A fairytale autumnal soirée

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Whether you can pitch a tent like a Scout or you just love the feel of autumn leaves crunching under your feet, you'll have a soft spot for today's real wedding. Sinéad & Aidan celebrated their love of the great outdoors with their romantic October wedding at Ballymarvey Village. From the beautiful DIY wooden details (handy to have a carpenter for a groom) to the chic seasonal styling (even handier to have an event planner as a bride!), these beautiful photos by Tomasz Kornas Photography are laden with ideas for your own nature-inspired soirée.

Sinéad & Aidan both grew up in the same area and met at school, “Our older brothers were friends so we would have always known each other,” the couple explain. “Both of our families are also into the outdoors so we were all in Scouts - Sinéad’s dad and Aidan's mum were leaders so we never had the awkward 'meet the parents'! We got together in school and have been together ever since.” We’re always smitten with a couple who go way back!

Sinéad & Aidan’s love of hiking and the outdoors even came into play in the proposal, “We got engaged in July 2016 on the Beccara hiking trail in the Cinque Terre in Italy.” Sinéad tells us, but it wasn’t all plain sailing, “Aidan's bag had been lost on the flight over. Having had a nightmare the night before flying out of having to propose in Dublin Airport security he put the ring in his check on bag.”

When the couple arrived to the missing bag, Sinéad says she tried to reassure Aidan that it wasn’t a big deal - little did she she know! “On the day the bag was eventually located, (half way into the holiday) and after two trains and a bus back to Pisa first thing in the morning, he had the bag. Later that day he insisted we head off on this hike I wanted to do, after the travelling I said we'll just leave it until the next day but he insisted.”

All the stress was worth it in the end, “We got to the top of the mountain with this incredible view and Aidan popped the question! I have never been more red in the face from a climb in the heat and my hair was wild so I knew it was true love!” jokes Sinéad. “Despite being together for almost 13 years it came as a huge surprise, I knew it would happen one day as we only ever had eyes for each other but it was completely unexpected. We climbed down the other side of the mountain to this beautiful town and into a cliffside bar to celebrate!”

The pair both tell us the ceremony was the highlight of their day, "For me, it was seeing Sinéad walk up the aisle," says Aidan, "For Sinéad, it was the vows."

For Sinéad, a seasoned planning pro, organising her own big day was surely a breeze? “I am part of an events planning team in work, I have also staged productions from my drama teaching days and have had to be organised under pressure a s part of a number of the jobs I have done. This absolutely helped me with planning the wedding.”

The planning wasn’t without its bumps along the way though, “It was of course stressful at times (e.g. the wedding dress shop closing down) but by focusing on what the day is actually about – love, family and friends – and not getting wound up by the small stuff that doesn't go to plan, I managed to really enjoy it! Aidan is like my Buddha, the calmest person you'll ever meet so he kept me laughing and in fairness helped in all of the decision making and hugely in the DIY!”

Thankfully the dress shop closing down wasn’t quite the drama you’d think, “I got the dress sent from the designer to a new shop and after some paperwork got my money from the bank through credit card protection. Always buy your dress using your credit card! Otherwise I would have lost my deposit. Only other minor hitches but like I said I just moved on rather than worry!” Wow, that’s amazing tip - thanks Sinéad!

I love the lace detailing down the side of Sinéad's gown, and her birdcage veil is so chic and elegant, don't you think?

The couple say their autumn wedding was inspired by nature, and their love of the outdoors, “We had a wooden signing board made from this beautiful piece of ash given to us by the best man Neal. Eoin, one of our groomsmen is a fabulous artist so he drew a beautiful tree onto it for everyone to sign around. We made the table list board together, all tables were named after our favourite walks we've done together around the world.”

And that wasn’t it for the DIY details, “Aidan made a sign for greeting people coming into the ceremony (I only did the writing!),” Sinéad tells us, “Aidan made a ring box as a surprise. My mother and sister in law made the cake with some decorating help from me, and Aidan's friend Niall made a fabulous wooden cake stand.” What a talented bunch!

With all the autumn leaves and tall candlesticks, the rustic reception space looks like something straight out of a fairytale!

Sinéad and Aidan have more great advice for other couples, “Remember to pause and soak everything in on your wedding day – it goes by so quickly so just enjoy every minute. If something doesn't go to plan forget about it, nothing else actually matters other than getting getting married to the love of your life and being surrounded by all of your most important people all having a great time!”

For their honeymoon, these two kept it in Ireland, “We stayed at the Treehouse in Skibbereen followed by Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa."

Those DIY elements are amazing, and what a gorgeous setting for an autumn wedding! Thanks so much to Sinéad & Aidan for sharing their wedding with us, and of course to Tomasz Kornas Photography for sending it our way!