A truly DIY wedding, Conor and Cliona's Barnabrow House wedding is a mix of creativity, fun and love, a great inspiration for anyone wanting to DIY their big day.

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This is a wedding to inspire those of you who ache to make and do everything for your wedding - Cliona and Conor got up close and personal with every element of their day, this is truly a diy wedding, with everything from the design of the dress to the vows designed with love by this happy couple from Cork. It's our pleasure to bring you the beautiful Barnabrow House wedding of Cliona and Conor as photographed by the great Pawel Bebenca.

The sun may not have been shining the way it is today, but that didn't stop this truly hands-on couple making a day that will shine forever in their guests's memories, a day filled with love and laughter and more than a dash of that magic sauce that makes their relationship so special.

The morning of the wedding by the shores of the sea in Cork, the couple found themselves back where it all began... "It all started in a little cottage by the sea... A mutual friend brought Conor along to a session at my house when we were sixteen, I opened the front door, our eyes met and we had instant chemistry. For years we remained close friends, sharing flirty conversations, exchanging stolen glances and cheeky texts until one night at a college party I leant in for a kiss and the rest is history!"

"Across the river from our home sits a beautiful abandoned Manor House that we both love called Coolmore House. One evening when I came home from work Conor suggested I take his car for a drive (a rare treat considering how precious he was about his car). While I was driving Conor managed to ‘incept’ the idea of Coolmore into my head so I found myself pulling up to this haunting structure in the dark. As I walked the overgrown gardens, torch in hand, I heard his trembling voice say my name and I turned to see him shaking like a leaf. He pulled my ukulele from under his jacket, got down on one knee and sang a little song he’d written asking me to marry him. I was such an emotional mess, crying and laughing and shaking so I asked him to drive home. I was flatly denied, as it turned out he had needed a bit of Dutch courage!" And so yet again, history repeats itself the morning of the wedding...

One word: Legend.

While the boys downed pints, the ladies sipped some bubbly and took a trip down memory lane... "When I was a little girl I was absolutely obsessed with ‘My Little Pony’ dolls, and begged for months for the ‘My Little Pony Bride’. It became a family joke for years that the moment I unwrapped the Pony Bride I was rendered speechless (which was a little out of character for gobby me!). On the morning of the wedding my sister told me she’d bought something vintage for my ‘something old’ and handed me an original ‘My Little Pony Bride'. The two of us burst into tears and sat hugging, crying and laughing for ages, it was such a special moment."

This fun-loving, free-spirited couple were very clear what their wedding was all about "Our main priorities for the day were good food, drink and entertainment for our guests. As a guest at other weddings I’ve never been too concerned with all the trappings that a lot of brides focus on: what the bridal party wore, the little wedding favours or the fancy wedding car have never even show up on my radar. Any wedding I’ve really enjoyed I’ve been well entertained and properly fed!"

We searched high and low for a venue that would give us an exclusive, casual and intimate feel and were starting to get disheartened. When we drove past the gaggle of donkeys on our way into Barnabrow House we knew the place was special. We were instantly charmed by the rambling layout, the ivy strewn stables and the medieval style banqueting hall - it all felt a little bit ‘different’ which is what we hoped for." So the choice was made, and they could go about making the day their own...

Our wedding was really personal, casual and fun; exactly what we wanted! We wrote our own ceremony and had friends conduct it, making it unique and personal. Once we decided on Barnabrow House the whole look and feel of the day fell into place. Barnabrow’s farmhouse charm lent itself to plenty of burlap and twine, candles and lace and a gave an overall lovely rustic feel.

Apart from looking after our guest’s needs I think the main objective was that our wedding would be quaint, simple and very ‘us’. We wrote our own ceremony and had our close friends as celebrants, we took our readings from our favourite books and movies and combined flavoured whisky into a cask as our unity ritual.

I’m delighted that we opted for a personalised secular ceremony. From the moment our eyes met as I walked down the aisle to our first kiss as man and wife every little detail of our ceremony had been personal and heartfelt.

Good man yourself Conor, get to work, it's your wedding day, who else should sort out the kegs but the groom?!

Cliona's dress was envisaged by herself but brought to reality by a dressmaker, the soft romantic feeling is perfectly complemented by the sweet camomile of her bouquet and hair wreath.

I like to think of our wedding as the ultimate DIY wedding! There wasn’t an element in our wedding that we didn’t have some creative control in, from designing my dress to arranging the bouquets, from creating centrepieces to constructing a cake we did it all. I’m thrilled we did so much DIY because now looking back at the photographs I can feel really proud of how the day turned out! Our invitations were sent out on postcards so to continue this theme I laid out Penguin Postcards and a personalised postal sack instead of having a guest book, after the wedding we had great fun reading everyone’s little messages. Conor is a merchant naval officer and created a beautiful knot board which we used as a table plan, it was a real talking point at the drinks reception! To be honest, all of the bits and pieces we designed and created ourselves (despite the initial heartache) from the rustic centerpieces to the funky photo booth proved to be a big hit with guests and made the whole day very ‘us’.

But as the ultimate DIY bride, Cliona has some really wise and honest advice for any others who are contemplating getting really hands on with their day. "While I loved the fact that almost every element of the wedding was planned, designed and made by myself and Conor I think the biggest lesson I learned from my wedding was to delegate jobs out to family and friends. At first it was fun sitting in front of the fire with a bottle of wine gluing lace and burlap to jars, but after the twentieth hour sitting in front of inDesign adjusting the font on the invitations my enthusiasm began to wane. In the run up to the wedding we had a huge amount of help from family and friends which really made all the difference, but if I could do it all over again I’d be seeking help much earlier!"

I think the best tip I can give to any bride and groom is to sit back and enjoy your day. I know you might have spent two years planning the perfect day but once the morning of the wedding comes you have to switch off for your own sanity, if something goes wrong just laugh about and leave it go otherwise you’ll never fully enjoy your day.

So where to next for our loved up pair? "Our impending trip isn’t so much a honeymoon as it is an adventure! We’ve chosen to spend the first year of married life as nomads. We’re off to Singapore for a luxury stay in the Marina Bay Sands hotel and then are going to backpack our way through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. After we return from Asia we’re going to spend a few weeks travelling Ireland with our beloved dog Eleanor Rigby and then are jetting off to the US for the final leg of our tour. We’ll fly into New York and spend a few days there and then are flying to the deep south. Myself and Conor are big ‘music heads’ and are going to follow the ‘bluesgrass’ trail along the southern states, meeting a few friends along the way. It’s going to be the trip of a lifetime."

Well have a super time guys, thank you so much for sharing your day with us, what an inspiration (and loved the honesty!). Thank you too to One Fab Sponsor Pawel Bebenca for sharing his pretty pictures with us - if you love these then you'll adore it over one www.pawelbebenca.com

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