You may remember a little while ago we featured the romantic engagement of Aoife & Thady in Phoenix Park, a set of beautiful and intimate portraits by Aga & Noel of White Tea. Well today we are really excited to tell you that Aoife & Thady are now man and wife, and we're delighted that Noel & Aga offered to share their gorgeous pictures of what was clearly a very happy and fun wedding day.
Aoife & Thady celebrated their marriage at the Millhouse in Slane, a venue they fell in love with and suited their relaxed, fun loving style perfectly. The wedding took place on the 30th December, allowing everyone to enjoy a Christmassy atmosphere and the perfect lead up to a brilliant New Year's celebration.
Every bride says that a huge part of the fun is getting ready with family and friends beforehand, and settling the nerves with a glass of bubbly...
A Very Special Ceremony
The wedding ceremony took place in the Church of St Martin in Culmullen near Dunshaughlin and as Aoife explained it was very special in a number of ways...
My brother Fintan celebrated the wedding ceremony which was a very special thing for me- as it made the ceremony very moving and personal, and my nephew Aidan and very dear friends Adelle, Julie and Sean all played music and sang for the ceremony which also added so much to the mass.
I'm loving that Aoife rocked a traditional veil but with her hair down, framing her face so beautifully, gives it a very relaxed and natural look, she reminds me of being a little girl and imagining what the perfect bride would look like...
You and Me, Always and Forever...
Given the season, there were lots of Christmassy elements incorporated into Aoife & Thady's wedding - from mince pies and fairy lights to mistletoe and Aga's gingerbread (more about that later).
Get Me to the Church on Time
I'm sure Aoife was recounting the fun from earlier in the day...
The funniest part for me was Thady giving me wrong directions to get to the church- what was that saying?! My brother and my dad were driving around the back roads of Meath with some of my family in pursuit- an entourage in the Meath countryside!!
The Personal Wedding Style
My other nephew Andrew, drew a beautiful picture of a tree and also of the house in the film "Up", and we asked our guests to use inkpads so they could put their fingerprints on them as a different type of guestbook! We also used our fab engagement photos from White Tea as our guestbook on the day.
I bought all the table decorations and features myself, as I wanted my own stamp on the venue. I started about six months before the wedding, and bought them as I spotted interesting things! Thady wanted bags of penny sweets as favours, as you can always rely on him for having a bag of sweets at hand!
Btw - that wedding cake is from Marks & Spencers - clever girl with the budget is our Aoife. While Aga from White Tea made fabulous gingerbread cookies that went down an absolute treat apparently. Now I've landed Aga in it - anyone thinking of booking a wedding photographer, make sure you get your sweet treats from White Tea into the bargain! (haha, now I'm in trouble)
One of our favourite moments was when all our guests formed a circle around us for our first dance to The Wannadies "You and Me Song"- we had to have it as our first dance as the words remind us of ourselves!
Any Wisdom You'd Like to Share with Other Brides & Grooms?
Do things your own way! Whatever you like and whatever makes you both happy, DO IT!!
The day flies by, really and truly, so have it the way you want! There is so much planning involved in the lead up to the day, and very few people will actually appreciate all the work that you have put in, so make sure its the day that you both want.
Also, I think its lovely when you can have other people pitch in and help- it makes the day very personal and lets you know that these people care enough about you to go to the bother of helping you out with something- for example, my friends who made the cakes and family and friends who contributed to the ceremony.
Congratulations Aoife & Thady, here's to an amazing life together...
And to Noel & Aga, the great talents of White Tea photography - thanks a million guys! There's loads more to see of Aoife & Thady's beautiful day over on the white tea blog, and make sure and check out the rest of Noel & Aga's brilliant work while you're there...
Where to Grab the Wedding Goodies
Wedding dress: White Orchid, Swords
Veil: Oxfam, George's Street,
Headpiece & Earrings: Monsoon
Bridesmaids Dress: was bought in Debenhams with accessories from Oasis.
Venue: The Millhouse, Slane
Wedding Band: The Shakes
Hair: Sarah O'Neill
Makeup: Zena in Harvey Nichols
Thady bought his own three-piece suit
Groomsmen Aston Formal Hire.
