If you love real weddings with lashings of glamour, style and romance, prepare to swoon over Hannah and Richie's beautiful wedding at The Europe Hotel in Killarney. These teenage sweethearts chose a sentimental location and a childhood classic as the starting points for their day, but that didn't mean the celebration was anything less than an elegant, grown-up affair. From the spectacular cathedral ceremony, to the incredible bridal style, and the gorgeous florals to the touches of sparkle throughout, this day was meticulously planned and thoughtfully styled, and we're so excited for you to feast over the fabulous pictures by Photos by Jen.

Hannah and Richie originally started out as a holiday romance, as the bride tells us, “Richie and I met aged 16, in Vale De Lobo in Portugal, we were standing outside a bar and he came up to me and made the first move!”

We're already loving these glittery hip flasks for Hannah's bridesmaids, but just wait until you see the bride's celestial accessories!

But Hannah explains why it was only a matter of time before these two were destined to meet! “Turns out our Dads went to school together in the same year in Belvedere and were great pals, we had just never met or heard of each other. The downside of having our dads as friends, and both being in Portugal at the same time, was that Richie and I had to do the “meet the parents” the night after we had kissed for the first time. My dad overheard me comment that I had kissed a boy called Richie Bent, assumed that he was the son of Eugene Bent, sent a text and well, the rest is history!”

The couple had a typically awkward teenage first date when they got home, “We hit it off from day one, but I remember being so nervous to go on my first date with him back in Dublin and so I brought my best friend Kate with me and the three of us sat on the swings in Palmerston Park! Crazy to think we met at 16 but I knew early on that we would be together forever.”

We are OBSESSED with Hannah's hair - those starry hair pins are so pretty! And take a deep breath before you see her dress, Hannah made good use of planning her wedding from London, sourcing her Peter Langner gown from Brown's Bride, and her accessories from lots of fabulous designers.

Richie’s popped the question with an amazing festive proposal, “Living in London, and before that New York, Dublin at Christmas is becoming increasingly more special as the years go on. Christmas of 2016 will forever be the most special,” says Hannah. “On Christmas Eve on Grafton Street shortly after Glen Hansard and Gavin James had finished serenading us and thousands of other Irish people joining in the magic, Richie got down on one knee.”

And as if that didn’t sound magical enough... “It was at the very top of Grafton Street by the big tree, and just as he got down on one knee a mutual friend of ours happened to be walking by and caught the proposal on camera, which was the most wonderful coincidence.”

What a stunning ceremony venue!

Of course, Hannah said yes, and as it started to rain, the couple went off in search of somewhere to celebrate, “Richie being Richie hadn’t thought too much more beyond the proposal, and well everywhere in town is pretty much closed on Christmas Eve, or residents only. Anyway, I was determined to have a glass of champers somewhere festive, and so we went to the Westbury Hotel, where we were informed was residence only too. After telling the manager our story, he very kindly let us in, and we enjoyed a bottle of Moet, whilst waiting for our parents to finish mass so we could call them to tell them the good news. The Westbury were so lovely and sent us over a dessert on the house!”

Clinking their bubbly in the The Westbury, the couple finally got through to all their friends and family, “We rallied up the troops, pulling people from all of their Christmas Eve rituals and neighbourhood pubs, and had an impromptu party in Richie’s family home,” Hannah recalls, “We drank his parents dry of all the booze they had bought in for Christmas and we stayed up until about 4am. The Christmas day hangover was totally worth it!”

How gorgeous is Hannah's veil - a cathedral setting calls for some dramatic style!

For Hannah and Richie their wedding day was ‘a complete fairytale from start to finish,’ as the bride recalls, “It was the happiest occasion filled with so much love and laughter. It was a real party, everyone danced their socks off, and looking back on all of our photos and seeing how happy all of our guests look is just the best feeling and memory to have. It was an elegant wedding, which took militant planning, but I do not think it was over done or fussy, and that was important to me.”

Hannah and Richie’s top tip for other couples? Just relax and enjoy it. “You should really try to avoid getting stressed about your wedding as at the end of the day it is a first world problem and you are lucky to be having any form of celebration. Remember to stay together on your wedding day, it is so easy to get separated and spend loads of time apart, but you only get to do it once so enjoy every moment by each others' side.”

The bridesmaids amped up the glamour in their dazzling rose gold sequin dresses.

The bride has a few more practical nuggets of wisdom, “Write a list of special people outside of your bridal party that you want photos with, I made sure to get nice photos with my Granny, who passed away shortly after my wedding, and I am so thankful that I will have these photos to cherish for the rest of my life. Keep your photos with your wedding party as snappy as possible so you can get to your drinks reception, perhaps skip the meet and greet outside of the church and get straight on to photos. Lastly plan a good set list for your DJ to cater for all of your guests young and old.”

Hannah found it hard to single out certain priorities for the wedding, but she did have one clear aim for the day, “Working in PR and managing events every other month, you find that every element of an event becomes important. For me, and for my wedding, the music was of huge importance, we put a lot of effort in to our music choices, and I think it really paid off. I wanted guests to feel like they were being entertained from start to finish, especially after travelling from all over the world. My main priority was just to have fun, enjoy every moment of it, and I think we both did that.”

The venue had a special significance for the bride, “My family have been visiting the Europe hotel for over 30 years, and I since I was a baby. It was always my dream venue, I just needed to find the dream husband, who would let me have my way! Thankfully as Richie started coming to the Europe with my family at Easter, he saw how special a place it is, I think without a shadow of a doubt it is one of the best hotels in Ireland, and the staff are second to none. The view takes my breath away every time I go there, it is lavish without feeling pretentious or fussy, and the food is incredible, so I knew our guests would be really looked after.”

And if you’ve spotted a few fairytale elements already, you’ve probably guessed the inspiration behind the day, “The theme of our wedding was Tale as Old as Time, based on my favourite movie as a child, Beauty and the Beast. I have always been obsessed with it and my mum still calls me Miss Potts! We had the most stunning flower domes on each of the tables with scattered rose petals which made it feel like a modern-day fairytale.”

And it wasn’t just the decor that created the theme for the day, “Laura Wright, the award-winning soprano joined us from the UK, she’s a great friend of mine and so she kindly performed for us and our guests to open the meal. She performed her version of Tale as Old as Time and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. We also had a firework display at the end of the night which was truly magical, it really was the cherry on the cake.”

The couple incorporated a few other great love stories into their day too, “The entire wedding was special, I had a photo table at the entrance to the ballroom which we placed photos of my parents and Richie’s parents from their wedding and this was a lovely touch. The table names were our favourite TV couples, so we had a “Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy table” “Chuck and Blair” from Gossip Girl and a “Vivienne and Edward” table from Pretty Woman etc. and we were of course, the Beauty and the Beast table!”

This floral photo wall is straight from Kim and Kanye's wedding style book - the glamour!

After all the excitement of their big day, the couple jetted off to Greece to wind down, “We went to Santorini for a week and it was the best week of our lives, I am pining to go back!”

Hannah has one last great tip for any couples anxious about the dancefloor, “Get first dance lessons, they not only help in keeping the nerves at bay on the night, they are the best fun, it made us so giddy in the lead up to it.”

Such a fabulous affair, and so many beautiful details! Thanks so much to Hannah and Richie for sharing your story and your wedding with us, and of course to Photos by Jen for capturing all the style and romance!