Aoife & Keith's real wedding took their guests from their ceremony in Malahide to Marlfield House in Wexford, for a celebration that was effortlessly elegant and so laid-back it included a screening of the Champions League Final! (Spoiler: Liverpool won, there was a replica trophy on stand-by!). Creating a day was that was relaxed and entirely personal was the top priority for this pair, as was documenting all the fun with the right photographer. Tara Aherne was charged with the task, and we think you'll agree, she did a pretty stellar job...

Both from Malahide, Aoife and Keith first met in 2008, “I was working as a waitress in one of the local bar and restaurants in Malahide,” recalls the bride, “Keith would come in for food with his friends and over time, we began to notice each other.”

Keith proposed to Aoife in Malta, and the story behind it is beyond thoughtful! “He decided to propose here as this was where my parents had gone on honeymoon. He wanted this to be a nod to my Dad, who had passed away the year before,” explains Aoife. "He subtly proposed in a beautiful restaurant, Quaddro, on the coast on our second day and we celebrated for the rest of the week.”

Looks like there were a few giggles during the ceremony!

We love how this pair summed up their wedding, “The most important thing to us for our wedding was for everyone to have fun! To us, our day was like a massive party with all the people we know and love. We wanted the day to be summery, relaxed and laid back without too many formalities. The décor was fresh and clean without being too manicured.”

Someone knew it was time to put on a show!

Aoife's bridesmaids look so glamorous in navy gowns paired with tops embellished with beading! The ruffle and wrapped front is giving us Hollywood vibes!

As well as having their nearest and dearest around them, there were a few touches that really made the occasion for Keith and Aoife, “The night before our wedding, my maid of honour dropped over my ‘something blue’. It was a small pendant with a photo of my Dad on blue ribbon to tie around my bouquet,” Aoife tells us. "It was such a nice gesture and really personal. My Mum also kindly gave Keith my Dad’s wedding band to wear as his. It fit him perfectly and he always said he would go for something similar.”

Oh to be on that lawn sipping one of these G&Ts right now!

The wedding also happened to coincide with the Champions League Final, “While this was known well in advance, with Liverpool being Keith (and many people at the wedding’s) team, we had to show it,” Aoife tells us. “It really added to our day with celebrations not only for us, but for Liverpool’s triumphant win! We even had a replica cup!”

The bride and groom had two main criteria for their venue search, “As we are both from Dublin and wanted to get married in our home parish, we narrowed our search to within 90 minutes of Malahide. To us, our main prerequisite was to have a venue that would be completely exclusive to us for our special day”.

Fans on each table added a pretty decorative touch, and the white blooms and greenery are refined and elegant yet unfussy.

The pair almost found their venue by accident, “We first noticed Marlfield House when we went to the adjacent Duck Restaurant for lunch one weekend. The house was so beautiful and charming that we called in to see if they hosted weddings. We also never liked the thought of a typical ‘function room’ for the reception and were mesmerised when we saw the dining room in the conservatory. We put down a deposit straight away, it was the one!”

Among the homemade details, Aoife’s sister, Emily, designed all the couple’s invitations, the ceremony booklets and the table plans, “The cake was a real joint home-made effort between family and friends. Finally, one of my best friends drove us down in my car to the venue, we preferred him to a stranger.”

The couple really prioritised finding the right photographer to document the celebrations. “We’ve been told by many who have had their day before us, that the day goes by in an instant so we wanted to make sure we had the best photographs to capture our memories. Aside from our family photos, Tara’s style was so natural and relaxed and she got so many action shots of everyone enjoying themselves.”

The newlyweds advise other couples to plan ahead as much as possible, “Nothing is too soon to book! We booked our venue almost 18 months in advance and this gave us the best chance of all our favourite suppliers being available on our wedding day. All of our first choices were available which really made things easy. Then, coming closer to the big day, all you have to do it confirm, the hard part is done.”

Choosing the guest list wasn’t quite as straight forward as finding the suppliers, “The list can be one of the most contentious and difficult parts of the wedding planning, so we would suggest to pick a number and stick to it as much as you can. Do it early on, so you can enjoy the exciting part of the planning!”

How have we got this far without gushing over Aoife's wedding dress from Sharon Hoey. A sophisticated yet simple slip silhouette, with stunning fabric that looks like it glided as she moved - this is one of those gowns we love on a runway, but looks even more gorgeous on a real life bride!

The band was another element the couple put lots of thought into, “We also wanted to have great music on the night and were delighted with the Luna Boys, they kept the atmosphere going all night!”

We love the sound of this pair’s two-part honeymoon, “We went to Hong Kong and Bali - we booked this through Travel Councillors which was so good as it took the pressure off when we got there. I would recommend it very highly!” says Aoife. “It was nice to go to a city first for the buzz and then relax in Bali. We had the same tour guide for the whole time in Bali who was such a welcome friendly face to see every couple of days.”

Thanks so much Aoife and Keith for sharing your stylish bash with us - and thanks so much to Tara Aherne Photography for sending it our way. See more from their day in the gallery below!