At One Fab Day HQ, there's only one thing we love more than a great wedding, and that's two great weddings! Few of our real weddings couples would attempt such a feat, but Emma and Arran's two-part celebration in Dublin city was a little different. They began with a ceremony and meal for immediate family and close friends, then hosted a massive party at Medley later in the week (with a mini-moon inbetween!) If you haven't already guessed, these guys really know how to have a good time! Livia Figueiredo was there on both days to capture the magic, including a delectable-looking doughnut wedding cake!
This gorgeous pair met at work and bonded over a love of outer space! "Eventually I plucked up the courage and asked Arran if he wanted to go to a talk in the Science Gallery," Emma remembers. "On the same night, a bunch of our work friends went out for beers. We tried to avoid them so we deliberately went to a random pub that we thought no one would find us in. Of course the moment we get to the bar, we run into the work crew!" Despite getting busted by their colleagues, Emma and Arran had their first kiss that night and have been inseparable ever since!
On the morning of the wedding, Emma made a sweet nod to their first date with this gorgeous gift! "I had a jeweller in Amsterdam make cufflinks that were inscribed with the faces of the moon on our first unofficial date and on the date of our wedding." How am I tearing up already? We're only a few pictures in!
Arran popped the question on an unseasonably sunny Monday in March. "When he sent me a text that read, 'Sunshine pints?' I didn’t think anything strange was going on - you have to make the most of the sun in Ireland! He suggested that we go for a walk in Dun Laoghaire, take some pics on our DSLR and reward ourselves with a pint afterwards. We went to the west pier of Dun Laoghaire harbour and as we walked along, I took photos of the sunset. At one point, I stopped to take a photo and turned around to see Arran on one knee holding a ring! The rest is a blur!"
We are absolute suckers for a cute bridal cape!
Emma and Arran decided pretty quickly that a conventional wedding wasn't for them. "We wanted a city wedding that wasn’t traditional," Emma says. "Neither of us were crazy about the idea of a big wedding, so we decided to split it over two days."
They kicked off a week of celebrations by getting married in an intimate ceremony attended by immediate family and close friends, before heading with their posse to Bang restaurant on Merrion Row. "It was so wonderful being able to share our day with our favourite people," Emma says. "Having a small group on the first day meant we could relax and enjoy talking to everyone."
The morning after wedding #1, they jetted off to Barcelona for two days before returning to Dublin for a great big party in city centre venue Medley! "Our main priority was to do things our way," Emma says. "We know some folks prefer a traditional wedding and may have been put off by a set up like ours, but we wouldn’t have changed a thing. We feel we had the best of both worlds by having our closest friends and family with us for the ceremony and then we were able to celebrate even further with the big party."
Emma's wedding-day look featured a custom, tea-length dress by Synan O'Mahony of Irish Bridal Couture (a brand of Roisin Cross Silks), and custom heels by Shoes of Prey. We love the retro cut of the dress, and her royal blue Mary Janes are just so much fun!
The thought of keeping track of suppliers for two weddings is making my head spin, but Emma has a really practical tip for staying organised. "Put a spreadsheet together and track every wedding cost, and update it along the way. For example: Item: Flowers, Supplier: Adonis, Cost: €X, Status: Ordered, delivery scheduled. This was handy for us as we had one place that we could keep referring back to."
The couple dubbed their Day 2 celebrations their "wedding without the boring bits." Emma explains, "we had canapés, champagne, a cake and DJ but kept things light. We had all the speeches on Day 1 so for the reception we both just kept it short and said a few words to thank everyone for coming. We finished a whirlwind week of celebrations with our first dance to the Notorious BIG’s Juicy at 2am, surrounded by all our friends!"
Medley was the perfect spot for the informal 'do they had in mind, Emma says. "We loved the New York-inspired style of the venue with the exposed concrete and copper lighting. Andrew and Chris’s attention to detail was fantastic and they put together a canapé menu that was second to none!"
Emma and Arran moved to Seattle five months after their wedding, so they decided to spend their honeymoon touring the West of Ireland! But the travelling doesn't end there! "We also plan on going to the Caribbean or Hawaii this year once we’re settled!" Emma says.
And that's a wrap! At this point we have to say a massive thank you to Livia Figueiredo for sharing her beautiful images with us, and to Emma and Arran for giving us a peek inside their incredible week-long celebration!
