When two pharmacists come together the result is a very different sort of chemical romance: Richard and Arlene celebrated their life together with a wedding centred around Love is the Best Medicine theme. Arlene decorated the space beautifully with subtle references to their profession (no, not sterile test tubes), giving the day a truly unique feel that was very them. If you're looking for a tonic this morning, this wedding might be just the cure you need (sorry! we're loving the puns today...)
Arlene and Richard met on their first day of college at the University of Brighton. After catching each others eye on that very first day, they quickly realised they were both studying pharmacy, and that they both lived in the same halls of residence. As coincidence would have it, they got along famously, and after gaining Arlene's affections as a friend, Richard finally asked her out on a date.
Once they began to date, Richard and Arlene quickly became inseparable, and it wasn't long before Richard concocted a sky high proposal on a trip to Edinburgh. Arlene sets the scene..."Richard suggested a weekend away in Edinburgh just before Christmas to do some sightseeing. We had a wonderful weekend and on the night before returning home, we visited the Christmas market for mulled wine and a trip on the Ferris Wheel. At the top, surrounded by amazing views of the castle and Christmas lights across the city, he pulled an old sock out of his pocket which was carefully guarding a beautiful ring!"
With a ring on her finger, Richard and Arlene began to pull together a list of wedding priorities. It was quickly agreed that their first concern would be to show off the wild Mayo countryside to their travelling guests, and secondly, add some personality and great photography (more on that later.) Once decided, Arlene and Richard began their venue hunt and when they visited The Lodge At Ashford they knew it was the one.
"After visiting lots of amazing venues around Ireland we both felt that the Lodge was the one! It has a warm, homely and had a personal feel. Mairead Geehan (wedding co-ordinator) and the rest of the team had fantastic attention to detail, and really made us feel so special leading up to the big day. There are lots of quirky details, warm vibrant colours and the function room has large glass windows which make the most of “that view!” across the water and everyone commented that the food was out of this world."
With their venue sorted, Arlene and Richard's focus turned to ensuring everyone was kept entertained with lots of locally provided music, a photobooth and little activity packs for each of the kids. If you're having lots of little ones at your wedding be sure to be prepared with our 11 Ways to Keep Kids Entertained at Weddings.
Breaking tradition, Arlene and Richard opted for four groomsmen and three bridesmaids, proving you don't need to go matchy matchy with the number of girls and guys you have as part of your day.
Arlene's trio of girls wore gorgeous short powder blue dresses from Ted Baker with mismatched hairstyles to suit their own individual looks. V pretty...
Another top priority for Arlene and Richard was the photography (which is an area we would always recommend investing in too). "Photos were a priority as we felt that would be the lasting memory of the day for us, and we were so happy with the results."
Photography and venue aside, Arlene and Richard knew they wanted to add a little bit of personality to the day so took inspiration from their college days and used 'medicine' as inspiration. Not a sentence I thought I'd ever write, but Arlene and Richard pulled the look off perfectly...
When it comes to keeping in theme, subtlety is key, so Arlene and Richard kept things simple with medicine bottles filled with apple schnapps, vintage medicine bottle table centres, a pharmacy sweet table and a vintage doctor's bag to collect cards. Very clever and a unique touch that perfectly suits these two sweethearts.
Huge congratulations to you both and thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to MOS Photography for sharing your work, to see more MOS weddings head over to www.mosphotography.com
The Wedding Details
- Ceremony: St Mary of the Rosary Catholic Church
- Wedding Dress: Suzanne Neville from Ellie Sanderson
- Bridesmaids dresses: Ted Baker
- Shoes: Mimosa from Rachel Simpson
- Flowers: Ardilaun Creations
- Groomswear: Anthony Exclusive formalwear, Reiss
- Earrings: Liberty
- Cake: Devour Bakery
- Cars: U2R1 Wedding Cars
- Stationery: Paperless Post
- Make Up & Hair: The powder room girls
- Hair: Sandy Maher & Make-up: Lesley Whelan
- Wedding Bands: Michael Platt
- Ceremony Music: Fionnuala Deacy & Frankie Colohan
- Reception Music: More Cowbell
- Photobooth: photoandvideobooth.ie
