Festival vibes with a homely charm

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Shona and Conor are bringing some sunshine to our lives today thanks to their gorgeously fun real wedding. The pair chose the beautifully blue Our Lady of Wayside Church in Kilternan as the spot to say their 'I dos' before heading to Shona's family home, Glencullen House (built by the famous Irish architect Francis Johnson), for their epic reception. We're seeing more and more couples opting for home weddings as of late and with a photo album like this one captured by David Frain, there's no question as to why!

Shona and Conor met way back in their school days when Shona and Conor's younger sister Laura shared a classroom. "I was in school with Laura and my dad coached Conor in rugby so I always knew him," Shona told us. "I had a crush on Conor but I was his younger sister's friend. Fast forward to 2013 and we both swiped right on Tinder! We went on one date and that was it. Six months later, I went travelling with my best friend Anna but when I fell in love with Sydney, Conor decided he would join me out there. We lived there for nearly three years and then moved home in 2016."

Having returned back to Ireland, the pair were getting on the property ladder and Conor cunningly used that to his advantage when it came to his proposal. "We bought Shona's great-grandparents' house and were doing a complete redevelopment on it," Conor told us. "We used to go around and take progress videos, so one day, I convinced Shona to go to the house to film the progress, and as she walked around the house filming, I had hidden in a press a picture of the two of us, saying 'Will you marry me?' alongside a ring and a bottle of champagne!"

For this couple, they wanted a true celebration with their closest family and friends around them. "We wanted it to feel like a big festival where everyone would enjoy good food and great music. We also hoped guests would feel relaxed and just have fun!"

And there was nowhere they wanted to make that happen more than Shona's family home of Glencullen House. "We were deciding between Ireland and Portugal for our wedding at the beginning but when we decided on Ireland, we knew exactly where we wanted to celebrate," Conor told us.

As for a theme and vibe, Shona said that it was all about creating a 'rustic, summer garden party vibe' that felt casual and relaxed. To do so, they and their family got stuck into the planning process. "It was a real DIY wedding and the fact it was in my family home was so special in itself," Shona told us. "Our invites were designed by my sister Danielle, Conor made coasters for our wedding favours, and my wedding ring was my grandads - it was all just so special and all in my family home."

Living close to Ireland's 'highest pub' Johnny Foxes, the pair made a quick pit stop on the big day too. "Luckily, we're located so close to the famous pub so we took advantage," Conor told us. "We enjoyed a quiet moment with the wedding party and even got to pull our own pint!"

The pair learned a lot from their experience and are now sharing it with all of us in the hopes of helping another couple about to embark on the same process. "Some very specific advice for couples planning an at-home wedding is you really need to sit down at the start and list everything you may need and not just the romantic parts - toilets, toilet paper, candles, blankets, cutlery, crockery, the lot," Shona told us. "I found it helpful to walk through a wedding I had attended in my head and from start to finish think of every little bit, not just the big picture of flowers, cake, and food. And if you are doing a day two, don’t forget to include all elements of that too!"