Green with Envy for a Flirty 50s Fun Wedding

Fab florals, colourful style and one seriously happy couple...Lets meet Gillian & Jonny!

Pretty, crafty, cuteness and a hell of a party! That's the short way to describe today's fab real wedding. Fun lovin' couple Gillian and Jonny had me in giggles from the start with their humorous get together and calamity of errors proposal story! The icing on the cake of course was the wedding day. The venue was the lovely Farnham Estate Hotel and the style was fun 50's charm with tons of colourful floral arrangements. The excitement and love literally bounces out of the images captured by The Lou's. So I won't waffle on any more, I'll just let you get on with enjoying one wonderful wedding...

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Gillian and Jonny first met at a gig in Mandela Hall in December 2008, but it took a dodgy lift home to officially get them together...Initially I thought Jonny wasn't my ‘type’ but instantly we had a connection and joked and laughed all night.We went our separate ways and met again the following February, we didn’t start dating properly until April when Jonny invited me as his evening date to his friend’s wedding at the Galgorm, as the designated driver and taxi lady I couriered Jonny to his home in Killinchy, an epic road trip for a novice driver.  He romantically asked me to be his girlfriend en route home somewhere between McDonalds at Connswater and Lisbane. To this day Jonny hates me driving, I may have scared him for life on that fateful night!

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You may have spotted pretty bride Gillian looking very calm in her floral dress on the morning of the wedding. Well she was one crafty bride, putting her hands to many elements of the wedding. Gillian managed to head to her family home a week before the wedding to finalise the prep for the big day... To have that time at home and the help and support of my family was so special to me and I know Jonny felt the same, his immediate family and a few of our close friends descended on Cavan on the run up to the wedding to help out. A little goes a long way so get everyone involved you'd be surprised how many people want to help!

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Ok so I got a little side tracked there, but Gillian was just the epitome of calm on the wedding morning I had to share her advice! So the proposal... A history of bad luck on trips led to a few failed attempts for Jonny with his proposal plan, but he got there in the end... Jonny proposed when we were on holidays in Stockholm. We have had some funny trips away when we dated. Our first mini break to London ended with Jonny heading to A&E as he developed a bad case of tonsillitis, so we always have a good giggle before we head off anywhere about what could be in store. On the morning we were due to leave for Stockholm, I was upstairs making final checks when I saw Jonny’s sisters jeep race in to our drive, coming downstairs I met Joe (Jonny’s Dad) and Angela at the front door explaining they were ‘just dropping by to wish us a safe trip’. Unbeknownst to me, Jonny told his sister he would propose over breakfast before we headed off. Unfortunately Jonny didn’t get up in time to even have breakfast! Failed attempt no.1... 

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We have always spoken about getting married and our lives together, I just didn’t have a clue when it would happen. It was so beautiful in Stockholm when we arrived. It was the start of December, freezing with lots of snow, just so pretty. We went to see a stage play of ‘A Christmas Carol’on the second night and Jonny was acting super shifty from the start. We were about to arrive at the theatre when all of a sudden Jonny accosted me and tried to get down on one knee! Quick to notice the strange behaviour I danced around him - we were about to watch a 2 hour play! (I may be slightly controlling when it comes to surprises I know control freak). Failed attempt no.2. After the play we had a lovely walk back to our hotel from the theatre, it was snowing again and it was picture perfect. We were walking across one of the many bridges in the city when  Jonny stopped us and finally he had a successful attempt! I cried a lot! Which you will see is a common occurrence from the wedding pics!

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I spy potpourri confetti in music sheet cones! Just one of the many crafty DIY projects these love birds put together...

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I wanted to avoid a formal wedding so we decided on a few key elements that would match and then everything else kind of went with a flow. Green was my colour of choice and the  only constant. My bridesmaid, Caroline found the girl's dresses and the only instructions I gave were that they had to be green and from the high street if possible. The girls did pretty well in their dark green numbers from Anthropologie plus fab glitter detailed shoes!

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The pairs love of  dancing (well it's really just Gillian, Jonny is forced to love to dance apparently!) played a big part in their wedding day. Starting with the choice of wedding dress...I needed something that I could happily dance in all night and a style that wouldn't curtail me. Also, I am a bit of a tomboy so I knew in my heart a long dress would be ruined by the time I got to the church, ballerina length was ideal!

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Now that's my kinda reaction! Time to head to meet your man Gillian!

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Arriving in style, through a few tears Gillian reached the church that she had lovingly decorated with lots of colourful florals and mason jars filled with colourful flowers...

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We now know where our stylish bride gets her flair! Gillian's Dad opted for a navy blazer, chinos and bright pink tie to walk his daughter down the aisle - Very cool!

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Confetti toss and it's official!

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The pairs first priority (besides saying I do!) was the photographs and as luck would have it they knew two pretty fantastic photographers...We knew we wanted The Lou's from the get go. We felt their style of photography, was perfect for our day and knowing Lou from art college, I couldn’t think of two nicer people to capture our day.

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The pair along with The Lou's headed to Gillian's Dad's auction house, a virtual playground for antique lovers! I could spend all day admiring all the pieces, and so it was no wonder this stylish pair thought it an appropriate backdrop for some photographs.

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I was adamant from the beginning of our planning that I wanted to make elements and be involved with every aspect of our day. I was in my element in the lead up to the wedding, with both our families and friends all pitching in to help it enriched the whole experience all the more.

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The styling was really important to bride, Gillian who wanted a colourful day with plenty of  flowers. With her Dad owning an antique auctioneer business, Gillian spent hours picking out amazing and unusual pieces to incorporate into the day.

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So where to for the reception? Gillian and Jonny had been secretly planning their day at a certain venue for a long time... We loved Farnham Estate as a venue, we used to sneak off to have look around long before we were even engaged! My family home is about 20 mins away so it got a bit awkward getting lost and having to phone my mum for directions and then explain why you we were going there when there is perfectly good tea at home! We just loved with the Georgian style of the hotel mixed with modern architecture and the grounds are spectacular, it ticked all the boxes!

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It was important for the couple's personalities to be represented on the day. Jonny has a passion for music, getting involved in all sorts of festivals and gigs around Northern Ireland so the pair made sure to have some entertainment for the evening. Monopoly was a much loved game by both families so it was made into a table plan - I bet peeps were playing it the next day with sore heads!

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A fun element was the kinder surprise wedding favours, even adults like them and they are Gillian's absolute favourite!

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The cakes were also a team effort with Gilian's gran making her famous fruit cake and her sister Judy making the lemon cake, plus the beautiful bunting cake topper too.

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Everything about our day was us. From the very start of our planning we wanted to have a laid back feel to our day, to reflect us and our personalities!

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So finally, what wedding planning advice would Gillian and Jonny like to share with the rest of us? "Our advice would be to relax and enjoy it. The day really does whizz by. We tried not to get caught up in wedding madness and enjoy the whole experience of getting married. We loved planning our day together and would encourage all, the lovely ‘Mr & Mrs’ to be, to enjoy working together as a team. It really does make the whole planning process a lot of fun. Remember, brides to be always hold the power of veto!"

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A huge congrats to the lovely Gillian and Jonny on their wedding day! A big Thank You of course goes to The Lou's for sharing their working with us at One Fab Day. To see more of their work pop over to www.wearethelous.com.

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