Pretty pastels and beautiful bridesmaids, a crazy gorgeous Berta bridal gown and plenty of Irish charm make this romantic late autumn Ballymagarvey Village wedding celebration one we won't soon forget. Real wedding couple Niamh and Conor designed a celebration that puts a fresh new look on a pastel palette from the abundance of Pinterest-worthy blooms to the elegant romantic details used throughout, there is so much to swoon over with their day. From bridal prep to the last kiss, Paula Gillespie captured it all wonderfully so make sure to set aside a sweet chunk of time to really pore through all the gorgeous details from beginning to end in the gallery below!
So, first things first, let's get to know our real wedding couple a little better, shall we? Bride Niamh is from Belfast and Groom Conor hails from Lurgan, in Co. Armagh. The pair are currently living in Dublin.
The couple's modern day love story all began online after a swipe right! Niamh tells us more, "A few weeks of texting back and forth and we organised a date (dinner and drinks in Belfast). Conor does stress that he was close to packing it in having asked me out twice but I had been busy with plans! He thought he’s either messaging a girl with the most hectic social life, or she’s not one bit interested. A few weeks later, he suggested we meet up one final time and I was all in! I was very late which is bad (Conor says this hasn’t changed much over the years!) – he had an espresso martini waiting for me & the rest is history! We were dating about a year when Covid hit and moved in together, surviving lockdown together. I then got a job in Dublin and we both moved down and have been here ever since."
The proposal happened at Keem Bay on Achill Island while the couple were on a long weekend trip to the West. The bride fills us in, "It was over the August bank holiday weekend. Conor was very calm all day and somehow managed to catch me off guard. We had been on a few holidays/trips earlier that year and each time I was totally convinced the proposal was coming… each time leading to disappointment! So, by the time the long weekend came around I had hyped myself up so many times already that it wasn’t really on my radar anymore. We drove from Dublin that morning and were staying in Westport- Conor was insisting that we should go down to Achill for the afternoon before checking in to the hotel. I should have been more suspicious, but he was also so chilled out all day that I didn’t raise an eyebrow! We were in a private part of the beach and were there for a few hours before he got down on one knee. It couldn’t have been more perfect for me - relaxed, private and very romantic." How sweet!
Once planning began, the couple set about creating a day that was "Modern, romantic, autumnal, with a touch of bouje!".
The bride adds, "We had a really relaxed approach to wedding planning from the outset and enjoyed the planning. I really love fashion and anything creative in general so I got very excited trying to create a vision for the big day. I wouldn’t say we had a clear theme from the outset it all just came together nicely over time."
And the perfect spot for their modern autumn celebration? The beautiful Ballymagarvey Village in Co. Meath. Niamh tells us what made it 'The One': "We went to one and only one venue. From the moment we drove up the driveway I think we were both sold. As an exclusive wedding venue, they are total professionals and made the planning and day itself so easy. The venue itself, the food, the staff- everything was beyond exceptional. I was mostly sold when I saw the prep room for the bridal party for the morning of the wedding. We were looked after so well by the lovely Lisa at Ballymagarvey in the bridal barn that morning- I will never forget how magical and fun those few hours were."
The most important thing to both Niamh and Conor was that they were relaxed and in the moment as much as possible throughout the planning, and on their wedding day. Niamh says, "We wanted to create a chilled out, fun atmosphere from the outset and I think we were both really conscious of that throughout the day. The closer we got to the day itself, we stopped caring about lots of the details and just wanted to press pause and enjoy. The night before the wedding, the lovely storm Bebette was hitting County Meath hard. The roads around Ballymagarvey were totally flooded and it was the most horrific rain ever. We just about made our rehearsal mass at Kentstown due to the weather. Several Child of Prague statues were set out by friends and family that night and somehow we got the most beautiful, crisp Autumn day. I think the storm the night before strangely calmed us both down- so much is outside of your control so we were determined to just enjoy the day and soak up every minute."
The couple's romantic pastel palette and elegant aesthetic came about after "A lot of Pinterest searching!". The bride adds, "I think because I picked a dress that felt a bit different for me with the gold undertones and detailing that I knew I wanted the aesthetic to compliment that. When the flower colours were picked (the dark, warm, autumnal pinks & a bit of grape to compliment my mums dress!), it tied in quite nicely with the dress and everything else followed suit."
If you've fallen head over heels for Niamh's bridal look like we have, it's a beautiful Berta bridal creation which she sourced at Verona Bridal in Belfast. From the bride: "I fell in love with my dress from the moment I tried it on. It was like nothing I thought I’d go for. I actually walked into Verona Bridal and said I didn’t want fuss, lace or sleeves and I left with a dress that had all of that."
We love how she completed her bridal look with sparkly heels from Jimmy Choo, double pearl earrings by A.B. ELLIE, a romantic, and a romantic full-length veil with her hair swept up so as to show off the gorgeous bodice detail.
The bridesmaids wore matching unique blush pink dresses by Kevan Jon dresses from Blush boutique which the bride paired with a metallic court heel and chic pearl drop earrings. From the bride: "I found bridesmaid dresses the hardest part of the planning. I didn’t want the classical bridesmaid look. As I had four girls, I was conscious of making sure they didn’t look like clones. After a lot of hunting and returns, we went for x2 different style of Kevan Jon dresses in the same colour. I wanted the girls to look elegant and fashionable but still have a softness to the look."
On par with the epic bridal fashion was the menswear. Conor and his lads all wore Remus black tie looks from Bogart Menswear.
The couple have this sage advice for other couples planning their special day: "Try and take some time out throughout the day for just the two of you. Our wedding coordinator at Ballymagarvey whisked us off before dinner and encouraged us to have a drink in our room and a breather to take it all in. It was one of our favourite parts of the day. I think it was the first point where we just stopped and thought wow this is really happening."
We still can't get over that dress!
In lieu of favours, the couple instead opted to make charity donations to two charities very close to their hearts - The Seán Crummey Memorial Fund to honour Niamh’s late father Seán, and the The Southern Area Hospice to honour Conor’s late brother Niall. Niamh says "As we had two very special people missing on the day it was very important for us to mark this. We put a lot of time and love into making a family photo corner which was displayed on the grand piano in Ballymagarvey. We also made the donations to charity in lieu of traditional wedding favours which was special for us to do."
The couples cake was made by sister-in-law Sophie and consisted of a Genoise sponge soaked in lemon & pink peppercorn syrup, filled with fresh strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, covered with vanilla buttercream and topped with fresh roses. Delish!
Niamh also adds, "One thing we were happy we did was the QR code/photo share cards which encouraged guests to upload their photos and videos. So many nice photos were uploaded onto the site that day and in the days that followed, and it was so lovely on honeymoon being able to go through them all."
Following their fun-filled day of celebration, which included a first dance to their beloved track; Hozier's Jackie and Wilson, the newlyweds jetted off on honeymoon to Thailand which they highly recommend. Niamh reminisces, "We travelled around and really got to see the place properly. It was the most incredible trip and an absolutely stunning place for honeymoon, especially at that time of the year!"
A very special thank you to Niamh, Conor and Paula Gillespie for sharing their beautiful Ballymagarvey Village wedding with One Fab Day. There are also plenty more gorgeous photos from their glorious special day to check out in the gallery below!
Find more real wedding inspiration here or dive into One Fab Day's Wedding Venue Guide and take your pick from the range of breathtaking locations for your big day.
