With an abundance of white florals, a chic gown, epic bridal party styling & the historic Tankardstown House as the backdrop, real wedding couple Maeve and Fergal's dreamy garden wedding really was a seriously romantic affair. The pair exchanged vows surrounded by loved ones in an outdoor ceremony followed by an idyllic reception in the venue's bright and spacious Orangery. From the rituals and readings included in their day to the bride being walked down the aisle by both her parents, this gorgeous celebration is filled with thoughtful, personalised touches. With You Them Us there to capture this spectacular special day in all its glory, check out Maeve and Fergal's wedding below!
Before diving into the details of their spectacular special day, let's get to know the happy couple a bit more! Louth born Maeve and Fergal, who hails from Co. Down, have been together for 10 years and first met in the summer of 2012 at a music festival: "Fergal has even kept the flyer from the festival as a reminder of the first time we met! Although the chemistry was clearly there for both of us, we stayed as just friends that summer as I was heading to London for my first year of university in September. However, we kept in contact, so when I came back home for Easter the following year, we met up at a fancy dress party and that’s when moves were made to progress things from friendship to something more. We began to casually date long distance for the next 2 years." The couple made it official during their J1 summer trip to San Diego in 2013 where Fergal asked Maeve to be his girlfriend during the fireworks display on Fourth of July!
Fast forward to their sweet proposal story: "Fergal drove to Carlingford to ask my parents for their blessing. When Fergal arrived that morning he discovered that they were out playing golf in Greenore; after Fergal rang a few times my dad said to my mum: 'he’s either looking for money or he’s looking to marry Maeve!' When Fergal had racked up 10 missed calls on his phone, he finally answered - “Christ sake Fergal what do you want, I’m on the final hole here!” That evening, when he finally got them sitting down, Fergal asked for their blessing. Everyone got emotional, and they answered 'there was never a doubt.'”
"On the 8th of May 2022, Fergal suggested we head off for a picnic. We chose the grass outside the Titanic Museum overlooking the harbour; I was messing about as per usual and Fergal was trying his best to calm his nerves and get me to focus. To get my attention he played our favourite song, Harvest Moon by Neil Young, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I immediately said yes! Fergal had booked us a table at The Merchant for later that evening, so we went and celebrated with some champagne!"
On the day of their charming Tankardstown House celebration, glowing bride Maeve wore a phenomenal Suzanne Neville gown: "The bridal shop told me my dress was like the ‘wedding version of a power suit’ when I first tried it on! So I ran with that idea when it came to styling it up by choosing a bold red lip and nails."
The scenic grounds of Tankardstown House served as the perfect host to their magical outdoor ceremony: "Tankardstown House, is such a stunning setting that it influenced a lot of our aesthetic decisions. Their famous green gate helped inspire the dark shade for the colour of the bridesmaids dresses, as did the beautiful old yew trees in the Walled Garden. We kept our colour palette neutral after that – we liked the elegant effect all white flowers can have, especially against black tuxedos and the bright natural light with the Orangery at Tankardstown. With a neutral colour palette as the base, we decided on rich fabric choices to help accentuate the bridal party – Fergal had a velvet tuxedo jacket, and we chose satin for the bridesmaid dress material."
Arriving in style, Maeve’s Godmother drove her, her parents, and her adorable niece and flower girl to the venue: "The time I got to spend with them on this drive was very special." With her mum and dad by her side, Maeve walked down the aisle to a rendition of La Vie En Rose.
Making their ceremony all the more special: "Fergal’s father Michael translated into Irish and then read To Love is Not to Possess by James Kavanaugh for our ceremony. My sister, and Chief Bridesmaid, Claire, wrote a reading for our ceremony, entitled Advice for the Future."
The couple also chose to include some lovely rituals into their storybook ceremony: "We incorporated the Handfasting tradition into our ceremony, and chose materials from both sides of our family for it, like a scarf from Fergal’s granny. We also chose to use the old Celtic tradition of a Quaich cup as part of the ceremony. We used Bushmills 10 Year Whiskey (as we have been together 10 years!) and gave a small bottle to all our guests to toast with us at the same time!"
Maeve and Fergal had this sage advice for couples planning their special day: "Don’t sweat the small stuff – seeing your partner at the end of the aisle on the day is the most important thing, nothing else matters too much after that! Try to carve out some alone time with just yourselves on the day. The speeches can be really fun, don’t worry or get too nervous about them. Everyone in the audience is on your side, and wants to hear from you."
Describing the overall vibe of their wedding day as personal, relaxed, and fun: "By choosing a Humanist ceremony, we were able to add a lot of personal aspects to our wedding that reflected us and our relationship. We chose to have an outdoor ceremony at our venue, so whilst the day was formal, this helped keep things relaxed as no further travel was needed once guests arrived. The evening was so much craic, our speeches were full of humour - there were a fair few jokes made on our behalf!"
Wanting their day to look timeless, understated and elegant: "We didn’t go with an obvious theme, but we did want a couple of subtle nods to our Irish heritage, for example choosing songs by Irish artists and having a modern trad band for the evening, using Celtic traditions during our Humanist ceremony and picking dark green for the bridesmaid’s dresses. I am also a fan of a good bow! So there were a definitely a fair few incorporated into the styling."
Decorated in their soft colour palette with touches of a rich green hue, the couple's stylish reception took place in the Orangery at Tankardstown House. In terms of what made the historic venue 'the one': "For me, it was the stunning setting of The Orangery, where our meal was served, as the room is so bright and very unique. For Fergal, it was the Walled Garden as he really wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and it was the perfect size and setting. We both agree that it was also the professionalism and friendliness of the staff though that cemented our decision. They made us feel really welcome and excited for our day as soon as we arrived!"
"I wanted the woman in my family to have their voices heard on the day, so both my sister and mother spoke during our ceremony, and I did a bride speech. My bridesmaid Charlotte even MC’d the speeches and smashed it! She was hilarious on the day."
As the sun began to set on the 18th century country estate, Maeve and Ferghal used the venue's nature-filled grounds as a picture-perfect backdrop for their wedding portraits: "It was important to us that we spend as much quality time together on the day as possible. We managed to steal some moments just the two of us throughout the day, and we’re so glad we did as those moments stick out as some of the best from our wedding!"
Following their fun-filled day of celebration, which included a first dance to their beloved track; Neil Young's Harvest Moon, the newlyweds jetted off for a well deserved honeymoon to Rhodes in Greece: "It’s a beautiful island – we spent a couple of nights in the Old Town, then travelled south to stay at a beach resort for the rest of the holiday. The people were very friendly and the weather was perfect."
A very special thank you to Maeve, Fergal and You Them Us for sharing their charming Tankardstown House wedding with One Fab Day. There are also plenty more gorgeous photos from their glorious special day to check out in the gallery below!
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