When I first started writing real weddings, about three years ago (eeeep time flies), we often spotted and swooned over luxe American festival weddings with fun suppliers and daring style. Today we are lucky to get that same variety and inspiration from weddings right here in Ireland. Today's wedding of Sarah and Stephen, documented by Weddings by KARA, is a real beauty and could easily be anywhere in the world. It is bursting with style and crafty details and I think you'll love it just as much as we do...

Sarah and Ste met working at their local cinema (not so exotic) but almost ended things after Sarah moved to Hawaii for the summer (much more exotic!) Sarah tells us... "We met while working in our (now closed) local cinema. We were both part-time college students. Ste was my supervisor. We dated for a while, but I was going to Hawaii on a J1 for the summer, so I didn’t want things to get too serious. But Ste worked his ass off, saved, left his job and joined me in Hawaii for 5 weeks. 8 years later, we’re still going strong!"

Ste then proposed in one of the world's most romantic cities - Venice. Sarah remembers... "Ste proposed on Ponte dell'Accademia (Bridge of Academia) in Venice. Venice was the last place on our European hit list before we left to live in Vancouver for 2 years, so it was a special trip for us. He chose the bridge because I’m a big nerd, but also because it was relatively quiet (for Venice). I ruined it (or made it better!)  though, by making fart jokes just as he was trying to get up the courage to ask. He asked. I said yes. There was music playing in the background, and it was awfully romantic and gushy."

In love with each of Sarahs "bridesmates" outfit choices!

The venue for Sarah and Ste’s laid back wedding was Kippure Estate, with the spiritualist ceremony held in the gardens. Sarah tells us...  "It was fun, casual, outdoorsy, love-filled, music-filled, drink-filled, food-filled blast of a day! We went spiritualist with the ceremony, so it had a very Celtic vibe to it too."

Adding a personal touch Sarah and Ste included a wine box ceremony, using a beautiful wooden box carved by one of Sarah's bridesmaids. Sarah explains... "We included a bottle of red from the venue in the wine box, and letters to each other to read in 25 years, and sealed the box at the ceremony." Pharrell Williams Happy was then played as the recessional music.

Once things were made official it was time to party. Sarah and Ste describe the vibe of the day perfectly... "There was tonnes of music, lots of free drink, we set games up everywhere that encouraged people to act silly, to show their love, and to really treat the day as a big ol’ party."

The majority of the day was a DIY wedding effort with Sarah confessing to becoming a bit of a decor addict. She details... "In terms of the DIY, we went crazy overboard. We folded 1001 cranes. Family and friends all helped, and signed a crane that they folded. It felt like we literally had our friends and family behind us all the way. My bridesmates all helped with the DIY aspect too, with one of them designing all our stationary. The centrepieces were all designed by me. I made moss bases and added some tiny mushrooms and birds to them and then decorated huge numbers in different styles and included a lantern."

Sarah continues... "I wanted to bring the outdoorsy/hippy feel to the wedding dinner. We also had a guitar that people could sign as our guestbook. This was so cool, and really kept with the music festival feel of the wedding, and as a bonus we’ll have it hanging in our living room forever rather than collecting dust in our attic. Ste made huge signposts, one in particular had all the countries that people came from to be at the wedding on it, which made it extra personal for us. Oh, and we can’t forget the tonnes of bunting that I made. Some of it is out of my old clothes. It was fun looking up and thinking, “oh yeah, remember when I wore that?” We had a festival-ize section too, where you could pick up wigs and face paint and go a bit mad, and a sweet cart (with homemade cookies) so people could keep their sugar levels up!"

To complete their super fun wedding experience Sarah and Ste then spent three weeks honeymooning in Mexico. Huge, huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your day with us all.

Such pretty little hair flowers from A Room in Bloom...

A big thank you also goes to the wonderful Weddings by Kara for sharing her work with us. To see more from Weddings by Kara visit www.weddingsbykara.com

 The Wedding Details

• Venue: Kippure Estate
• Shoes & Bear Bag: Modcloth
• Grooms suit: Howick from House of Fraser
• Accessories: Bracelet - boutique in Brighton, earrings & glasses from ASOS, Grooms watch from Hugo Boss
• Cake: Mannings Bakery
• Wedding Favours: Temp tattoos designed by Sarah and printed by Sticker You
• Make Up & Hair: The Powder Room Girls
• Wedding Bands: The Firm
• Ceremony/Reception Music: The Wave
• Photographer: Weddings by KARA