Pretty in Pink at the K-Club: Laura + Shane

A sunny summer wedding with clever little warm weather wedding ideas.

Real wedding couple Laura and Shane were married on a beautiful day at the height of Summer at the K Club, where I'd say they hadn't quite seen a wedding like it. Laura got pretty creative with fun personal touches to make sure all the guests enjoyed the day and felt relaxed in such opulent surroundings. In the end, the sun shone so much that the parasols were out, the guests were laughing and the happy couple enjoyed the most memorable day, which was all captured by Nicola Webster.

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (14)

I actually know Laura a little through my previous work, and met her in the Spring when she was still in the middle of planning, so it was brill to see how her wedding turned out.

The  bridal party started the day in relaxed surroundings, great for settling the nerves for the day ahead "I loved the getting ready part that morning with my 3 beautiful bridesmaids Clare, Michelle and Cashel in my family home in Howth. It was really relaxing and fun!" before moving on to St Brigid's Church in Straffan where the groom and guests awaited the beautiful bride with baited breath...

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (1)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (2)

But before the vows are made, we need to know how this love story started, so Laura filled us in "Shane and I met in the summer of 2002 in Cape Cod on our J1s. I was there with 13 girls. Living across the road were a group of guys from Cork - including Shane. We met on our first night on the Cape and the rest is history!"

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (3)

And the proposal was just 12 months ago... "Shane brought me away for the weekend to Mount Juliet in November 2010 as a surprise. He isn’t the most romantic type so that really surprised me… I had a little moment (!) when he told me he was bringing me away for a surprise. (Sorry Shane…). I then checked to see if a bottle of champagne we had stored away for a special occasion was still in our apartment... it was so that calmed me down. Shane later told me he knew I’d look for the champagne and that’s why he didn’t pack it. How well he knows me…

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (4)

Once we arrived he gave me a gorgeous card with mushy details that will remain between us (or I may soon be divorced). When I finished reading the card he was down on one knee in front of me! I was very shocked… We had a gorgeous time there and 10days later we went off to New York to pick my ring out together." Mount Juliet and the Big Apple - this boy has Laura spoiled altogether, not to mention setting the bar super-high for the rest of the lads...

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (5)

After the ceremony, a special treat was in wait for the guests...

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (6)

An ice cream van! "I would tell anyone thinking of ordering an ice cream van to go for it. It was the best money we spent on the day and all our guests loved it...

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (7)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (8)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (9)

...It also meant that we got to chat to everyone outside of the church and so disappearing for our photos while they were enjoying the champagne reception didn’t bother us."

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (19)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (13)

So the happy couple got to enjoy their first moments as a married couple together in peace and quiet, exploring the pastoral surroundings of the K Club - personally having not been there, I had no idea the venue enjoyed such peaceful pastures and meadows, perfect for those wedding portraits.

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (14)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (15)

Choosing the K Club for the wedding reception was a little bit of a forgone conclusion... "My brother and sister both got married in Straffan and had their receptions in the K Club. When we got engaged I was determined to not follow suit and get married there. But after viewing a few places nothing else measured up to The K Club in our mind and so we booked in. We knew we wanted to have a ‘Day 2 BBQ’, be convenient for our Dublin and Cork guests, and we also wanted as many guests to be able to stay at the same venue as us. Those reasons, along with many more made the K Club an obvious choice."

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (16)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (17)

Laura and Shane didn't start out with a particular colour scheme or theme in mind, but as always, one thing starts the ball rolling and it just goes from there. "I really wanted the bridesmaids dresses to be a little different and once we decided on the three pinks, the colours we then chose throughout the rest of the day obviously had to blend in with them!  We wanted people to feel relaxed. The K club is a formal venue but we wanted people to feel at ease and relaxed for the weekend which I think we accomplished." 

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (18)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (20)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (21)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (12)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (22)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (23)

The devil is in the detail as they say, and when it comes to a beautifully put-together wedding, it's those little extra touches that make it all come together. Lucky Laura could call on some talents to help..."I am lucky enough to work in an advertising agency surrounded by creative types who helped me (well I helped them more like…) with my stationery, and little touches like cupcake flags. My good friend Jackie Smyth designed the invites, mass booklets, menu cards and table plan.The very talented Sheena McDonald from Fancies and Frills made so many things for us. The gorgeous 'Stanleys’ champagne stirrers for the reception, the mini flags for all our cupcakes and also the lovely surprise of the trailing tin cans for when we drove away from the church. I don’t know what I would have done without them both!" Other great touches were the men's cufflinks - one cuff had a map of Cork on it; the other a map of Cape Cod, in honour of where the couple met.  And a special word for Laura's Mama "Mum made the best bathroom baskets for the ladies and gents. She thought of everything to go in them."

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (24)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (25)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (26)

We ordered little ceramic love hearts from The White Company that doubled as favours and place names. I wrote guests names on each and sprayed them with lavender so the room smelt lovely.

Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (27)
Nicola Webster - Laura and Shane (28)

So what was your favourite part of the day? "The church was definitely my favourite part of the day. Everything from Dad walking me down to aisle, to seeing Shane for the first time, the beautiful music and of course the actual ceremony itself. Fr Joe Beere celebrated the mass. He has been a friend of my family’s for over 40 years and knows both of us well which really added to the day for us."

And any advice for future brides and grooms?  "Try to get as much done early in the process as you can. I was (quite!) organised from the beginning and booked lots of things early in the process which meant we could really enjoy the run up to the wedding."

Huge thanks to Laura and Shane for sharing their day with us and to Nicola Webster for sharing her beautiful images with us - if you like what you see, there's lots more gorgeousness over on her website www.nicolawebster.com

All the Wedding Details

Ceremony: St Brigid's Church, Straffan

Wedding Reception: The K Club, Straffan

Wedding Dress: The Town Bride

Bridesmaids dresses: Impression Bridal. Purchased in USA

Bridal Shoes: Prada

Bridesmaids' Shoes: Kurt Geiger

Bridesmaid's Earrings: erinmcdermott.com

Flowers: Mad Flowers

Groom(smen)’s suits: Magee Menswear, Wicklow St

MakeupAlyson Smyth

Hair: Joan Redmond

Paperie/Stationery: Frills and Fancies

Cupcakes: Daisy Chain

Wedding Favours: The White Company

Flower Girl Dresses: Nordstrom, USA

Hairbands: Accessorize

Photobooth: PhotoBooth.ie

Ice Cream Van: Harrys Ices

Church Music: Ingrid Madsen

Wedding Band: The Long John Jump Band

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