The most special weddings we feature are very often those that involved friends and family making huge contributions in terms of time and effort in helping the happy couple. Today's beautiful real wedding feature about Kate and Damien's Lisnavagh wedding is just such an example. From the bouquets of hydrangea to the homemade cake, Kate's […]

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The most special weddings we feature are very often those that involved friends and family making huge contributions in terms of time and effort in helping the happy couple. Today's beautiful real wedding feature about Kate and Damien's Lisnavagh wedding is just such an example. From the bouquets of hydrangea to the homemade cake, Kate's handmade wedding dress to their beloved Fiat 500 was filled with lovely personal touches so we're delighted to show you Siobhan Byrne's gorgeous pictures of a beautiful day...

Kate and Damien chose to celebrate in one of my favourite venues in the whole of Ireland - Lisnavagh. "We wanted to find somewhere on neutral ground (I’m from Dublin, he’s from Galway and we live in London). We both love the Wicklow mountains and used to spend a lot of time up there, so we decided to look for somewhere in Wicklow. I googled “get married in Wicklow” and in spite of being in Carlow, Lisnavagh was the first hit. We went to see it and fell for its easy, relaxed atmosphere and homely feel...

...The beautiful grounds and views were a bonus, along with the fact that between the main house, cottages and a couple of B&Bs we could sleep around 45 people on the estate. Makes for a good, long-lasting party!"

Kate and Damien didn't choose a theme per se, but when did have an overall look in mind, that was very romantic, homemade and personal and blue featured heavily, as it's Damien’s favourite colour, and because it matched the sapphires in Kate's engagement ring, and because Kate really wanted blue hydrangeas.I love how there was a little confession about the bouquets because apparently "many of the hydrangeas were pilfered from friends’ gardens!"

Kate's beautiful sheath dress is a one-off made created by her friend Siobhan of Arch Couture "Siobhan designed and made my dress (and a spare in black silk for when the dancefloor got messy!) and made it such a joy. I’ve never worn anything so luxurious and comfortable and me! She got it spot on."

And how cool are her bronze snakeskin heels from Kurt Geiger - a really cool contrast and edge to a very romantic dress.

So the wedding party departed Lisnavagh for the ceremony in St. Nicholas of Myra church in nearby Dunlavin where Damien awaited his bride patiently.

Kate and Damien are very attached to their little Fiat 500 (an original one, not those new fandangled yokes!) The car was a running theme through the invitations (and other stationery), speeches, and much of the rest of the day. "She’s a temperamental old Italian lady and probably caused the most drama and stress in the run up to the day, but she’s so full of personality and joy that we couldn’t leave her out! I think she kind of stole the show."

The happy couple returned to Lisnavagh in the little Fiat 500 without mishap and enjoyed a few minute together strolling round the house and grounds with Siobhan Byrne having their portraits taken. Lisnavagh offers a multitude of opportunities from the beautiful reception rooms still very much used by the family, to the grounds with their ancient trees (have you ever heard of the famous bunbury boards?)

For the reception Kate and Damien enlisted so many friends and family members to put that personal stamp on the day..."My friend Anna did all our stationery art, at very short notice, and seemed to know exactly what we wanted. My mum, her friend Breda, and my sister-in-law Marion did all the flowers, bouquets and button holes. Friends and family made the cakes, meringues and cookies. Damien, my dad and my sister Ruth got stuck into covering jam jars with string, making paper pom poms and decorating the marquee."

Another lovely personal touch was the scrummy wedding feast "We both love good, tasty, simple food, and our wonderful caterer and my wonderful butcher in London, and our great friends and family hooked us up with a delicious feast which we served family style at each table, encouraging everyone to get stuck in and get chatting. And of course, there was the obligatory bottle of Buckfast for the Galway boy."

Dreamy. So any words of advice from your own experience as a bride? "Relax! The less you plan in minute detail, the less can go wrong!"

I think Kate has one of the loveliest answers to my usual question about what her favourite moment of the day was - it's a succinct summation that reads like a little montage playing before your eyes..."Saying our vows and remembering what this whole party was about was pretty great. I really loved when my brother and sister sang us a song at the end of the ceremony — I bawled! We both loved when the car’s engine actually started when we went to leave the church. I loved the speeches. I loved tearing up the dancefloor with our best friends and nuts families. But really we just loved the whole day, and how friendly and warm and relaxed and fun it was. It’s not often you get to spend a whole day with almost everyone you love!"

Huge thanks to Kate and Damien for sharing their day with us, and to Siobhan Byrne for allowing us to feature her beautiful imagery, of which there's lots more to see over on www.siobhanbyrnephotography.com