Relaxed, natural, intimate and just a little bit bohemian, Sonia and Paul's wedding combines their love of nature and love of family and friends. Both making their vows and celebrating within the beautiful glass conservatory at Kilshane House brought the outside inside and their choices of the prettiest little details, all with a little flora or fauna touch, brought it all together beautifully. We're delighted to share these images of a lovely day courtesy of the equally lovely Christina Brosnan...
This couple's story is our favourite kind of love story, an international tale - Sonia is originally from New Zealand, but lived in Europe for 6 years before moving to Ireland, as had Paul, so their guests included a variety of guests from far and wide - in total 15 nationalities were represented. Bringing this group of their nearest and dearest together was the most important thing to the couple "The overall priority of course was just to have a relaxed, intimate and fun ‘weekend in the middle of the week’ with our family and friends around us."
So tell us how it all got started..."It was the height of Summer 2009 and I had just moved from Germany to The Netherlands to begin my new job as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Leiden University. It was in those first few days that I met the lovely chilled out dark-haired guy with an accent that I couldn’t quite place. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but there were definitely strong forces at work from the beginning! He was doing a Masters degree in my research group. Over the next 3 months and plenty of coffee breaks, we had become good friends. Thankfully (and unlike Dutch men) he took the rest into his own hands and asked me out on a lunch date. We tried to play it cool, but after that we couldn’t bear to be even a day apart. By July the following year however Paul was applying for PhD positions, and had a real desire to go back to Ireland, which he had been away from since he was 18. He found an excellent position at Trinity College. The only problem was that I was halfway through my contract and wanted to see it through. Cue 2 years of back and forth commuting every 1-2 months between Amsterdam and Dublin! We finally decided we couldn’t do long distance anymore, Paul proposed, and 1 year later, a month before the wedding, I finally got to join my love story in Ireland."
And how was the big question popped? "It was a grey and windy October day in Galway in 2011. I had organized a weekend away as I was sick of the sight of Dublin... Completely unbeknownst to me however, Paul had been on a ring-buying mission before we left Dublin. He was adamant I would be going back an engaged girl! Despite what was more a subdued weekend than anticipated with Paul developing a bout of tonsillitis, in our last few hours in Galway, at the Galway City Museum overlooking the bay, he seized his opportunity and gave me the surprise of my life when he presented me with a ring and a very nervous grin. For the rest of the day we were walking on air and I couldn’t stop looking at my ring. It turned out he had been carrying the ring in his pocket for the whole weekend waiting until an opportunity when he felt well enough. It wasn’t until we got back to Dublin and a Doctor’s visit later that Paul’s diagnosis was revealed: for someone who had their tonsils removed as a child I wonder if this was really a case of Mansilitis? 😉
Right from the start we had set our hearts on a country house in secluded surroundings serving good quality food. This meant not a hotel and not on a golf course and with space within the house to have the reception dinner rather than in a marquee outside. In addition because half of the guests were from abroad, and we seldom get to see them it was important for us to have a venue where all the guests could stay with us house party style. Despite the plethora of beautiful options in Ireland this was surprisingly hard to find when there were less than 80 guests, but more than 30-50!
We incorporated a traditional handfasting into the ceremony, which we involved both our mothers in to do the tying of the knot. They both loved it and it was a good way to involve them both in the wedding directly, especially Paul’s Mother as she was shy to do a reading. Paul’s Father is involved with the Hopkins Society and has a talent and love for poetry. He wrote us a poem about our journey as a couple since we met and read it during the reception.
Choice of photographer, as we always say here at One Fab Day, is key. This is something Sonia and Paul were really aware of from the beginning... "Neither of us, are the most photogenic, especially Paul who is particular nervous with a camera pointed at his face! (ah here! I beg to differ - you are both really photogenic - Ed) So of course an amazingly talented photographer that could put us at ease was extremely important."
While the guests are enjoying some time with the couple, we get to have a sneaky peeky around the wedding decor, something Sonia and Paul put a lot of thought and care into...
And the crowning glory - a cake by Cloudberry Bakery, doesn't it look delish? Loving the little deer cake toppers, too cute! Very subtle, but still a touch of nature. This is how to do a "theme" - so subtle you don't even notice but it all blends perfectly...
All the excitement of the wedding just wasn't enough for this international couple, they barely had time to relax for a moment, before heading off to South Africa to spend a glorious couple of weeks in Cape Town and surrounding areas in the Western Cape."A road trip through the garden route to the Eastern Cape and back through the Klein Karoo was stunning and gave us a taste of everything from beautiful wilderness and beaches to the amazing wildlife."
Sounds like the honeymoon was every bit as magical as the wedding, congratulations you two, and so many thanks for sharing your day with us. Many thanks too to Christina Brosnan for sharing this very sweet and intimate wedding with us... www.brosnanphotographic.com
