We don't think we'll ever get sick of flower crowns and today's real wedding shows a whole new way to use them in your big day. Kathryn & Conor are a cool, creative bride and groom whose boho wedding was fun, free-spirited, and filled with thoughtful details for their guests (ice-cream and conga lines - yes please!). They held their weekend-long celebration at Drumhalla House in Donegal, and were able to make the venue their own with DIY decor, cool bridal party style, and one massive party. Paula Gillespie was on hand to capture all of their personal touches and fun moments - and just wait until you hear how these two met, it might just inspire you to be more charitable in future!
Kathryn met Conor when she was still at school and he was at university - but you won't quite believe how they met! "He was one of those annoying people stopping and trying to sign me up to a charity! I stopped because he was good looking, and then he realised he couldn't sign me up because I wasn't 18. We kept in touch, kissed on top of a roof a few weeks later and that was it! We did a long-distance relationship for six years while we were both at uni and have been living in London together for the last few years.”
Conor's proposal wasn't quite a smooth process, as Kathryn tells us, "Conor tried to propose for months! He bought the ring in December and didn't propose until March. He had planned a few things, but usually at the last minute I would tell him I had a football match or something and bin him off! He finally pinned me down one night, after I had finished a 12-day stretch at work, made me all my favourite food for dinner and proposed in our living room. Timed perfectly as we then spent the next four days celebrating in the Cotswolds with our best friends.”
The bridesmaids recreated this fun photo for Kathryn's big day...
Kathryn's maid of honour inspired her alternative bouquets, "My maid of honour and cousin, Aoife, has set up her own business this year called Sass and Halo. She makes bespoke handmade crowns, that are incredible. She made all the bridesmaids crowns, which where all different and instead of traditional bouquets we had individual 'hoop bouquets'!"
Kathryn & Conor wanted their wedding to have a boho look and a relaxed feel, "It was fun more than anything, and very chilled out. We laughed the whole way through the ceremony and the speeches where hilarious. I didn't leave the dance floor all night."
Kathryn gave her bridesmaids quite a free reign in choosing their dresses, “The hoop bouquets were amazing and brought a little something different. I loveeeed how the bridesmaids looked! I'd never seen any of them together in their dresses until the morning of the wedding, so wasn't sure how they would look being all different colours and styles. But I think we totally nailed it, if I do say so myself!”
Allowing your 'maids to choose individual colours, styles and fits is the best way to ensure each girl feels comfortable and allows you to open up the colour palette for the rest of the wedding decor and flowers.
How gorgeous (and unique) is the Broderie Anglais on Kathryn's wedding dress from The White Gallery? Her alternative bouquet is so beautiful too!
Kathryn was eager to put her crafty skills to good use, “I love painting and making things, so I wanted to do as much DIY as possible and have our friends and family involved as much as possible! So we DIYd a lot! Which also saved us loads of money! I reckon I had a team of about 20 friends and family help decorate the venue and the chapel.”
Kathryn says she loves that so many different people were part of her and Conor's day, “Between singing, playing instruments, making canapés and helping decorating, everyone pitched in to help and shared their talents. I loved that my 90-year-old nana, my only living grandparent was so involved. She was there getting ready with all the girls in the morning. I wore her ring which was a gift from my late granda, and having her up on the dance floor with Buck for the last song of the night was amazing!”
Kathryn & Conor's wedding planning advice? Do as much of it as you can! "Recruit friends and family to help and be part of the experience! We saved a fortune. Especially doing our own canapés and flowers. Oh, and hire Paula Gillespie as your photographer - she is amaaaazing! And was the best laugh ever!”
Conor found Drumhalla House online and booked to go see it, but Kathryn couldn't make the initial viewing, “Conor and spotted the venue online and booked to go see it. Unfortunately, it was the same weekend I booked to go see my pals in Manchester! Obviously, I couldn't bail on the girls, so he went to see it with both our parents. I gave the go ahead from a pub in Manchester and that was us booked! I finally got to see what I'd booked a few months later and just loved the grounds, the house itself, it being across from the beach, the fact that we could spend four days there and decorate it how we wanted.”
The couple loved theat they could make the venue their base for a few days of fun, “We wanted somewhere for all our family to stay together and we wanted to prolong the celebrations. We had a lot of friends travelling from all over, so we had a pizza party the night before, and the day after we had everyone back to Drumhalla House for what felt like a mini music festival! The sun was shining, the boys manned the BBQ, everyone got glittered up and Damien Sheridan played.”
The bohemian decor was created using simple greenery and structural elements like hoops and bamboo sticks. Oh, and Kathryn's very creative eye!
A special touch that the couple incorporated into the day was a look back on their favourite times both alone and together, “We named each of the tables after 'happy times and happy places'. That included names of our grandparents' houses, childhood holidays, a lot of pubs, and places we have both lived and travelled together.”
Spot what's for supper - yum!
The couple were eager to show their guests a good time, “We just wanted to throw a massive party! For years I've always thrown great parties back at my house, so the goal was just to recreate one but on a bigger scale! We didn't want a hotel wedding, as we wanted complete freedom in choosing everything,” Kathryn explains.
A uke band!
Conor & Kathryn held nothing back with their party, “Our reception had it all, ‘Rock the Boat’, a conga line, limbo competition, one of our mates did a strip tease for my mum’s friend, there where dance-offs, I even managed a few somersaults in my dress, Conor performed ‘Torn’ by Natalie Imbruglia to a sea of fans and my 90-year-old nana got serenaded by Buck Taylor!” Wow! I reckon the mam’s friend and nana were the real winners that day…!
Cupcakes for everyone!
This savvy couple knew the way to their guests' hearts, “We wanted a relaxed style of service, with sharing platters for starters and mains and an ice-cream van for dessert.”
Having an amazing wedding band was a big priority for the bride and groom, "My dad loves soul music, so I grew up listening to soul. I couldn't believe it when we found Buck Taylor, 'Ireland's very own soul man'!" says Kathryn.
There were a lot of highlights throughout the day for the newlyweds, “So many things made the day so special for us. My dad included an old sailing song my granda used to sing in his speech, which left everyone in tears. My dad’s speech was so beautiful, it was probably one of the most special parts of the day for me. In the reception hall, I displayed a photograph taken by my other late granda, of the beach where he and my granny would take us when we were younger. On a more light-hearted note, my cousin Aoife and brother DJ wrote a hilarious poem for us which they recited after dinner.”
Kathryn & Conor opted for an active honeymoon, “We stayed by Lake Bohinj in Slovenia. We did lots of hiking, kayaking and cycling.”
Many thanks to photographer Paula Gillespie for doing such an amazing job at capturing this beautiful wedding, and of course for sending it our way! Kathryn and Conor, we wish you a lifetime of health and happiness!
