Some of our avid One Fab Day readers may recall Bryan and Zena's engagement shoot from last year. They were the very worthy winners of a competition of a fab wedding photography competition we ran with the lovely Sona from Inspired By Love. She kindly provided the brilliant prize of a complete wedding photography package including an engagement session. We loved the engagement shoot so much and of course were dying to see the wedding....So here it is. And I think it was worth the wait!
We have become very accustomed to seeing real weddings here at One Fab Day HQ that are jam packed with details. From bunting to circus tents and everything in between. We love seeing weddings with all of the bells and whistles, but sometimes it is nice to see a lovely wedding which has sophistication but isn't caught up in a 'trend' or particular style. Bryan and Zena's wedding is simplicity itself - the coming together of a couple in love, celebrating with friends and family - a total delight to share.
So how did this lucky couple's paths cross? We got all of the details from Zena. "Bryan and I met 13 years ago as fellow musicians, me a singer and he an uilleann piper. His band Shinook were hot stuff at the time, I started doing gigs with the lads and we ended up going out together. I was 16 and him 19 and we have been together since. Our mutual love of music brought us together and we have a lot in common. He is placid and certainly is a calming influence in our relationship as we are opposites in terms of personality though we share the same sense of humour and ultimately have the same goals and thoughts about life."
The couple's adorable little son Dylan, was the ring bearer and Zena sourced a beautiful book safe from Etsy so Dylan could safely carry the rings up the aisle to Mammy and Daddy. Eschewing the typical formal mini-man look, Dylan was kitted out in a very cute suit and a pair of converse to keep it real (how would he face his buddies in school otherwise?!)...We think you have a heart-breaker on your hands Zena!
Zena's bridal style was a mix of old and new, vintage and modern, combining her Dessy dress from Bridal Heaven, with stunning vintage earrings, handmade etsy finds and some good auld high street gems. You can't beat Monsoon!
See all the hard work that goes into those perfect bridal moments??
One of our favourite parts of a real wedding feature is hearing the engagement story, Bryan and Zena's is a gem because it was so long in the making. "There was a long running joke amongst friends as to when we would get engaged as we had been together for so long, and our son Dylan was born in September 2007. That Christmas morning still in bed, Bryan proposed and I promptly gave out telling him if it was a joke it wasn’t funny! He then produced a mock ring and I knew it was real. I was over the moon, though at the time planning a wedding was not even on our radar with a new baby. We only decided to finally go for it last January and made plans to marry in October 2011, which for us was plenty of time, it happened very fast but its completely doable."
We love a man in a suit and little Dylan is no exception. His sweet suit is from Next and from the folks at The Suit and Tux Warehouse.
Considering this lovely pair planned their special day in far less time than the average couple, we were curious to find out how they decided a theme or central idea for the day. "There was no theme, it was all quite relaxed, though the reception room in the Dylan influenced e somewhat as it had no need for much decoration, I took the lilac from the room and added brown and cream and used these colours throughout to create a flow to everything and a subtle uniformity."
With such a short planning time frame, we wondered if there were any major issues that arose while planning everything but this couple had everything under control. "We only had a small number (50) for dinner and found it very hard to find venues that catered for smaller wedding parties. When we came across the Dylan, we knew it looked perfect, and once we made an appointment to meet Barry, the assistant manager, our minds were made up. Nothing was too much trouble and we felt that he totally ‘got’ out vision for our day. The food was fabulous which was very important to us also. The fact that the hotel bears the same name as our son sealed the deal as it was significant to us also and a nice touch."
How sweet are these pictures? Bryan and Zena just look so comfortable in each other's company.
Instead of a table plan, in the drinks reception Zena had peoples names and table number written on card, attached to sticks that were in dainty chocolates. A variation on the escort card idea, it's lovely to see something different rather than a traditional table plan. You could even combine this idea as a table plan and your favours for your guests. Two birds with one stone.
As the couple met through music, it was natural to have it feature quite strongly in their day, having friends play during the ceremony and getting the DJ to stop early to have a ‘session’. As many of the guests including Bryans family are musicians it was great fun for everyone and the hotel staff certainly enjoyed it commenting that it was the best wedding they had ever had in the hotel in terms of atmosphere which Zena says was a lovely compliment to receive.
What was the couples favourite part of the day? Zena found this hard to answer..."I really enjoyed getting ready, the moment my Dad saw me ready to go as everyone got very emotional, the ceremony itself and the speeches were excellent! In fact, there isn’t one particular moment better than another, the whole day was perfect. Having the ceremony and reception in the one venue made everything flow really well, there were no awkward gaps and despite the fact that it was the day of the torrential floods last October and many evening guests were unfortunately unable to make it, it didn’t impact on the day at all."
Zena told us about some of the little touches that she and her Mum put together for the big day. "I made the favours myself, filling IKEA jars with chocolate satin sweets and tying with coordinating ribbon from A.Rubanesque. My mother handmade each invitiation; she lives in Vienna so emailed me pictures of a few different options and we designed them together. She got all of the coordinating envelopes etc. and sent them all to me ready to write and send!"
How delicious do these cupcakes look? We could eat them all! Zena kept with her colour palette in her cake design which were made by Anne Marie from Cakes by Magic but added a personal touch by placing two little bride and groom smurfs as their cake toppers. Bryan is known as ‘Smurf’ to his friends so the sweet little couple on the cake were a big hit with the guests. As a surprise for the groom, the best man Tony presented Bryan with a Les Paul Electric guitar during the speeches as he is an avid Guns’n’Roses fan. What an amazing surprise! Sounds like you picked the right best man.
So any advice from today's bride to brides to be..."I would advise anyone planning a wedding to not get stressed! Only invite who you really want, don’t get bullied into doing what you don’t want to and stick to your guns. I would also recommend considering a weekday wedding. We got married on a Monday and only had 4 people unable to make it to the full day. You can get better value for everything from venue to bands and your guests will make it if they want to be there. We had several people take 3 days off and stayed with us a couple of nights in the hotel and as it wasn’t as busy as it would be at weekends, it felt so intimate. Enjoy the planning, the time flies, its so exciting and above all, enjoy the day!!!"
Thanks so much to Bryan and Zena for sharing their special day with us and of course a huge thank you has to go to Sona from Inspired by Love for providing the amazing prize. I am sure Bryan and Zena are glad they entered the competition now. They will always have these amazing photos to treasure!
All the Wedding Details
Venue: Dylan Hotel, Dublin
Photography: Inspired by Love
Wedding Dress: Bridal Heaven, Swords
Bridesmaids dresses: Concepta Tobin
Shoes: Cinders
Flowers: Petite Fleurs
Groom’s suits: The Suit and Tux Warehouse
Page boy suit: Next
Cake: Cakes by Magic
Makeup: Hayley McGowan
Hair: Claire Allan Hair Design
Wedding Band: Digital DJ’s
