This Northern Irish real wedding was beyond charming. London-based couple Vanessa and Josh tied the knot at the groom's family home in Ballymena in an incredible barn ceremony. From bows to baby's breath, delicate accents abounded and the romantic countryside provided an utterly gorgeous backdrop to their celebrations. With a refreshing white and blue colour theme, their day was packed with gorgeous personal touches, which included Yorkshire pudding canapés! Glowing bride Vanessa exuded effortless elegance and her wedding wardrobe included seriously cool wedding trainers. Get ready to pore over the gorgeous details from their summer wedding and the exquisite pictures by Navy Blur below.
Vanessa is from York in England while Josh is from Ballymena in Co. Antrim. The couple have one of Josh’s extended family members, Olivia, to thank for their paths crossing. "Vanessa and Olivia became friends when living abroad and Josh has known Olivia throughout his whole life. We first officially met each other at the London Marathon in 2018 when Josh was running his first marathon and Olivia had convened a number of friends together to go and watch a number of different runners."
"Josh and I met at the end of the London Marathon and started dating shortly afterwards – and the rest is history!" Josh popped the question in Donegal which is a place that holds a special place in their hearts as they spend a lot of their time there as his family has a holiday home in Dunfanaghy. Reflecting on the life-changing moment, Vanessa says, "Josh proposed in between Christmas and New Year on a walk we always do whenever we are in Donegal on a crisp winter morning with not a soul around."
"It was always a special place to us but the proposal has made our special place even more special." They dreamt of a wedding day that was simple and elegant and they wanted it to feel very personal to them and unlike a wedding their guests had ever been too. They picked the perfect location, Josh's family home!
They tied the knot on June 24th, 2023, and they felt blessed to be able to get married there. "We were very lucky that we were able to have our whole wedding at Josh’s family home that made it even more intimate."
They held their ceremony in the barn at the back of the house and the colour blue was infused throughout their wedding aesthetic. They wanted the styling to have a symmetry and simplicity that fit with the charmingly rustic environment.
"Our ceremony in the barn was so special and unexpected as weather meant we had to make a decision last minute to move from outdoors to indoors. Heather our wedding planner and stylist transformed the barn into the most magical and intimate ceremony." The bride looked utterly phenomenal in a curve-hugging off the shoulder gown which she styled with a dreamy veil.
She completed her wedding day look with glamorous Mach & Mach heels, Valentino earrings and a sparkling tennis bracelet which was a gift from her father. Blue bridesmaids dresses always look sensational and her bridesmaids stunned in light blue satin.
Keeping with the azure theme, Josh and his groomsmen were so dapper in navy suits. They tied the knot in front of a gorgeous ceremony arch adorned with white and blue flowers with a mint green cloth was elegantly draped from it.
Baby's breath played a key part in the wedding day blooms. Vanessa shares, "I wanted to try and blend the significance of a wedding and formalities with an informal vibe and I think we achieved that!"
A highlight of the ceremony came from Vanessa’s sister who wrote a poem for the couple. "It made a lot of the audience cry! One of our bridesmaids is a singer and performed a song for us we previously saw her perform in London. Liv performed an acoustic version of Sure Thing by Miguel."
They had their reception on the lawn with a marquee at the back of the house. With stunning countryside scenery and the sun beaming down, it was such a romantic setting for the couple to toast to their happily ever after with their nearest and dearest.
From the signage to the table runners, blue accents permeated throughout the reception styling while arrangements of baby's breath brought a delicate air. There are so many ways to add personal touches to your wedding celebrations. The couple did so through their food and drink.
"We wanted to bring something from each of our upbringings into the wedding without it disrupting the theme." Vanessa chose Yorkshire pudding canapés while they had Guinness at the bar for Josh! How incredible are the photos from the wedding party's stroll in the meadow before the reception?
As for wedding planning advice, Vanessa says, "Enjoy it. Make sure you make your day unique to you in whatever way you can versus just building a wedding based on current trends and what you see on social media. Use that to supplement your planning but don’t let it determine it."
She adds, "Bring in suppliers who are recommended to you and work with people you trust – we couldn’t have done it without each and every one of our fantastic suppliers! Trust them – they are the experts and know what they are doing!"
While their honeymoon planning is pending they had a mini-moon in two wonderfully picturesque places the week after the wedding, Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara and Ullswater in the Lake District in England.
A massive thank you to Vanessa, Josh and Navy Blur for sharing this absolutely incredible wedding at home with One Fab Day! You can see even more pictures in the gallery.
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