Today's real wedding feature proves that the "perfect" wedding is one that the couple are truly happy with, whether that means blowing the budget on an extravagant party, or getting creative with a highly personal and proudly rule-breaking celebration! Jess and Ger chose the latter route, and they're absolutely thrilled that they did! Their big day took them from Dublin City Hall to Avoca to Drury Buildings, with a few stop-offs for some truly unique wedding portraits along the way. Nina Val Photography was in charge of capturing the beauty and electric atmosphere of the day, and we think she did a beautiful job. So let's dive in, shall we!?

Jess and Ger tell us that they met through a mutual friend at a gig at the Twisted Pepper in Dublin. "We had a pint in the bar out the front before the gig started and we just clicked," Jess says. "We had a tonne of stuff in common and we had one of those conversations where we were finishing one another's sentences, while our mates were nauseated by the show of unfiltered hormones and wondering if we'd be so polite as to get a feckin' room!"

Ger popped the question during a trip to Spain. He had planned to wait until the couple's day trip to San Sebastian, where they were due to climb the tower at Monte Igueldo, overlooking La Concha beach, but when the couple got chatting during one of their first nights at Hondarribia, he knew it was the right moment! "He proposed with a Ringly," Jess says, "a smart ring that lights up when you get eBay alerts, a gesture that brought a tear to a certain auction site addict's eyes!"

Jess and Ger tell us that they have a huge sentimental attachment to Dublin city centre, which inspired their choice of location. "Our wedding was a chilled out, relaxed affair, celebrating our old neighbourhood in Dublin's Creative Quarter," Jess says. "We moved into our new home in December and married a few months later in April. It was very exciting, but it felt like the end of an era leaving the buzzing heart of Dublin city. A lot had happened in the previous decade and there was a certain poignancy to returning to our old haunts after moving on to the the next exciting phase in our lives. I think the significance of returning for the day, and seeing just how far we've come together, made it a very emotional and memorable day for us."

Exchanging vows in Dublin City Hall was a no-brainer for these two. "It's a stunning venue for a ceremony," Jess says. "It can be difficult to find a secular venue that gives you the solemnity of a church, but City Hall nailed the brief. It's such a grand, iconic building."

The couple had some very simple hopes for their big day. "We wanted to treat our friends and family to a fun day out, a lovely meal, and a bit of craic," Jess says, "but that's easier said than done. We're in a similar position to a lot of people our age; trying to pay for our wedding and buy a home. It's grand if you're lucky enough to have the money to throw away, but we couldn't justify a lot of the stuff that people were trying to sell us and we felt it took a concerted effort to ignore the should-dos and just go with what we wanted to do."

Jess and Ger had an exceedingly busy engagement period, which meant finding time to plan the wedding was sometimes a struggle! "Ger had just moved from academia into a demanding corporate job and I was in a pretty stressful job," Jess says. "We sold our apartment, moved into four different Airbnb rentals, and finally managed to buy our lovely, pre-loved home, but the ceiling collapsed a week after we moved in! As if that wasn't exhausting enough, we welcomed our gorgeous wee miniature Schnauzer puppy, Wilma, into our home three weeks before the wedding! As you can imagine, we didn't see much of our families and friends in the lead-up to the wedding, so it was an exciting opportunity to take a break from the chaos and be surrounded by all the people we love."

After the ceremony, the couple and their guests headed to Avoca on Suffolk St. for dinner, before heading to Drury Buildings for what sounds like a raucous after party! Finding the right restaurant wedding venue was quite tricky, Jess tells us. "Ger had the bright idea of popping in to Avoca on Suffolk Street and asking if they'd be up for it, and we're so glad we did," she says. "We met Justin, one of the most wonderfully accommodating, warm and genuine people you are ever likely to meet! Honestly, he didn't just make the day for us - he made the entire process so uncomplicated and stress-free."

Jess's advice to engaged couples is to, "do whatever the heck you want to do! If you want to wear something that is fashionable now but you're scared to because it might date badly, do it anyway! The best photographs we have in the big box of family photos are like that, very much of their time. You know they were taken in the '80s because the ladies are all in day glo and stonewashed denim and have curly mullets, and the guys are all rocking dodgy Ronnies and trousers so tight you could count the change in their pockets! They're such great photos because they capture people living unselfconsciously in the moment, playing with the styles of the time, immersing themselves in 'now'."

She also advises embracing any mishaps that happen on the day. "Don't fear things going wrong," she says. "The day will not be perfect, things will invariably go wrong. We upended our wedding cake with a sword and it would have landed on the floor if it weren't for the quick reflexes of the guests around it. It was funny, and anything but a disaster!"

After the wedding, Jess and Ger headed to the Burren with their new pup for a minimoon, jetting off to Japan and South Korea for their full honeymoon some months later. "We were both dying to visit Japan and it was a dream come true to be able to make it happen. Ger taught English in South Korea years ago and we wanted to visit so he could say 'hi' while we were in that neck of the woods."

What a sensationally fun and personal day! At this point, we've got to say a huge thank you to Jess and Ger for allowing us to peek behind the curtain of their wedding, and to Nina Val Photography for providing the beautiful images.