Welcome back after the long weekend ladies and gents! I know it's hard to get back into things after a bank holiday but you know us - we're full of the joys (after a coffee or two anyway - Ed) and we're delighted to share today's real wedding of Mary and Graham today. I'm pretty sure you guys will love it - for starters their venue is a the authentically wonderfully Vaughan’s Barn (Father Ted fans will know it well), the pair made it their own and were properly hands-on adding a host of DIY touches that didn't break the bank! It all came together to create a properly pretty Irish celebration. Tanya of Bronte Photography shared the snaps with us today, so enjoy!
Mary has a great tale to tell of how she and Graham got together, frankly I couldn't do it justice so I'll let her fill you in... "A boy and girl spend an evening on a couch at a match making friends house watching the Godfather. Girl and boy talk whole way through the movie and ruin the movie for everyone else. Boy asks girl on a date two days later. Date goes well. They kiss and a few months later boy declares that his love for girl is like a hamburger. Despite a very poor analogy girl declares her love for boy too. One year, one week and three days later the leap year arrives. Girl threatens to propose to boy. Boy doesn't take threat seriously but senses potential engagement ambush. Boy arrives home later that night and girl proposes. Boy repeat's the word 'seriously' several times and accepts. Boy then tells girl he put a deposit on an engagement ring four weeks previously. High fives and hugs ensue. Boy then organises a super romantic surprise engagement once he got the ring for girl. Girl cries and says “Yes” of course and is then whisked off to Ashford Castle for the night! Phew. A right whirlwind romance.
Mary's wedding dress is aptly named the 'Audrey', the classic and beautiful dress is from Blue Bridal. In keeping with her elegant and classic look Mary added an antique emerald and diamond gold bracelet borrowed from her bridesmaid’s mother (her something borrowed) and pearl drop earrings that were her late grandmother's. While antique accessories kept her look elegant and classic, she did want to add a bit of personality with a homemade (by the bride herself) birdcage veil.
It seems Mary got her seamstress skills from her mum who was hands on with the groomsmen's accessories making their colourful bow ties and that's not all her made, wait till you see the bridesmaids and wee flower girls...
Graham is looking smart in a grey three-piece suit, it must be time for the ceremony...
Our ceremony was in the Octagon Room of the Boghill Eco Centre which is such a beautiful space. Keeping it simple we had chairs and a love seat for Graham and I to sit on during the ceremony and we had a bubble machine as we were walking out of the Octagon Room which worked out really lovely! The love seat which the pair sat on during the ceremony, they re-upholstered and reconditioned themselves!
The pair choose to have hand fasting in their ceremony, lots of couples like this idea for their ceremony, even our own editor, Naoise!
From the start I could see there were so many personal and meaningful touches to Mary and Graham's day, one of the sweetest elements ( I thought) was that the pair used Mary's late grandmother's ring and Graham's wedding band was a combination of his grandfather's and father's wedding bands melted down and reformed into one band. How lovely and such a nice way to incorporate loved ones.
Remember I mentioned Mary's mum was a dress-maker extraordinaire? Well not only did she whip up the boys bow ties, she also made from scratch all the bridesmaids and flower girl dresses!
It was fun and frolics with Tanya of Bronte Photography who followed the pair around a field capturing all the laughs...
For the venue, the pair found a hidden gem...It was the most fantastic secret venue in the wonderful village of Kilfenora and Mark Vaughan (proprietor) was wonderful to deal with. Nothing was too much trouble, he made sure everything went perfectly from when we arrived until the wee hours of the morning. It has a everything in the correct proportions, dance floor, the stage and bar. Additionally if it was good enough for Fr. Ted it was good for our Wedding reception!
When it came to their priorities, having a wedding that reflected their values and sharing it with family and friends was the most important. After that the right venue, photographer and Ceili band followed!
We bought a tree to hang our recycled luggage tags name tags to let people know where they were sitting and after the wedding we planted a tree in my mother's garden which will someday be replanted in our own garden. We also had woven wooden hearts with fairy lights inside hanging from the wooden beams, walls and windows. Additionally we paid a local farmer for 20 rectangle bails of straw some of which had throws placed on top, these were dotted around both inside and outside of the barn. The DJ used some as tables for his decks!
The Barn was a blank canvas which we dressed with the help of friends the day before the wedding. We used muted tones for the tablecloths, the napkins and the table runners, we decorated the tables with recycled tin cans wrapped with doilies and string for the flowers, recycled jars for the tea light candles and we used wooden spoons for the table numbers.
We wanted to create a fun wedding which represented both Graham and I, our aim was to have our wedding our way! We were so glad we stayed true to our wishes. We had the most fantastic day from start to finish at the fraction of the cost of a typical wedding. We really wanted a relaxed day to share with the people we love dearly. We hoped to create a real authentic Irish atmosphere and incorporate loads of homemade touches to make it our own which I think we did!
Now this is one tradition I've seen (and loved) before check out the laughs Keith and Corianton had at their summer camp celebration!
Mary and Graham both shared their advice with us... Mary - Try to put the most organised people of your bridal party in charge so they can make sure the day from start to finish runs as smoothly as possible, there are always hiccups, that is normal, after all the time, effort and money it is one day you'll really want everything to go according to plan, well as much as possible! Graham- Over prepare and then go with the flow. Planning things early increases your options and flexibility, the less time you have to prepare the fewer options you’ll have and this will cost you in time and money. To reduce costs, negotiate hard on your biggest fixed costs (i.e. the meal). With speechs, content trumps delivery!
When it came to the honeymoon these lovebirds did it in serious style. First a mini moon to London and Paris (the dream!) Then a round the world trip starting in June 2014! Best of luck you two and a huge congrats to you both on your wedding day! A big Thank You goes to Tanya of Bronte Photography for sharing her work with us at One Fab Day, to see more of Tanya's work pop over to www.brontephotography.blogspot.ie.
The Wedding Details
- Ceremony: The Boghill Centre
- Reception: Vaughan’s Barn
- Photographer: Bronte Photography
- Wedding Dress: “Audrey” Blue Bridal
- Bridesmaid's Shoes: Heatons
- Flowers: West Clare Florist
- Groom(smen)’s suits: Groom: Louis Copeland, Galway
- Groomsmen: M&S
- Cake: Camilla Bræmholm, Confections
- Wedding Car: Nissan Windsor Motors Galway
- Stationery: Vistaprint
- Make Up: Simply Flawless Makeup by Joanne
- Hair: Monument Hair & Beauty, Ennistymon, Co. Clare
- Grooms Wedding Band Design: Blacoe
- Reception Music: An Coisire
