Today we're so delighted to have a wedding with true originality and personality to kick off the week with style. Hazel and Mike are the happy couple, and they were wed last Summer in lovely Limerick. Determined to put their own stamp on their wedding day, the couple put a lot of thought and effort […]

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Today we're so delighted to have a wedding with true originality and personality to kick off the week with style. Hazel and Mike are the happy couple, and they were wed last Summer in lovely Limerick. Determined to put their own stamp on their wedding day, the couple put a lot of thought and effort into making, creating and styling their wedding and the photographic evidence by Shane Serrano is of a day that has real heart and soul.

And for all you DIY divas this wedding should be real inspiration because Hazel is a true Crafting Queen, documenting her various crafty projects on her blog www.hazeyfantazey.blogspot.com, where you will find pretty much all of the items she created for the wedding, so read on, and know that it's all within your reach...

But first we need to hear the love story behind this lovely kiss... "We met in the library in UL where we were both studying and became great friends. It wasn’t until after I had moved back home to Ireland from a stint in Spain that Mike asked me to be his girlfriend and the rest as they say, is history! We’ve been together 8 years now. We knew we wanted to spend our lives together, so Mike proposed to me! It happened on Christmas morning 2009, Mike had the ring in the bottom of my stocking on the mantel piece. When I took it out, he gave me a hug and asked would I marry him."

When it came to choosing a look for the wedding Hazel was pretty clear about the vibe they wanted..."I love 1950’s style clothing so there was always going to be hint of vintage running through the wedding. The colour scheme changed so many times, but we stuck with red and blue with a dash of yellow in the end, which was perfect for a summer’s day! We wanted it to be a DIY /crafty wedding that didn’t cost the earth and was genuinely a break from the norm." And the personal touches start right here - everyone should have a poster for their wedding, and Hazel designed theirs herself!

So in July last year the day finally arrived..."We got married in Limerick’s Registry office “officially” with just our parents and daughter and then headed to The Locke for our wedding ceremony. A friend of ours, Sarah, married us in an afternoon reception written entirely by the three of us. We are both non-religious but come from religious families so wanted to have some bit of a ceremony to mark the occasion. By writing it ourselves it meant we controlled what was said and portrayed our feelings of our day. We used Edward Monkton’s “A lovely Love Story” and Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You’ll Go” in lieu of readings and we wrote and read our own vows to each other."

"We also had a hand fasting ceremony, so we literally tied the knot! I asked each of our guests to send back a piece of material with their RSVP and then I made bunting so our hands could be fasted together during the ceremony." This is one of those ideas I am very tempted to copy, it's such a personal thing, to have tied the knot, literally, with the love of all your friends and family...

For all three members of the family, the ceremony was the heart of the day, and the unanimous answer when asked what their favourite moment was, was the exchanging of the vows. Hazel loved her new husband's vows to her as they included a very special promise... "He was honest, sweet and all the reasons why I married him! He promised to make me a cup of tea whenever I asked - really, could a girl want more!" And Mike felt the same about Hazel's vows to him: "They encapsulated everything I love about her. Firstly, they were thoughtful. They were filled with love and effort. They were sweet. And above all, they were perfect for me, and that’s what my wife is…" And for both it was was a happy surprise "how emotional Caitlin (their daughter) got when we were ‘legally married’, it was emotional stuff. Not a dry eye in the house!"

If you're wondering how Hazel and her girls achieved their 50s rockabilly style, well you'll be delighted to hear that it was a DIY effort - yes, that's right the girls all did each others make up which, according to Hazel "was a heap of fun on the morning. My girls are all so talented! And my hairdresser SiobhÃ¡n did our hair." Hazel had sourced their vintage dresses online and fluffed them up with petticoats to give that swing look.

The boys were not left out in the style stakes though. They wore their own black trousers, shirts and ties from M&S, but look closely at their feet - the groomsmen wore red converse and the bestman wore black checker Vans. See it's the little details...

This is just too dotey - major kudos for Shane Serrano for capturing such lovely family mementos...

After the ceremony, the guests settled in for the party in The Locke, a venue which had been specially chosen for this personal celebration..."We knew from the start we wanted a small wedding and a BBQ, and as we didn’t want a conventional wedding, we found it hard to find a venue that understood our ideas. We knew the Locke served amazing food and hosted plays in their “Loft Theatre” so we just emailed on the off chance they might be interested in us. John and his team jumped at the chance and we never regretted our decision to go with them. They pulled out all the stops for us and really listened to what we had to say and wanted to do to celebrate our day."

The decor was a labour of love for Hazel and Mike, and they went to great lengths to add a dash of style to it...Hazel made all the bunting and table mats and they "collected over 50 jam jars and filled them with wild flowers and ribbons for table decorations. We wanted wild flowers and went with a nursery who sells at the local Milk Market in Limerick and between the grower and my Mom we made up the bouquets on the morning."

As part of all the papier for the wedding, Hazel made these gorgeous sweet bar labels and table numbers. And Mike’s sister Ailish made a wonderful “UP House” where guests signed a balloon and stuck it on a balloon string, a different kind of guest book.

"We are massive foodies so an emphasis was on our guests being stuffed to the gills! We started with afternoon tea, had milkshakes after the ceremony, a cocktail (beverage) hour, a BBQ and a midnight feast! There was also a candy buffet table going all day long. There was a lot of food! People are still talking about how stuffed they were that day!For the cake we went with a local bakery Bean an Ti and had vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate frosting. I collected, acquired and thrifted at least 80 china teacups so each cupcake could be in a cup… it’s a cake in a cup it’s a cup cake! Get it?!"

What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? "Relax! I know this is easier said than done. It is so easy to get swept up in “have to” and “should do” and sometimes these don’t add to up to your vision of your day, so know what you want and do it! It is YOUR day, have it that way. If things happen they happen - don’t sweat them; enjoy all the other things that are going perfectly to plan."

All there is left to say now is a big hearty Congratulations to Hazel and Mike (and Caitlin) on what was obviously a fabulous occasion. And a huge thank you for sharing their day with us, and inspiring all us brides-to-be... If you want to find out more about any or all of the bits and bobs that Hazel made, you can find details on the projects on her blog www.hazeyfantazey.blogspot.com

And of course we're very grateful to Shane Serrano for sharing his lovely images with us, you can find out more over on www.shaneserrano.com

Happy DIY-ing ladies!!