Today's real wedding is a treat for you this Tuesday afternoon! Despite the overcast sky Ash and Andy's celebration at Lime Park Arts and Cottages shone brightly with all their personal touches. Bride Ash was born and brought up in Zimbabwe and Andy is from Northern Ireland, the pair met in Australia and so the couple wanted their wedding to have a flavour of each of those cultures. With the help of family and friends the pair created a vintage meets rustic barn celebration. Grace Photography captured the day and we know you'll love the crafty touches along the way...
Ash and Andy met in an outback town of New South Wales called Bourke. A tiny town with only 2000 residents. A famous pastime of the residents is to find a local match for newcomers, enter Andy who had just finished university and had been offered a job in Bourke and Ash who had just applied for a nursing position in Bourke. Although traditionally a newcomer is matched with a local, Andy's friends spotted Ash at their church and orchestrated a few hang outs together, although the pair didn't hit it off until Ash offered Andy a lift to Sydney... What a momentous trip home, the usual 9 hour drive for some reason took 12 hours and we talked the entire way home! Of course Andy wasn’t quite convinced and after a few weeks of figuring out how we felt, Andy turned around and said “lets just be friends”. I was pretty upset but not wanting to let on to him I pretended like it didn’t bother me at all! Andy went away into the outback with some friends for the weekend and I didn’t contact him at all. Needless to say, when he got back he called me straight away and planned a date for us. Under the outback stars (being eaten alive by mosquitoes) he asked me out…and as they say, the rest is history!
Ash's dress is stunning! The silk falls beautifully against her pale skin and the jewel embellished details add a bit of sparkle to her look.
You may have spotted one of these boys in our Great Groom Style 2014! Andy and his merry band of men were charming in rustic attire wearing dinky bow ties, braces and those all important peaked caps!
Like their initial get together, Ash was left a little confused about a potential proposal... We had talked a lot about marriage and it was pretty clear that’s what we both wanted, Andy was only a few days away from leaving the country and I was beginning to think he might not propose before he left. With four days to go, he told me we were going out for dinner so immediately I’m thinking "This is it!" Unfortunately the Australian weather didn’t play nice, he had bought cheese and wine to have on the beach but it was pouring with rain. So while we stayed in the car watching the wild waves he handed me the journal that we write letters to each other in. He had drawn a story of us which ended with a picture of him on one knee proposing. The rest of the journal was cut out so I was thinking the ring was in there, but it was a Big Ben Pandora charm (because we were moving to the UK) instead. Then next thing I know he jumped out the car, ran around to my door and got down on one knee in the rain!
Only a few days after that proposal, Andy flew back to Northern Ireland. A trusting Ash had decided to leave the venue choice to him. The pair hadn't discussed what style of wedding they wanted, so as you can imagine this was a tough challenge for Andy. Luck was on his side however, when he stumbled upon Lime Park Arts and Cottages, a collection of barn's on beautiful grounds. Andy sent Ash some pictures of a half-finished barn (as the place was in refurbishment at the time) describing the venues relaxed style and beautiful surrounding scenery and Ash was hooked despite the unfinished look! When she finally saw the venue (6 weeks before the wedding I might add) she was thrilled, Andy had picked the perfect spot!
The couple had their ceremony in one of the gorgeous barns and included beautiful music from both the bride and groom!
The pair had a genius idea and with the help of Sam from Cinematic Tide they were able to achieve it. Like many of us they couldn't invite everyone to the special day and had many friends and family abroad that they wanted to share their celebration with, so the pair streamed the ceremony live, so that they had everyone they wanted with them - even if it was through the help of technology!
Ash and Andy's wedding portraits are beautiful, the pair were able to wander around the grounds to capture these intimate moments.
The couple were joined by their bridal party and the groomsmen's rustic chic style suited the venue perfectly don't you think?
Not to let the boys out do them, Ash's bridesmaids wore a mix of turquoise and light blue dresses teamed up with cute babys breathe bouquets.
We love Ash's fur stole, it adds that extra bit of glam to her look, plus it is Northern Ireland after all, it can get chilly up there! Her bridesmaids weren't left out in the cold, they added soft grey cover ups to their look. If you're looking for a cover up for your wedding day don't miss our Winter Warmers - 10 Stylish Bride and Bridesmaid Cover Up Ideas.
The groomsmen, wore their own trousers and shoes (hence the different shades of shoes!) The pair found theb braces on ebay and the bow ties were from Topman!
The pair planned a whimsical vintage celebration for the reception at Lime Park. Their priorities were to make their guest feel at home, keeping the vibe relaxed and the decor cutesy and full of warmth. With a beautiful barn backdrop the pair set to work (with the help of family and friends) creating decor and DIY crafts...
The couple were able to get into the venue for 3 days before the wedding to set up. They had a huge amount of decor and DIY crafts to assemble, from chalk board menus, a personalised sweet table, handmade doily bunting - which a tag team of friends made on site, framed table numbers from Ikea, and rolls of beautiful fabric and fairy lights were used to decorated the ceremony room and chairs.
As well as buying supplys the couple used family memorabilia and vintage finds to decorate...The card suitcase was Andy’s great Aunty’s – she was given it by the Cadbury family when she worked for them. We tied twine around and put up polaroids of the “preparations” for the wedding. We also put in some photos from the engagement shoot we did with Grace Photography.
There was one item that Ash had her heart set on and lovely DIY queen, Grace of Grace and Saviour came to the rescue, with 6 weeks to spare... There were a lot of things I compromised on with our wedding but I really wanted burlap and lace table runners (thanks to Pinterest!)We only contacted Grace and Saviour 6 weeks before the wedding and she was hectically busy but she still found time to make some for us and I was thrilled!
In the end the pair enjoyed a very Irish setting with an African spit roast for lunch, African, Irish and Australian wine and lots of music. Sounds like the perfect mix of Ash and Andy!
Ash and Andy's advice is to use the wedding connections that you already have... Grace Photography did many a Facebook post for us in search of mason jars and other decorative items. Most people in the wedding industry are very friendly and helpful. When I started planning all this from the other side of the world I had no idea how it was going to turn out, but it forced me to relax and keep things in perspective.
Congratulations Ash and Andy on your rustic celebration! A big thank you goes to Grace Photography for sharing her work with us, to see more of Grace's work pop over to www.gracephotographyni.com
The Wedding Details
- Ceremony: Lime Park Arts and Cottages
- Photography: Grace Photography
- Videography: Cinematic Tide
- Wedding Dress: Jean Fox Bridal
- Bridesmaids dresses: JJ House
- Shoes: Mimosa
- Flowers: The Flower Bowl Armagh
- Grooms Suit: Zara
- Groomsmen Accessories: Topman, Savoy Taylors Guild and Ebay
- Cake: Angel Cake Bakery
- Make Up & Hair: Guy n Girl & Leanne Godfrey
- Décor: Grace and Saviour
