Today's breathtakingly beautiful real wedding features a cool seaside venue, the cutest canine flower girl, covetable coastal details, a personalised ceremony, stunning stationery, and a drop dead gorgeous green wedding dress. And that's before we even talk about the bride and groom! California bride, Lauren and her Newry groom, James live in Northern Ireland, and brought their guests together on the North Antrim Coast for a relaxed celebration by the beach in The Arcadia, Portrush. From their first look to their first dance, this head over heels pair put their own stamp across the day, Paula O'Hara Photography documented it all, and we cannot stop poring over the results!

Lauren and James met at a hostel in Valparaiso, Chile while they were both traveling in South America, “We really hit it off and spent four days together. We had plans to go different directions but said if we were both in Colombia at the same time, we would meet back up. Two months later we met up in Santa Marta, Colombia and traveled together for a few months. We totally fell in love and the rest was history!”

Lauren and James’ dog Maya was their flower girl on the day - doesn’t she scrub up well!

Fittingly, this well travelled pair got engaged while on a sailing holiday sailing around the Greek islands, “One of the mornings we woke up early to watch the sunrise. Our boat had a stand up paddle board that we took out to the middle of a bay,” explains Lauren. "The sky and water were a brilliant orange and the water was so perfectly still. As the sun rose, James held up the ring around the sun and asked me to marry him and I of course said yes!”

We love how the couple told their love story through their beautifully illustrated stationery lovingly hand-painted by the bride!

Doesn't James look great in his three-piece tweed? The no-tie look adds a cool, relaxed feel to his ensemble.

The couple tell us about their laid back Portrush wedding, “The vibe of our wedding was romantic, relaxed and coastal. The sun was shining so it was so nice to take advantage of the huge wraparound patio at the Arcadia and enjoy being on the water.”

What an incredible setting for their first look. The pair had a romantic pre-ceremony photo session on the beach below Mussenden Temple, close to Portrush.

This pair had a vision for their wedding from the outset, “We always said we just wanted to throw a great party! We didn’t want to get wrapped up in how a wedding is supposed to be and instead focused on what we really wanted.”

Let's take a few moments to fall hard for Lauren's spectacular green wedding dress. I have a feeling Lauren will inspire lots of other brides to leave the traditional white wedding dress behind! It looks particularly stunning in such an atmospheric, windswept setting, don't you think?

Anyone else adding Lauren's undone updo to their Pinterest board?

Lauren and James knew they wanted a wedding venue with a unique feel and water views and the Arcadia had the full package, “We love going up to the Causeway Coast and visit often, so it seemed like a natural fit to get married up there. While looking for venues we came across the Arcadia and fell in love. We loved the location, how you can see the water from three sides of the building, how it had both indoor and outdoor space, and how easy it would be for guests and ourselves to walk to the venue. Being a building from the 1930s it has beautiful details and features but was plain enough to be able to put our own stamp on it.”

The couple decked out the ceremony space at The Arcadia with blue wildflowers, white roses and an abundance of greenery.

These two loved having family take part in the different elements of their wedding. “James’ parents made our cakes, my aunt did all of the bouquets and floral decor, my youngest sister who couldn’t make it wrote a poem that was read at our ceremony,” Lauren tells us. “My bridesmaids wore dresses from my other sister’s dress collection and one of my best friends officiated our wedding. It was so amazing having them involved!”

Lauren’s sister, Julia Engel of Gal Meets Glam designed the gorgeous mix and match bridesmaids dresses. 

We asked the newlyweds for their top tips for planning such a gorgeous, personalised celebration. “Your wedding should be a reflection of you as a couple! Focus on the elements that you both want and forget the rest!”

As an alternative guest book, friends and family added notes for the couple on a world map

Tying in with their customised stationery, beautiful watercolour menus and name cards, all hand-painted by Lauren paid homage to the coastal setting.

The adventurous couple headed off to South Africa on their honeymoon, “We went to Cape Town, drove the Garden Route and finished with a safari in Kruger. It is such a diverse and amazing country and we couldn’t recommend it enough!