Oh my, do we have a treat of a real wedding for you today! Cork couple Helen and Donncha met in the U.S. and got engaged in London, but they kept it close to home for their gorgeous wedding at Inish Beg Estate in Baltimore. These two have some serious style (as do their guests!) and their wedding was a lesson in all things laid-back, botanical and beautiful. We don't know what we loved more, the abundant greenery or the flower-filled marquee, the heart-stoppingly pretty tablescapes or the personalised ceremony in the woods. Thankfully Claire of Studio Brown captured every last sublime detail...

Helen and Donncha met as many Irish students do, with a J1 romance! “It started with two groups of Irish boys and two groups of Irish girls all meeting on our holidays in Delaware, trying to survive living off free pizza from work, not getting burnt and attempting to get into pubs when we were only 20 and eventually progressed into a summer romance that never fizzled out when the sunburn reverted back to pale/milky skin.”

When your 'something blue' is your fab wedding day mani!

Cut to ten years later and Donncha and Helen were in London celebrating their 30th birthdays, “I am eight days older than himself, he likes to remind me of this all the time,” explains Helen, “We were there for four days and one of the nights we had gone to see Ludovico Einaudi play, a piano player that I had loved and was dying to see for four years.”

You know we love a greenery bouquet, but Helen went not one, but two better with a foliage garland crown and a matching armband. Such a cool boho bride!

Helen had a hunch it was the night Donncha would pop the question, “If I am honest it was a very romantic setting and thought ‘yep, this is the night he is going to propose, it will definitely happen’. It didn’t happen and on reflection I am glad as it would not of been us at all, I would have been super awkward with the lovey dovey stuff.”

Donncha brought his style a-game too which this light blue suit and botanical pocket square.

Instead, Donncha left it until the last day, four hours before checkout! “We were attempting to have breakfast out on our balcony - attempting as it was March and it was freezing and our balcony was facing onto a building full of employees who could see us,” recalls Helen, “I was about to go indoors as I was freezing, Donncha turned and said 'I have one more thing to ask...' He got down on one knee, took out his granny’s ring and asked “eh, will you marry me”, and then preceded to lunge at me with the ring and say 'take it, people might see us’. Ever the romantic, but it much more to our style of things”.

Now that's a pretty sweet first look!

Helen got a big surprise in the end, “Of course I said yes… well I think I said the words anyway, I was in shock as I definitely did not expect it at that point.  We celebrated in style for the rest of the day.”

So many stunning spots at Inish Beg for wedding photos but this bluebell meadow is particularly stunning.

The couple describe their wedding as a relaxed, outdoorsy party, “We wanted the ceremony to be simple and the party to be a fun celebration without lots of fancy frills, just good food, drink and dancing, and we got it all.”

Drinks... more drinks... sounds like our kind of bash.

These two were eager to leave any formality at the door, “We wanted a feel good relaxed atmosphere with not too many rules. We described it as a house party in the woods. Our priority was to have lots of food and drink on hand. we also wanted to bring the outdoors indoors for the reception and Kristine our florist did that with the floral displays inside the marquee, both with her light installation and the table decor.”

For the ceremony, Helen explains she and Donncha wanted to let their personalities shine through, “We felt it was important to do our own vows, we used readings that we found before even getting engaged, like John Cooper Clarke’s ‘I Wanna Be Yours’, and wanted the music to be the classics that we love to listen to such as The Cure, ‘Friday I’m in Love and The Cranberries, ‘Dreams’.”

The couple saw the potential of Inish Beg, even when they visited in the depths of January, “We saw H20 Hannibal’s garden, it is an outdoor wooded area with a beautiful natural pond thrown in for an added bonus. It was stunning and we would have gone there even if a storm was brewing,” recalls Helen. “Luckily for us, we had lots of Child of Prague statues and even a buddha statue put out for us the night before… and the weather was just amazing.”

Such a stylish squad - the colours all go together beautifully! It's so cool to see a wedding party break away from the traditional hues.

This hoop table plan is just the start of the gorgeous details in Helen and Donncha's reception.

We've never quite seen a ceiling instillation like this one - Kristine Hayes did such a phenomenal job on the florals and decor. I'm in love with the blue patterned table linens too, they really lift the space and give it such a unique look - the pink additions in the napkins and candles are so pretty.

The cutlery, the linens, the candles; these tables are next-level!

So we don't pick favourites, but this reception decor is certainly up there. I am head over heels!

Helen's sister-in-law made this delicious looking cake - the chocolate might be an untraditional choice, but the gold leaf really takes it up a notch.

The couple held their speeches outside ahead of dinner - an increasingly popular choice - it looks like they were a hit too!

Helen’s top tip for other couples? Enjoy the day and take it all in. “Planning is important but if it distracts you from your day, then it’s too much. The main thing is that you’re getting married to the person you love and celebrating that with your closest friends and family. All the added things to the wedding day are a bonus but not a priority.”

The couple headed off in a VW camper after the wedding, “We travelled the Wild Atlantic Way for a week, then flew to Italy where we stayed in Positano and Ischia and finally relaxed in Santorini for the last week.” Well that sounds lush!

Thanks so much to Helen and Donncha for letting us in on their day, and of course to Studio Brown Photography for sending this gorgeous bash our way.