Two words ladies: Jenny Packham. I know for fact that lots of you lovely readers are as big fans as we are. And when Eric from Savo Photography sends me an email saying that a wedding was one of his favourites of the year, and the first picture features a beautiful bride in a gorgeous […]

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Two words ladies: Jenny Packham. I know for fact that lots of you lovely readers are as big fans as we are. And when Eric from Savo Photography sends me an email saying that a wedding was one of his favourites of the year, and the first picture features a beautiful bride in a gorgeous vintage-style Jenny Packham wedding gown the old heart melts...

Chloe and Barry celebrated their wedding in high style at the gorgeous Radisson Farnham Estate in Cavan, but Chloe was a super-smart bride about the budget, so their beautiful wedding is inspiring in so many ways.

Usually, the bride is the one who gives us the low down on the but as it happens, Barry was asked the same question by the Priest, Fr. Noel McConnell and this was what he told him... "So the story of how love's young dream got together goes something like this: In September 2005 I moved to Bristol for the final year of my degree. 14 of us in total moved over (most of whom were present on our wedding day). Chloe at the time had a part time job in a Bristol bar with her friend Jo, (who was one of the bridesmaids). This particular night, Halloween night and 6 years to the day before we got married, Jo found a penny on the floor and wished for an Irish rugby team to walk into the pub. And in we all arrived, not quite rugby players, but we were Irish and we all hit it off with the two girls. Over the next few months we would go out as a group and myself and Clo basically spent this time sussing each other out! Not quite sure what it was at the time but I knew there was something special about Chloe... (of course Clo felt the same!) Eventually in Feb 2006 we starting going out...

...My course finished in June 2006, everyone moved home and I decided to stay on to see how things would develop. I would say by this stage I was 99% sure that this girl was for keeps. I worked some part time jobs in Bristol but eventually the time came to move back home and get a real job, which I did in November 2006. We made the decision that Clo would give up her job and move to Dublin in January 2007, to see how it would go...

Obviously this was all very quick and we did have a lot of ups and downs for the next little while, but one thing which we did get right from the start was how open we are with each other and this has, and still does, make us stronger as a couple. The rest is history as they say and we have gone from strength to strength ever since."

One of the most common questions we get asked by brides is about creating a look for their day, how to make everything work together, and the key to this is having a central idea - one thing that epitomises your look. In Chloe's case her beautiful Jenny Packham gown was the core idea, as she said herself "Once I had bought it, everything simply had to tie in with it, as I thought it was just so incredible." So the bridal party had a beautiful soft grey and purple palette, including these aubergine bridesmaids gowns made to measure at Light In The Box. They belie the whole "don't buy dresses online" line you hear from everyone. It was a risk but for Chloe, her dress budget was "kind of blown on the wedding dress, but my bridesmaids dresses turned out to be excellent quality and incredible value."

While ogling that gorgeous wedding gown, we need to hear the rest of the love story - what about the proposal? "We went to Belfast for my birthday. While there, we were looking at rings in a jewellery shop window for ‘when the time came’. Window shopping lead to wandering inside. Which lead to a bit of trying on for size. Which lead to ‘Oooooh….let’s just do this!’ Which lead to champagne and a few tears…not about the price of the ring I’m assured." Aw... It's so true about the best things being unplanned...

A few moments of contemplation before the ceremony. Chloe, while she looks calm, felt far from it, so she has some advice for other brides about this "I know it’s such a clichÃ©, but I wish I could do it all again knowing what I know now — which is that ultimately everything will be fine and there’s nothing at all to worry about. I felt quite tense during the morning of the wedding especially, and looking back I wish I had felt a little more relaxed and serene."

And a special swoon must be reserved for Chloe's 30s style hair and make-up, a subtle updo that complements her

Then off to the ceremony in a vintage car, looking like one of the Ladies in Downton Abbey, Chloe has this "bride" thing down perfectly...

The entire ceremony was just perfect. The Priest was so jolly and kept everyone involved and the music was beautiful — it felt like a true celebration. But the top moment for me was without doubt walking down the aisle, it was magical. Barry said that his top moment was watching me walk down the aisle, he felt very emotional.

Just a short drive to their grand reception...

The Radisson Farnham Estate, which combines a beautifully restored "Big House" with luxurious modern facilities and lots of space, was the perfect choice for the grand old school glamour of Chloe and Barry's celebration - "We wanted somewhere big enough to accommodate both of our large families and also somewhere with a bit of a ‘wow factor’ and our venue achieved both of these things I think. I’m so glad we went with the Farnham Estate, as the Bridal suite and the old House really suited the tone of the wedding and looked great in the photos. Also, the food was beautiful; there were lots of positive comments about it."

But don't be fooled by these beautiful portraits, everyone might have been perfectly poised for the photos with Eric from Savo Photography, but they were ready to let their hair down and party especially treating the new English side of the family to a real hooley"We wanted a few traditional Irish elements as I’m English and my whole (enormous) family came over to Ireland for the wedding. I thought they’d feel a bit cheated if they didn’t experience at least a bit of Ceili Music or traditional Dancing."

Being a good hosts to their guests was incredibly important to Chloe and Barry, especially having so many travel to far to celebrate with them. "I told myself that the two things I never wanted my guests to be were bored or hungry — because they are two of the things that I hate being the most. This idea seemed to work really well and everybody was on a complete high all day. We had lots of entertainment and stuffed them all to the gills!"

So any final words of wisdom for those planning their wedding at the moment? "I would advise to allocate their budget wisely - I really tried to get the best bang for my buck. For example, I shelled out on my dress, flowers, hair and make-up and an excellent photographer as this is how I felt I would achieve the most beautiful memories. I saved on bridesmaids dresses, shoes and jewellery & accessories as I felt I could still achieve a great overall effect without spending hundreds on these things. I made my own wedding stationery, except for the invites which were made by a family friend, and am lucky enough to have a very talented uncle who created my cake."

Judging by these beautiful image by Savo Photography, Chloe and Barry made all the right choices...

Big Congrats Barry and Chloe, hope 2012 is as exciting and fabulous as 2011 obviously was, and huge thanks to Eric from Savo Photography for sharing his beautiful work with us.