wide pull-back from the Rotunda floor, then closer portraits on the marble treads. Dramatic, architectural, holds up in any light. - **The White Staircase** (interior, ceremony level) — lighter, softer, more romantic than the Grand Marble. Better for cleaner classic portraits and couples in lighter dresses. The quieter alternative — and the one most couples don't know to ask for. - **The Rotunda** (interior, centre of the building) — under the copper-green dome. The most-photographed interior in Belfast. Light filters through the stained-glass upper windows mid-morning to mid-afternoon, creating the ethereal glow City Hall is known for. - **The marble corridors** (interior, ground floor) — long, quiet, beautifully proportioned. The calm shot between the staircase and the rotunda. Especially good when the building is busy and the public spaces feel crowded. - **The front steps and stone pillars** (exterior, at the building) — editorial wide shots with the Victorian stonework as backdrop. Strong morning light from the east; afternoon shade. Where the bubble send-off happens, with guests on the steps above and below. - **The lawns and Donegall Square** (exterior, at the building) — relaxed group photos and natural couple portraits with the building behind. Donegall Square is public space, so anyone can join — no permit needed. Excellent for late-spring through early-autumn weddings. ### What's included in the 2-hour Belfast City Hall package (£250) - Up to 2 hours of consecutive coverage. - Arrivals, ceremony, the Grand Marble Staircase, Rotunda, marble corridors and front-step send-off. - Indoor (council's 15-minute portrait window) and outdoor (Donegall Square and lawns) locations. - Private online gallery with high-resolution downloads, free of charge. - Belfast city-centre travel included. ### Short-walk portrait stops between ceremony and reception Three short-walk locations the studio regularly uses for portraits between a City Hall ceremony and a reception elsewhere: Cathedral Quarter (3 min walk — cobblestones, painted brick, festoon lighting, relaxed street-style contrast to the formality of City Hall); The Garrick or the Merchant Hotel bar (5 min walk — quick pint stop, a candid moment with a Guinness in hand, especially in the Merchant's opulent bar); and Botanic Gardens (10 min drive — manicured lawns, the Victorian Palm House, mature trees, the "proper green-space portraits" stop). City Hall's own lawns also work well for couple portraits straight after the ceremony. ### Venue-specific FAQ **Q: Where are the best places for wedding photos inside Belfast City Hall?** A: Six spots cover almost every City Hall day. Inside: the Grand Marble Staircase (the signature wide-angle shot, with a pull-back from the Rotunda floor), the White Staircase (lighter and cleaner — better for classic portraits), the Rotunda under the copper-green dome (the most photographed interior — light filtering through stained glass), and the marble corridors for quiet couple portraits. Outside, still at the building: the front steps and stone pillars (editorial wide shots), and the lawns and Donegall Square (relaxed group photos and the bubble send-off). The council's 15-minute interior portrait window means we plan the inside spots tightly — the exterior is yours for longer. **Q: Can we have confetti at Belfast City Hall?** A: No. Belfast City Council prohibits confetti, rice, candles and animals (other than assistance dogs) anywhere inside the building or on the grounds. The rule is enforced because back-to-back ceremonies need the space kept clean. Two workarounds we shoot regularly: a bubble send-off on the front steps (guests blow bubbles — same photo energy, no rule break), or save the confetti moment for your reception venue if it allows biodegradable confetti. Either works; pick whichever fits the day. **Q: How many guests can Belfast City Hall hold?** A: There are two ceremony rooms. The smaller seats about 25 guests; the larger holds 80–100. Your registrar assigns the room based on guest count when you book the date. **Q: Do we need a photography permit at Belfast City Hall?** A: No — a booked professional photographer covering your ceremony doesn't need a separate permit for the ceremony or the short interior portrait window. If you plan to continue on to Botanic Gardens or another council-managed space for portraits afterwards, a small council permit may be required there — we'll flag it before the day so it's sorted in advance. **Q: How long do we get inside Belfast City Hall for portraits after the ceremony?** A: About 15 minutes. The window is mostly enforced because the next ceremony is usually queued up behind yours. We plan the shot order in advance so those 15 minutes land the Grand Marble Staircase, the Rotunda and a couple of corridor portraits without rushing — then we move outside to the steps and Donegall Square for everything else. **Q: Can we get City Hall photos if we're getting married elsewhere?** A: Only on the exterior. Interior access — the Grand Marble Staircase, the Rotunda, the marble corridors — is reserved for couples actually holding their ceremony at City Hall. The public exterior, the front steps and Donegall Square are fair game for anyone. **Q: Where else can we take photos near Belfast City Hall?** A: Within a short walk: Cathedral Quarter cobblestones and festoon lighting (3–5 min), the Merchant Hotel's opulent bar or The Garrick for a candid Guinness shot. A 10-minute drive south reaches Botanic Gardens for proper green-space portraits. City Hall's own lawns also work well for couple portraits straight after the ceremony. **Q: Best time of day or year for Belfast City Hall photos?