Pretty in pink at this beautiful real wedding in Ballymagarvey Village. A Summer wedding with modern twists on traditional tastes, a beautiful blend of old and new

By

Brrrr this week is seriously cold...So to get your spirits up we have the gorgeous Summer Wedding of Audrey and Gary to share with you today. In the beautiful setting of Ballymagarvey Village, the couple created a celebration with soft Summer tones and delicate details throughout their day, blessed with a fantastic (and rare) warm Summer's day Pawel Bebenca was able to capture some truly gorgeous images in his distinctive reportage style...

Before the celebrations kick off in in earnest, we need to hear the love story. Audrey filled us in "We met for the first time in Keogh's on South Anne Street. The place was packed and within a few minutes red wine was knocked over, heads were banged off the poles near the bar and other such clumsy moments followed. By the end of the evening, we both had realised (separately) we were going to marry the other. This information all came out after the proposal in Italy over two years later!"

One evening on holiday, Gary proposed in a beautiful hillptop town in Liguria, Italy called Cervo, overlooking the Ligurian sea. Audrey thought she was posing for a photo and suddenly, Gary was down on one knee with a beautiful ring. It was followed by a great dinner afterwards at the Michelin star San Giorgio restaurant with plenty of celebratory bubbles.

While Audrey and her ladies prepared themselves, Audrey donning her gorgeous Claire Pettibone gown and the bridesmaids their soft blush dresses, outside the Church of the Assumption in Rathfarnham, the chaps look dapper and not a whiff of a nerve between them...

Opting for a traditional Catholic ceremony as the setting to make their vows on front of family and friends, the couple brought their own personal touch to the proceeding by choosing very particular music, reflecting their tastes and adding a more contemporary edge - the string quartet played some of their favourite songs in the church, including songs by Joy Division, Radiohead and Sigur Ros. Audrey walked up the aisle to Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division. "Everyone thought it was a funny choice before the big day but all agreed the string version was amazing."

This is the moment that pretty much every couple remembers as the stand-time of the day and for Audrey and Gary it was incredibly moving. Audrey: I loved the entire day from start to finish. It's hard to pick just one moment. If I was pushed to pick one moment, it would be walking up the aisle. I was really nervous about that but the feeling of good will from our guests, seeing Gary at the top and the fantastic sound of the strings made it very special. Gary: Seeing Audrey for the first time on our wedding day was something I will never forget — she looked so beautiful and I don't remember ever feeling so happy.

After the ceremony, the couple departed in style - in a gold vintage Rolls Royce no less - to Ballymagarvey Village for their reception. Blessed with beautiful weather on that July day, their dream of a drinks reception in the garden came true.

So while the guests sipped bubbly in the courtyard, Audrey and Gary were free to wander the grounds with Pawel Bebenca, whose documentary style is perfect for catching those private moments of beauty and love.

And this is what you call one happy man...

With the big house newly renovated, and a clutch of pretty cottages around the courtyard leading to the separate reception room, it's no wonder that Ballymagarvey is such a popular venue for weddings. Audrey and Gary were put on the case by Gary's sister who recommended it, having been to two weddings there. Audrey went to see it and fell in love with it, and in their words "It turned out to a great choice, perfect in fact."

What a portrait.

As two foodies, the meal was always important and we were delighted with our menu of crab salad, chicken laksa, a deconstructed Beef Wellington, Seabass, true summer style - an Eton Mess for dessert.

What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? "Be true to who you both are. We had debated many options for our wedding and in the end, we had a fantastic wedding day. It was simply perfect from start to finish. It was a lot of hard work and stressful at times but it was completely worth it all."

Congratulations to the lovely couple, Audrey and Gary and thank you for sharing your special day with us!

A big thank you to our friend Pawel Bebenca for sharing his work with us at One Fab Day, to see more of Pawel's documentary style photography pop over to his website at www.pawelbebenca.com

The Wedding Details