Today's real wedding is filled with the kind of happy, laid-back vibes that will leave you smiling all day. Niamh & Declan have known each other since they were kids, so their wedding day was always going to be one big celebration. After initially looking into a destination wedding, the couple opted for the exact opposite, a fuss-free Dublin bash that was something of an ode to their home city. With a ceremony at Smock Alley and a reception at House Dublin, Darek Novak Photography documented the vows, the pints, the party, and the fun stroll through town along the way.

Niamh & Declan may not have officially got together until they were in their twenties, but if you ask us, this pair are bona fide childhood sweethearts, “Declan and I lived down the road from each other and were in the same class in primary school for the first few years,” Niamh tells us. “We went to each other's birthday parties as kids, and dated for a few months when we were teenagers. We met again when we were 22 and went for a drink to ‘catch-up’.”

Declan popped the question the day the couple arrived home from a trip to Lisbon, “Later on we went for dinner in one of our favourite restaurants, Kinara in Clontarf. Declan proposed afterwards on the seafront.”

The couple decided to have a humanist ceremony and needed just the right setting to make it personal, “We really liked the history behind Smock Alley Theatre and it's a beautiful building.”

The couple’s gorgeous dog made it in time to catch the vows! “We had adopted a boxer, Georgia, from the DSPCA the year before and were delighted she made an appearance after the ceremony!”

The couple tell us they had a loose theme for their wedding, based around Dublin, “Our friend Stephen is a graphic designer and he sourced a Dublin skyline image and edited it to suit us. We included this on our wedding stationery. We are both pretty fond of pints of Guinness so we our table names were our favourite Guinness pubs in Dublin."

Niamh's bridesmaids wore beautiful sea green dresses with one shoulder and a wrap style skirt - they pair perfectly with the blush and white blooms. And how gorgeous is Niamh's own dress - we're big fans of the embroidered top and breezy skirt combo!

The unique drinks reception was a highlight of the day for the bride and groom, “After popping into a pub by ourselves to let it all sink in, Declan and I joined the rest of the guests for a pitstop pint in Kehoe's on South Anne St. We were all outside in the sunshine having the craic and our friends Eoin & Rónán played a few tunes. It was hard to drag ourselves away! We strolled up through St. Stephen's Green for a few snaps.”

Love the idea of an informal drinks reception like this one!

The couple initially started their venue search abroad, “But after a trip to Spain to look at venues, we figured it was too much hassle,” explains Niamh. “So instead we went the complete other direction and thought a wedding in town would be fun. We saw both Smock Alley Theatre and House on One Fab Day so we popped into town for a look and booked them straight away.” Woohoo, so glad we could help!

You can almost here the 'ding ding' of the Luas - these portraits by Darek Novak capture the relaxed, candid feel of the day so well.

A close-up of Niamh's pretty bouquet with blousy blooms and trailing foliage.

For their reception, the bride and groom found another cool city centre backdrop, “We loved House with its different areas and thought it would be lovely to be able to eat outside in the garden/glasshouse area in the summer.”

The couple added simple personal touches to their reception, “We had a few photos of us together as kids dotted around the reception venue. We had a little photobooth area with a Polaroid camera and Declan made the frame for people to hang their pictures on. This is a great reminder of the day to have on display in our house.”

The cool outside-in space at House meant the couple didn't have to add much decoration.

Niamh & Declan have practical advice for other couples getting started with their wedding planning, “Use Google sheets for everything - guest lists, addresses table plan, budget. Both of you can access the sheets, and make changes which are saved automatically. It is way more efficient than pen and paper.”

This looks like one fun day! Thanks so much to Niamh & Declan for sharing the story behind their city wedding with us, and of course to Darek Novak for sending the beautiful images our way!