It's the greatest joy to be able to feature real weddings of style and fun, and today's definitely lights up a November day - colourful couple Siobhan and Mick chose Fallon & Byrne for their chic city wedding, and asked Lisa O'Dwyer to photograph the proceedings. I adore a bride who knows her style and isn't […]

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It's the greatest joy to be able to feature real weddings of style and fun, and today's definitely lights up a November day - colourful couple Siobhan and Mick chose Fallon & Byrne for their chic city wedding, and asked Lisa O'Dwyer to photograph the proceedings.

I adore a bride who knows her style and isn't afraid to break the bridal mould, even better when a groom is just as willing to tread his own path style wise. When such a couple come together to celebrate their union and their friends and family are so obviously delighted for them, it's just the perfect way to start one fab wedding week...

The day started in the luxury of the Clarence Hotel (those of you not from Ireland, this chic Art Deco establishment is owned by U2), an appropriately vintage styled venue for a bride who has chose more than a touch of vintage for her wedding ensemble...

But before we launch into the wedding, we need to know the love story..."We met on an internet blind date which neither of us was taking really seriously, but we had a fantastic first date and immediately knew there was something special between us. We’ve hardly been apart since.

Mick (kind of accidentally) asked me to marry him while we were away on a weekend in Madrid, we didn’t do anything formal about it until summer 2010 when we bought the ring and set the date. Hee, hee, I'm wondering did a glass or two of Spanish bubbly have anything to do with that?

Siobhan chose an amazing shade of emerald green for her dress from De Paor Designs, which suits her auburn hair (check those 40s style rolls) so perfectly - add to that lovely accessories raided from some of Dublin's great vintage shops - a fur stole from A Store is Born and brooch from Jenny Vander and the look is complete and the bride is ready for her groom...

Just a short hop across temple bar brought the wedding party to the waiting groom and guests upstairs in Fallon & Byrne, where both the ceremony and reception were to be held...

fallon and byrne lisa odwyer wedding photography

"From the beginning we knew pretty clearly what we wanted: a city centre, urban wedding with good food and good music, and for everyone to have a relaxed and enjoyable day. So Fallon & Byrne was an obvious choice for us - their food and wine is excellent and didn’t let us down at all on the day — they exceeded our expectations."

The best moment of the day was definitely when I walked into Fallon & Byrne and saw Mick for the first time, our friends Niall and Christian were singing and everyone burst into applause and cheers. It was really lovely and set the tone for the ceremony which was really relaxed and for the rest of the day.

This is the moment I love in every single wedding I see, the crowning glory among all wedding photographs - pure happiness of now being husband and wife...

stags head pub dublin lisa odwyer wedding

After the ceremony everyone popped into the Stag's Head pub around the corner for a celebratory jar or two before the meal, while Lisa O'Dwyer took Siobhan and Mick for a short walk to capture some relaxed portraits just the two of them...

Don't they make the most striking couple? Mick is quite the dude in his bespoke blue suit from tailor Denis Darcey - I love a groom with style and attitude!

The photos afforded a few special moments...

And then the wedding party and guests returned to Fallon & Byrne for the reception dinner, the room had been transformed for the party not least with all of Siobhan's beautiful decorative touches.

When it came to designing their wedding celebration Siobhan and Mick made sure the look reflected their personalities and taste "We wanted something colourful, fun and casual, neither of us is very formal and we wanted that to be reflected in the day. The room in Fallon and Byrne is lovely and bright and neutral and so we decided to put the emphasis on some really great flowers and have the same colours in the candles and the favour boxes. We love colour and wanted an uncontrived and natural look."

There's lots for us brides to learn from Siobhan's approach to styling the reception - while it all looks so coherent, well thought out and designed, it's actually the product of a vision and a magpie approach to collecting items as she found them in various shops. Siobhan had this central idea of colour and worked it from various sources and it looks fantastic.

fallon and byrne lisa odwyer wedding photography table

A special shout out must go to Appassionata in Dublin 2 who are responsible for the amazing flowers throughout the day...

This just says it all really...

So before these two float off on Cloud 9, a quick ceist - what advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? Go with your gut instinct and don’t do anything because you think you “should” or you “have to”. I think anything goes in terms of style and look of your wedding so put your stamp on it and glam it up!

You heard the lady - glam it up! Siobhan & Mick certainly did, and we're so honoured to have been able to share their day with you all. Huge thanks and congratulations on your new life together guys!

And of course we are very grateful to our great friend Lisa O'Dwyer for sharing her lovely photographs with us - she's got lots more of Siobhan and Mick and all her other weddings over on her own blog - be sure and have a goo...

All the Wedding Details...