Lorraine & Alex's lush garden real wedding truly took our breath away as soon as we laid eyes on it! With the bride a fashion blogger and the pair keen to show off their DIY skills, guests were treated to a seriously stylish, summer garden party marquee celebration in a gorgeous setting, made even better with delicious food and loads of DIY details. From the cake and decor, to the fashion and style and the couple’s loved-up smiles, Annie Kheffache was behind the lens capturing this beautiful at-home wedding day.

Lorraine kicks off the story with the tale of how she and Alex came to be. "We were together 9 years the month we got married, we’ve been friends since our teens through mutual friends."

Alex popped the question while the couple were on a staycation in Co. Fermanagh. Lorriane fills us in, "During a break in Covid Lockdowns in September 2020, we went to Finnlough in Co. Fermanagh and after a hike on the Stairway to Heaven on Cuilcagh Mountain, Alex proposed at sunset by the fire, with a picnic over-looking the lake." Turns out he had designed and had the ring made since February, but knew that Lorraine would want to be able to celebrate with her family so waited until that was possible.

Style-lover bride Lorraine's incredible dress was a bespoke creation from Kathy De Stafford. We're completely obsessed with those sleeves!

She completed her bridal look with nude embellished heels by Jimmy Choo and accessories from K Kajoux Jewellery.

When it came to planning their big day the couples main priority from the very beginning was "having all of our family and friends around us on the day." Lorraine adds, "This is why we pushed our wedding out longer than we would normally have done, to ensure that lockdowns had ended. We’re not serious people and we just really wanted it to be fun and full of happy memories, not just for us but for all our family & friends."

The bridesmaids wore pink floral print dresses which the bride found on Next paired with gold heels sourced from ASOS. "We didn’t want our bridal party to be stiff or too formal so the relaxed vibe of the floral dresses for our bridesmaids were also a little different but perfect."

The vintage MG wedding car was the perfect 'something borrowed' kindly supplied by a family friend. "I wanted it to just be me & my dad driving to the church and afterwards we knew that we’d love it to be “just us” on the 25 minute journey to our reception, we got to chat and have that time together after the ceremony and we loved it."

Lorraine and Alex walked down the aisle as newlyweds to "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles.

For their wedding celebration, Lorraine and Alex chose an outdoor marquee on the grounds of Alex’s family home in Co. Laois, explaining, "We always knew that we wanted a home wedding, we both work in Alex’s family business, the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel and we knew that with the team behind us that we could pull it off – every single person from the guys behind the bar, to the chefs and team serving arrival canapes are the people we work with 7 days a week, they’re like family to us - so there wasn’t a person in the room we didn’t know!"

All the planning and styling was done entirely by Alex & Lorraine. Lorraine says, "Alex is the wedding co-ordinator at his family business, Abbeyleix Manor Hotel so has plenty of experience!"

It was the beautiful marquee from LPM Bohemia that inspired the lovebirds' wedding aesthetic. Lorraine tells us, "As soon as we saw the Chinoiserie walls on the tent we both knew that was the one and from there the wildflower theme and garden party vibe, full of colour grew – Alex’s mum has an incredible garden so we had arrival drinks on the terrace surrounded by flowers that his mum had planted with our colour-scheme and theme in mind!"

Annie Kheffache was chosen to capture the couples magical day and what a truly beautiful job she has done. "Annie was such a special person to have around us on the day, we booked Annie as she had shot our friends’ wedding when we were bridesmaid & best man."

So much foral goodness!

"It was a relaxed and fun atmosphere, there isn’t a minute that we would change – we always knew that we wanted a massive party full of fun, we’re known for throwing parties and being the first on the dancefloor – so we wanted our wedding to be a total reflection of who we are. We also love to travel, so we had photos and hints of this dotted around the marquee, like the vintage suitcases that belonged to Lorraine’s great aunt."

With an eye for detail and a crafty knack, both the bride and grom worked hard on a lot of DIY details for their wedding. From styling the day to working on the invitations, menus, signs, church booklets, and little notes around the reception every aspect of the wedding was detailed beautifully. "We included messages & poems on everything from flip-flops, our menus, signs with taxi numbers, toilet baskets, blankets – you name it!"

Lorriane admits Alex wasn't sold on the idea coloured candles on the tables at first, but the bride had a vision and spent the lead-up stocking up on 100s of colourful tapered candles from Mr Price. We love how they made the tables pop and Lorriane tells us Alex agreed that they were perfect when he saw them in-situe!

Lorraine’s cousin’s partner, Isobel, who is a graphic designer designed a digital caricature as a place name for every guest. "It was tricky as we had to send a headshot of all 260 guests in advance for them to be drawn but we loved how they turned out."

The dessert table was made with love by Lorraine’s Godmother Yvonne and consisted of three single cakes: a small traditional fruitcake, Red Velvet and a chocolate biscuit cake.

"Our friend Chloe, who works with us at our family business, from Gingerbread Patisserie made the macaroons that were displayed in champagne coupes and glass trinket dishes."

As well as talented friends and family helping with the cake and stationery, the pair tells us they also had friends who made Swedish candles (giant logs) that burned all evening, a chef friends who made a wedding cheese cake and musical friends who played piano and kept the sing-song going until 6am!

Their best advice to other couples is just to focus on your love. "Remember that it’s your day, don’t get overwhelmed by what others want or what you feel you “should be doing” your wedding day should be a reflection of you both as a couple. We also really loved having some “us” time in the car and the day goes by so quickly so be sure that you factor in some time for just the two of you to really soak it up. And lastly – just enjoy every minute, it’s the most magical day!"

After the celebrations the pair headed on an Irish minimoon to Carton House for a little R&R before heading on their honeymoon a few months later. "In November we went on a once in a lifetime trip: South Africa: Cape Town and then on to a Safari in Kruger National Park and ended with 5 days in the Maldives, we couldn’t recommend it enough – we’re still not over it! Memories we’ll cherish forever."

For their first dance, the couple chose Ed Sheeran's -Thinking Out Loud while surrounded by a colourful confetti drop. How magical!

Thank you to Lorraine and Alex for sharing their breathtaking, summer garden party wedding with us, and to Annie Kheffache Photography for providing the beautiful imagery! There are even more photographs to swoon over in the gallery below.