If you’re inspired by non-traditional and unconventional weddings, we have just the real wedding for you! Teresa and Michael's big day was a relaxed city affair with a ceremony at Dublin, City Hall with a dinner reception after at one of our favourite Dublin spots, No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place. The couple wanted their micro celebration to reflect their personal style, choosing non-traditional wedding attire, a bold colour scheme of red and pink with touches of black, and the vibrancy of Dublin city as the backdrop. Just WAIT until you see all the fun city portraits captured by Eoin Kirwan Photography...everything about this day is intimate, romantic and everything a wedding should be about!
Bride Teresa is from Ballinasloe in Co. Galway, and Groom Michael is from Rosses Point in Sligo. They have been based in Kilmainham in Dublin for the past 11 years. We asked this lovely pair how they first met. They tell us, 'we met each other in college in Derry when Teresa was studying psychology and Michael studying music. We ended up sharing the same group of friends in college and our arguments over whether or not Sligo or Galway had the best takeaways led us to falling in love!'
And the proposal, how did it go?! Theresa fills us in, 'we love New York. My family is from there and on a visit one Thanksgiving via a hotel stop, Michael popped the question on arrival to our hotel! I was looking out at the view from our window, turned around and he was on his knee. Even after 11 years together it still came as a complete shock!'
When it came to planning their day, the pair simply wanted everyone 'to be well fed, watered and to be able to dance it up, and for us celebrate our day with our close family and friends.' They envisioned, 'a slick clean cut City wedding with very large element of rowdiness!' Adding, 'for the bridal party, we always wanted a black tie look of sophistication against the vibrancy and urban colour of Dublin City Centre!! The vibe was one of casual intimacy and absolute joy as we were able to come together, have a drink and a dance when we thought something as simple as that would not be possible at the time.'
The couple had originally planned at wedding for 120 guests, but had to downsized to just 25 due to Covid restrictions at the time. The pair tell us that although they would have loved to have had their extended family and friends there on the day, their day was no less special. 'What started in our minds and conversations as a much bigger affair became smaller and smaller and essentially for the most part, almost out of our control as the pandemic progressed. Funnily enough, the element of inability to control the organising of our day brought us a strange comfort. We were at ease with “What will be will be”. We were determined not to change our original date, whether there was going to be 5, 25, 55, 125 or just us on our own with the Lucie the celebrant! We have such a talented group of friends which allowed our singers, music and other professionals to be incorporated into our final allowed number of 25 guests, which made the day all the more intimate.'
The bride walked from her getting ready location of Jurys Inn, Christchurch to City hall with her bridesmaids in tow. She tells us this was one of her favourite moments of the day, 'with my outfit, I always wanted to stroll down to City Hall and walk with my bridesmaids amongst the backdrop of the city. Unusual for Ireland at that time of year, it was a stunningly sunny day! I stayed the night before at Jurys Christchurch which, being only a couple of minutes walk away from City Hall, allowed me to have a very relaxed morning with my bridesmaids and mother whilst cheering with a few cheeky bubbles!'
Michael and his groomsmen travelled to the ceremony in true city style, by Dublin Bus! Teresa tells us this was another meaningful part of their day, 'this is the bus route we take to town together all the time from right outside our apartment and have done for years with our friends and especially those in our bridal party. We figured, what a better way for the groomsmen to get to our venue. It’s cheap and cheerful and if it’s not broken…. don’t fix it! Luckily, all buses were running on time that day!'
When it came to their ceremony, the couple chose City Hall for its history and beauty. Teresa tells us, 'Dublin is where we have shared our life together for 11 years and it represents both of us equally. I suggested City Hall as it is such a beautiful venue with a lot history and we were both in quick agreement it was the venue for us. We are in the City Centre regularly as we live so close to it and being able to look at and be reminded of our day every time we pass City Hall is so important to us. Every time we pass, we are reminded of the most wonderful day of our lives.'
The couple chose to add a wine box ritual to their ceremony which features a custom-made wine box with an engraved quote. Teresa tells, 'We both put notes to each other in the box and “Tied the knot” with some red velvet ribbon during the ceremony. Inside is a lovely bottle of Barolo wine which was chosen for us by a friend from Le Caveau wines and we plan to drink it on our 5th wedding anniversary. After just over one year of marriage…..we are surprised it has survived this long already!'
The couple also chose to have the Connaught Flag on display in City Hall to represent both their home counties of Galway and Sligo.
We have to take a moment to talk about Teresa's epic bespoke jumpsuit bridal look which was a custom design by Covet Dublin. She tells us that being part of creating her own wedding outfit was such an amazing experience. 'Knowing I never felt like a ‘conventional dress bride’ coupled with the knowledge that I was having a city wedding, I really wanted to express what I felt would be true to me on our day', the bride says.
She adds, 'I loved the combination of mixed textures. So, for me the cleanliness of a quite severely cut, clean, white jumpsuit with a nod to bridal femininity in the textured fabric of lace and leather-like leaves on the underlay of the detachable dress piece was, on completion something I was so proud of. I could not have represented myself as a bride in a truer way! In the evening, I whipped off the dress piece and attached a bow which allowed me to throw a lot of (questionable) shapes on the dancefloor!'
Teresa completed her bold bridal look with dramatic oversized earrings, and jewelled red block heels from New Look which were perfect for city capers!
The bridesmaids rocked their own black jumpsuits.
After the ceremony, the newly-weds and their guests enjoyed a drinks reception at City Hall, before heading to No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place for the evening reception.
Teresa and Michael have these words of wedded wisdom for other couples, 'firstly, enjoy the time of your engagement. People are excited for you…. Have a party!'. They add, 'communicate honestly. Share the load and divide the responsibilities between you both. Make sure you both feel completely represented not only as the couple you are but also hold true to those elements that you each feel represent you separately on your big day.'
No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place provided the perfect relaxed and beautiful setting for the wedding dinner, with a few additional touches.
'Incorporate as many of your friends and family into the day’s proceedings in whatever way you can, whether its your mates capturing those moments through their photography, their songs, the cake…. whatever it is, it makes the day so much more fantastically intimate and special. If you’ve got ‘em…. flaunt ‘em!!!'
The couple honeymooned at Powerscourt Estate in Wicklow where they treated themselves to a suite for 5 days as they could not leave the country. Teresa reminisces, 'we lived like a King and Queen, ate delicious food, drank delicious wine, ordered room service at ridiculous times of the night/early hours, and even managed to fit in a couple of runs through the beautiful surroundings. A 5+ star experience throughout. We hope to return soon to relive the memories!'
A huge thank you to Teresa and Michael for sharing their beautiful city wedding with us! A special thanks also goes to Eoin Kirwan Photography for these amazing images. There are more gorgeous pictures to swoon over in the gallery below!
