An ode to the beauty of rugged Ireland.

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Little did Nichola and Florian know that when they first met by chance in Poland they'd end up marrying at a romantic Cork wedding in the wilds of Ireland. A romantic and laid back pair Nichola and Florian married at the wonderful Blairscove House surrounded by love, music and lots of good food and music. Ruth Leavett Photography joined them along the way and we're thrilled to share their real wedding story today...

Pretty Blairscove House Wedding by Ruth Leavett Photography // onefabday.com

Nichola tells us their international tale of love..."We met in a student dorm in Lodz, Poland, where we were both staying while doing a summer internship at the local university. A short summer friendship led to our first date in Dublin, followed by a second date at Oktoberfest in Munich." They've been together ever since...

Florian proposed to his Irish bride fireside, during a power cut. Nichola recalls the romantic moment..."Florian proposed whilst we were dancing to an old 1940’s song in front of a log fire in an old manor house in Scotland. A storm had blown out the electricity so there was just the light of the fire and the music on the battery-powered radio. It was perfect."

Choosing to marry in Ireland, Nichola and Florian had a romantic and intimate church ceremony with lots of personal touches and sentimental readings.

Nichola shares..."One of the highlights of the day for me was the ceremony. I loved walking down the aisle and seeing everyone dressed up and reaching my handsome future husband at the end. I loved the words of the songs sung, and the prayers and reflections read by our family and friends, and that perfect moment when we held hands and became husband and wife. Our service, carried out by my uncle Fr. John Hughes, captured Florian and I perfectly as we laughed and smiled joyfully sharing stories about our past and wishing us well in our future together. There was a moment in the ceremony, near the end, when Florian’s sister read out a short reflection about love from the movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin. We glanced up at each other and there were tears in both of our eyes - it was like everything just fell into place and we knew we were exactly where we wanted to be in life."

Pretty Real Wedding at Blairscove House and Restaurant by Ruth Leavett Photography // onefabday.com

After their ceremony Nichola and Florian made the most of their surroundings with some beautiful wedding portraits in the West Cork countryside. Nichola gushes..."Both Gougane Barra and Blairscove House were in keeping with the understated beauty of the West Cork area, that so inspired us to get married there. It’s rugged, wild and unspoiled - we wanted the wedding to be in keeping with the location and tried to keep things simple."

Embracing their surroundings and cultures Nichola and Florian filled their reception with flowers by Lovebird Designs, traditional Irish music and German Schnapps, which acted as place cards and favours.

Nichola details..."We always knew we wanted an intimate and informal wedding that mixed German and Irish traditions, to reflect our different cultures. The main priority was making sure our guests enjoyed themselves by serving lots of tasty food, keeping drinks topped up and playing good music throughout the day. We wanted the atmosphere to be relaxed, so that it felt more like a party than a wedding."

Huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your Blairscove House wedding with us all! A big thank you also goes to Ruth Leavett Photography for sharing her work with us. To see more from Ruth Leavett Photography visit www.ruthleavett.com