Today we are delighted to feature the very romantic wedding of Ed & Nikki, who travelled all the way from San Francisco to be married in the beautiful Castle Leslie in Glaslough, Co. Monaghan. This destination wedding was an intimate gathering of close family, all beautifully captured by their wedding photographer Pauline Dennigan.

Despite the long distance from the West coast of the US, Nikki and Ed were delighted to have their loved ones with them to celebrate their big day with them...

It was a small wedding but very special because only the people who really wanted to be there made the trip. We had several very tiny nieces and nephews that attended, which was the best part.

Nikki is a lady with style - she chose an unconventional bridal look, combining a hint of  midsummer's night dream with street style - check out those gold adidas! And Nikki's beautiful dress is from a Belgian designer Kaat Tilley, but bought in L.A - how globetrotter is that?

Nikki and Ed did away with many of the traditional elements of a wedding - they didn't bother with bridesmaids, groomsmen or a cake, and I loved Nikki's explanation of where her lovely bouquet came from...

There were no formal flowers, only a bridal bouquet arranged by a local woman whose name I don't even know. We were referred to her by someone in the local pub. She may have been a gypsy.

Her relaxed attitude to being a bride is something a lot of us could learn from (I speak only for myself of course!)

The wedding ceremony itself was held in St. Mary's Glennan in Emyvale, and afterwards the wedding party celebrated in style in Castle Leslie, a grand and beautiful Scottish Baronial style house sitting at the centre of 1,000 acre estate. The Leslie family have been in Glaslough for over 400 years and still own the castle, now operating it as a luxury hotel and leisure estate. The food at the castle is reknowned, as is the wonderful hospitality, accomodation and range of activities on the estate.

Anyone who has been up to Castle Leslie will recognise Sir John or Uncle Jack as he is more commonly known. Uncle Jack is the head of the Leslie family and a great character. He famously revealed the big secret of Paul McCartney's wedding plans to Heather Mills to the press telling them it was a secret. Here he's providing more entertainment to the happy couple.

As a destination wedding, the trip was a great opportunity for friends and family to meet up and spend quality time together as Nikki explained...

The gift of time was the most important thing to us. Everyone met up in Dublin a few days before the wedding, so there was time to socialize and sightsee. We all got a bit of a vacation in addition to a wedding.

And their favourite moment?

Sitting down to the rehearsal dinner. The food was made by Noel McMeel and was amazingly good.

Any advice you'd like to share with other brides and grooms?

Do things your way. Only spend money on the things that are important to you. Everyone will have their opinions about how things should be done, but you have to be true to yourself or you will have no fun at all.

Huge thanks to Nikki and Ed for sharing their day with us, we hope married life is treating you both well!

And to Pauline Dennigan who took these beautiful wedding photographs, we are very grateful for allowing us to feature them. Pauline has lots more over on her website to see, and you can also see her great work on the recent Vintage Wedding Inspiration shoot in Ballintaggart - brilliant stuff.

The Wedding Details

Ceremony: St. Mary's Glennan

Wedding Venue: Castle Leslie

Wedding Dress: Kaat Tilley from Les Habitude in Los Angeles, California

Shoes: Gold lame Adidas Okapi from Barneys New York

Accessories: Gold bracelets from Bangladesh, borrowed earrings