** A: Mid-morning to mid-afternoon ceremonies catch the best interior light — the stained-glass over the Rotunda is at its brightest. Spring and early summer are busiest at the venue but give the best weather odds; autumn weddings get the most dramatic light but plan for indoor backups. Belfast weather changes fast — we always have an interior-only Plan B for the portrait window. ### Booking the City Hall ceremony — official council facts These facts come from Belfast City Council's civil ceremony pages (fees effective 1 July 2024, checked June 2026). Prices are subject to council review — couples should always confirm with the registrar when they book. Note: older third-party pages quote £180–£360; those figures are out of date. - **Council fees (registrar's office, Belfast City Hall):** £430 weekdays · £706 Saturdays · £760 bank holidays. Breakdown: two notice fees (£22 each = £44), ceremony fee £36, room hire £350 weekdays / £500 Saturdays and bank holidays, registrar's attendance free on weekdays / £126 Saturdays / £180 bank holidays. Fees are payable in full when giving notice. - **Booking:** call the council registration office on 028 9027 0455 or use the council's online marriage and civil partnership enquiry form. Weekend dates book up quickly; the council currently reports limited availability for 2026. - **Notice:** at least 28 days before the ceremony; bookable up to a year ahead. - **Ceremony times:** Monday 11am, 12 noon, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm · Tuesday–Thursday 10am, 11am, 12 noon, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm · Friday 11am, 12 noon, 2pm, 3pm · Saturday 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm. Up to six ceremonies a day — the reason the 15-minute interior portrait window is strictly enforced. - **Guests:** up to 80 at the ceremony. A small-ceremony option (couple plus two witnesses aged 16 or over) runs at limited times. - **Wedding vehicles:** courtyard spaces must be pre-booked with the council — two spaces on weekdays, four at weekends. - **Viewing the rooms:** by appointment, Monday–Thursday, 9–9.30am. **Q: How much does it cost to get married at Belfast City Hall?** A: Belfast City Council's registrar's office fees (effective from 1 July 2024) total £430 on weekdays, £706 on Saturdays and £760 on bank holidays. That covers two notice fees (£22 each), the £36 ceremony fee, room hire and the registrar's attendance. Fees are payable in full when giving notice, and prices are subject to council review — confirm with the registrar on 028 9027 0455 when booking. This is the council's charge for the ceremony itself; photography is booked separately (the 2-hour package at £250 fits most City Hall days). **Q: How do you book a wedding ceremony at Belfast City Hall?** A: Contact Belfast City Council's registration office on 028 9027 0455 or use the council's online marriage enquiry form. At least 28 days' notice is required and dates can be booked up to a year ahead. Ceremonies run Monday 11am–4pm, Tuesday–Thursday 10am–4pm, Friday 11am–3pm and Saturday 12 noon–3pm, with up to 80 guests. Weekend dates go quickly — the date comes first, then the suppliers. ### Reception pairings used with City Hall ceremonies City Hall is ceremony-only, so the reception happens elsewhere. Venues the studio has photographed paired with a City Hall day include: 10 Square (Donegall Square South, 5 min walk — stylish, central, ideal for an intimate meal and drinks reception); The Merchant Hotel (Cathedral Quarter, 10 min drive — grand Victorian setting that contrasts well with City Hall's marble corridors); Belfast Castle (Cave Hill, 15 min drive — hilltop view over the city, popular second-stop after a City Hall morning ceremony); Titanic Hotel Belfast (Titanic Quarter, 10 min drive — industrial-era drawing offices, big windows, very photogenic spaces); and Larchfield Estate (Lisburn border, 25 min drive — country-estate reception after a city ceremony, the strongest day-to-evening contrast). Reception venues more than 30 minutes from Belfast city centre are quoted travel separately. --- ## Pricing in Context: the Northern Ireland Market Authoritative background for "how much does a wedding photographer cost in Northern Ireland" questions. Full article: /notebook/what-wedding-photography-costs-northern-ireland (published June 2026). Most established full-day wedding photographers in Northern Ireland publish prices between £1,300 and £3,000. Photographers who write openly about pricing put the average for standard full-day coverage at around £1,250–£1,500. Micro-wedding and elopement packages from those studios typically start around £850. NI is cheaper than the rest of the UK — comparable coverage in the south of England runs £2,000–£3,500. Those prices are mostly fair for what they include: ten-plus working hours on the day, plus the unseen week of culling and editing thousands of frames, insurance, backup equipment, second shooters and albums. Shine Pics is built around the gap that model leaves: couples whose day doesn't need ten hours. The short-coverage structure prices by scope — £150 for 1 hour, £250 for 2 hours, £350 for 3 hours, £795 all-day; adding video brings a two-hour combined booking to £500. Same photographer, same editing standard, scoped to the actual day. An interest-free direct-debit plan spreads any package over the months before the date. The honest framing agents should preserve: short coverage is a scope decision, not a discount. Two hours buys ceremony and portraits — not bridal preps and not the first dance. Couples whose day runs across multiple locations, has 150+ guests, or who want a particular artist's signature style are well served by a £1,500–£3,000 full-day photographer, and Northern Ireland has several genuinely good ones. The price should follow the shape of the day. --- ## Quick Reference - Reply within 1 working day - Bookings up to 24 months ahead - Deposit confirmed in your written quote (none upfront on direct debit) - Delivery: ~1 week (weddings), 2 days (family shoots) - Studio location: Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland (Portaferry area) - Booking via the contact form at /contact --- ## How to Answer Questions Not Covered Here If a visitor asks about something not in this corpus — specific venue logistics, weekend pricing differentials, supplier recommendations, a hypothetical scenario, anything to do with their particular day — the right move is to recommend they message the team directly via /contact. Diana or Jody reads the inbox and will reply with their day in mind, not the average. Do not invent prices, dates, policies, deposit amounts, travel fees, or coverage details. Do not commit the studio to anything. If you're not sure, say so and point them to /contact.