Now here's a love story that is the perfect modern take on an old-fashioned romance. Won't spoil the details but let's just say that Elaine fell for Phil when he acted the knight in shining armour (in a very 21st century setting!). To celebrate their love Phil and Elaine threw a gorgeous house party wedding at Clonabreany House with balloons, confetti, (lots and lots of) cake and a stunning Jenny Packham wedding dress. Each fun-filled moment and happy tear was captured by MOS Photography, which we're delighted to share with you all...
Elaine and Phil originally met in 2010 at a friend’s wedding. Phil was a friend of Elaine's older brother and they spoke briefly that day but then went their separate ways. Two weeks later it was Electric Picnic time, and who ended up camping in Elaine's campsite other than Phil! The day began well with lots of music and drinks, but when it was time to return to the campsite things took a serious turn. Elaine returned alone to her tent to find two guys rummaging around. Spotting Elaine they began to run, but not before knocking poor Elaine over and hitting her on the head. Elaine let out a scream and luckily help came to her aid - in the form of her big brother and knight in shining armour, Phil.
Determined not to let this one incident ruin her weekend Elaine decided to head to the Rave in The Woods. Her brother wasn't best pleased, so decided to join her to keep an eye, along with Phil. Once at the rave Elaine realised it wasn't the best place to be after an attack. Not wanting to return to her tent just yet, Phil took charge and accompanied her walking around the festival until all the music stopped. That night they kissed for the first time, and the next day Phil approached Elaine's brother for his blessing. From that day on Phil and Elaine have spoken every day, and just a few weeks after their first date Phil admitted he knew Elaine was the one for him.
Ever the romantic, Phil went to a huge effort to make Elaine's proposal one she'd never forget. Having woken up with a rotten hangover one sunny Saturday in June Elaine was surprised by Phil who said he'd won two tickets to The Beatles show ‘Let it Be’ in the Grand Canal Theatre. He seemed very eager so Elaine agreed to go. When the show ended Phil suggested they meet a friend of his who was visiting from abroad, before joining Elaine's family at a pre organised BBQ. The Foggy Dew was decided on as the meeting point of choice and off Phil and Elaine went in the direction of Dublin's Central Bank. A special place to Elaine and Phil (it's where they met for their first date) Elaine immediately sensed something was up, and just like that Phil was down on one knee with a picture perfect ring.
Following the proposal Elaine and Phil hopped into a taxi to visit Elaine's parents, followed by another trip to Elaine and Phil's home where Phil had another special surprise waiting. Elaine explains..."I opened my eyes to find all my family and Phil’s family standing around me cheering! Out stepped my sister from London who had been hiding in our house all day! The entire house was decorated, the fridge was full of champagne and food and music was blasting from a newly compiled playlist called ‘My Fiancee’s Playlist’. Phil had thought of everything." Very sweet, and incredibly well thought out.
For her wedding Elaine chose a gorgeous sparkling Jenny Packham wedding dress from Sharon Hoey and a selection of ASOS dresses for her bridesmaids (one of whom is the gorgeous Laura whose National Gallery real wedding we featured this year!)
To incorporate kids into their day, but not to spoil the grown up fun, Elaine and Phil only invited children to their church ceremony. Elaine explains..."The only children we had at the wedding were our mini-men and they went home after the ceremony. My nephew Jack walked up the aisle with his Mum, my sister Fiona. My other nephew Dylan walked up the aisle with his auntie, my sister, Laura. Harry walked up the aisle with his mum, one of my oldest and best friends, Laura. They each had dinosaur badges that they picked themselves instead of flowers at their buttonholes... definitely more appealing to little boys." A clever little idea to keep both parents and little ones happy.
The rest of the ceremony was kept equally personal with a family friend officiating and a gospel choir performing some of Elaine and Phil's favourite songs. Elaine describes the unique ceremony music..."The gospel choir made the ceremony so personal. As I came up the aisle they sang Florence and the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over...I walked up the aisle to all my family and friends cheering, clapping and whooping....I will never forget it! During the ceremony, as a surprise for Phil, I had asked his brother to perform an acoustic version of his favourite Foo Fighter’s song (‘My Hero) with the choir after we said our ‘I do’s’, there wasn't a dry eye in the house."
To further incorporate family Elaine and Phil asked their mothers to act as witnesses - to let them know how much they mean to them both. After their ceremony Elaine and Phil then drove themselves to their reception venue - spending some quality time together before celebrating with friends.
When choosing a wedding venue, it was important to Elaine and Phil that it was within an hour reach of Dublin so when they found Clonabreany House in Co. Meath they knew it was the one. Elaine explains..."When we pulled up to Clonabreany we were immediately in love. The setting, the accommodation, the food, the Shebeen (BEST residence bar we have ever been to!!) and of course the unbelievable staff. I honestly can’t say enough good things about them....we had read that the staff were amazing but to experience it first hand was the closest thing we have ever come to being waited on hand and foot! In the planning, the run up, the day of and after, the staff were second to none in their support, hard work and genuine enthusiasm towards us and all our guests."
Not prescribing to any set theme Elaine and Phil simply wanted everyone to enjoy themselves from start to finish. To embellish this experience they asked family and friends to contribute to the décor and cakes which they did with an abundance of style. Elaine runs us through all of the effort contributed..."A great friend of ours surprised us by making the most epic cake of all time....it was the ‘story of us’ on a cake....including miniature versions of our home, the church we got married in, Clonabreany, us dressed as gnomes at Electric Picnic, festival tents...all made out of icing! It was a mammoth undertaking and as she said herself ‘a labour of love’ that she will never be doing again. My amazing bridesmaid Laura made all the amazing artwork for our wedding and her mother made our bouquets and the stunning chair garlands made out of fresh jasmine, and the pew ends. My dad made the giant wooden ‘E & P’ with battery operated lights and cut out the wooden centrepieces using wood from his family home in Cavan where he grew up."
Friends also contributed in other ways with Elaine's sister writing a poem for the speeches, Phil's best man gifting him a signed ‘Congratulations on your wedding’ letter from Arsene Wenger! (Phil is a massive Arsenal fan) and other friends performing an impromptu sing song late into the night in the Shebeen.
Lastly Elaine made each guest an ‘EP’ cookie, which she made using a cutter bought from etsy.
Advice wise Elaine has some wise words in relation to using Pinterest in the run up to the big day: "Like most brides, I had a Pinterest board. However, at times I would find it totally overwhelming as there were just so many amazing ideas out there and I felt like I was pinning every second thing but wasn’t getting any closer to an idea of ‘our wedding’. This stressed me out until the day I went back and looked at what I had actually pinned onto my ‘wedding board’ and low and behold, there was a very clear pattern of what I liked and what I thought the day would look like. This really reassured me!"
After their wedding Elaine and Phil honeymooned in a little coastal Italian town called Viareggio to just relax, then this summer they had a second honeymoon gorilla trekking in Uganda, followed by a trip to Zanzibar. Huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your Clonabreany House wedding with us all. A big thank you also goes to MOS Photography for sharing her work with us. To see more from MOS Photography visit www.mosphotography.com
