Today's real wedding is the perfect blend of modern style and vintage glamour and makes for a truly cool celebration, embellished with the warm hues of autumn. Lucy and Shane's picture-perfect wedding came after months of reorganising to adhere to Covid restrictions but in the end, they had their dream day all in the gorgeous surrounds of Ballyseede Castle in Tralee. Just check out White Cat Studio's incredible photo album to see for yourself.

Lucy and Shane's love story started the way many Irish love stories do - during Fresher's Week of college. "We met in 2007 in my first year of college," Lucy told us. "I was outside the nightclub Cubin's in Cork after being dragged out by one of my best friends as she was meeting a girl in her class. Well, the girl in her class also brought a friend - Shane. Within minutes of meeting, the girls had disappeared and we were thrown together and we have been pretty much inseparable ever since."

Ten years later, Shane surprised Lucy with a ring while on a trip to Minneapolis. "I had booked a trip to see my favourite band The Smashing Pumpkins at their reunion tour," Lucy explained. "Minneapolis is part of the Twin Cities with St Paul where the creator of 'Peanuts' was born. I was actually named after Lucy Van Pelt so I really wanted to see the statues of the characters. Shane had planned to propose there but when we arrived, they were under construction so we couldn't see them. When we got back to our hotel room, Shane dropped to his knee - it was such a huge shock even after almost 11 years, I thought he was having a stroke! It was just the two of us so we celebrated together and didn't tell anyone until we came home a few days later."

In a year when so much was uncertain, Lucy and Shane worried that their wedding day would never happen. "The most important thing was to get married, with restrictions looming just days before our big day, we didn't even care if it was just the two of us," Lucy admitted. "Fortunately, we didn't have to go down that route but we still wanted to make sure everyone would have a great day."

And when it came to choosing a venue for their Covid wedding, Lucy and Shane knew Ballyseede Castle was the perfect place thanks to its blend of old-school romance and modern sophistication. "Everything about Ballyseede was just phenomenal," Lucy gushed. "From driving up to the castle to the variety of aesthetics of the medieval stone room, the beautiful Georgian décor, and the modern reception room. As soon as we left, we knew we wanted to put the deposit down. And even with all the restrictions being introduced in the weeks coming up to the big day, the staff there had us both at ease every time we called them."

But it wasn't just the venue that Lucy was sure about the minute she saw - as the owner of bridal boutique Bella Bleu Vintage Bridal in Cork, she also knew she'd found her perfect dress as soon as she'd seen it. "The dress was definitely one of my top priorities but I knew my dress the minute I saw it... five years before we got married," she told us. "It was an original 1980s vintage gown (aptly renamed Midge in honour of Barbie’s best friend!) with a full ruffled skirt, big puffy sleeves, and a high collared neck. It had the most beautiful rose lace detail that caught my eye immediately and in the end, the only change that I made to the dress was removing the high neck and lace on the shoulders - the rest was completely original."

In the end, despite all the changes and stress that came with the pandemic, the couple had the day they had always dreamed of. "It was the best day ever," Lucy beamed. "Honestly, it was beyond anything we hoped for and after all the stress and disappointments of the restrictions, lockdowns, and general 2020 vibes, just to make it to the big day was amazing! Even though we didn't get the big 180-guest wedding we had planned, all 25 of our guests that were able to come genuinely wanted to be there and the love in the room was simply surreal!"

When reflecting on their magical day, Lucy and Shane fill us in on their stand-out moments and memories, "We took the option to do a first look, and I couldn’t recommend it enough, it put us both at ease and was lovely to spend that time together in the midst of that wedding craziness," Lucy reminisces.

"There were also so many wonderful elements that our loved ones did for us, from our home-made cakes that looked like real pumpkins, a tiered wedding cookie cake and a doughnut tower too.  My other fabulous friend Annie painted a vintage black leather aviator jacket that I have had for years with flowers and pumpkins in honour of our Halloween wedding. One of my best friends/bridesmaids is based in New Zealand so couldn’t travel, but took the week off work to acclimatise to the Irish time zones, and zoomed in from the very beginning of the morning (and got ready with us – full makeup and dress) and stayed going all day and late into the night, and so much more.  My other bridesmaid Brigid and her husband live streamed the whole ceremony and some of the meal for our family and friends who couldn’t make it.  My super talented Friend Elaine helped massively with my dress and as a wedding present embroidered the lyrics of our first dance along the train – as two music lovers that was just so amazing to me."

And as couples continue to face the uncertainty of Covid times, Lucy and Shane have some very important advice to share. "No matter how stressful things get," they said, "try not to lose sight of what's really important and that is marrying your best friend. Also, trust your decisions, your vision, and your suppliers!"

Thanks so much to today's couple Lucy and Shane for sharing their fun-filled wedding day with us and to White Cat Studio for being there to capture the romance.