Hope your Monday is going well ladeez and gents? This afternoon's gorgeous real wedding is guaranteed to add to the shiny mood that this gorgeous weather is putting us all in. Claire and Conor were married last summer in the beautiful surrounds of Donegal, celebrating in style in a marquee by the shores of Lough Swilly.

With a soft summery palette, lovely scenery, great atmosphere and a couple very much in love, this real wedding is a real treat for the senses and we're very grateful to photographer extraordinaire David McClelland for sharing his gorgeous images with us today...

So first of all we need to know how the grand love story started... "We met in Buncrana where Conor is stationed as a Garda. His station was right next door to the chemist where I worked and Conor used to come in to buy all his bits in pieces. Allegedly I ignored him when he first tried to speak with me. Over time we got to know each other’s names and we got together on a night out in Buncrana and the rest is history. I just loved a man in uniform!"

And how did the proposal go down? "Conor proposed at home, after we had been out for a meal but the Restaurant was too packed so he decided to do when we got home, over a bottle of wine… watching supernanny, how romantic!"

Claire didn't want a particular colour scheme for the wedding, though as usual with these things, a subtle look did start to emerge as items were picked. The final look centred around her favourite colour, blue. For her bridesmaids she chose full-length gowns in a light and airy tiffany blue, complemented by blush toned bouquets, while the groomsmen wore grey suits with ties of the same shade of blue. The colour of the vintage Citroen DS used by the couple as wedding car was a complete coincidence, having been lent by family friend Gerry Woods for the occasion. It matched perfectly though!

A brief moment of pause outside the church before joining Conor on the altar...

I love this shot. (just thought you all should know...)

Proving that sunshine isn't essential for fabulous wedding photos, Mr. David McClelland does his magic in the fields of Donegal, and captured the happy couple and wedding party looking relaxed, comfortable and oh-so-happy...

And it's not just me that has a high opinion of David McClelland's wedding photography, Claire and Connor were full of praise..."What can I say, he captured our wedding day so perfectly. What we didn’t want was a photographer telling us to stand here and stand there. We actually didn’t know he was there, he just blended into the background capturing whole the day. We can’t stop looking at our wedding album…it just tells the story of the day."

After all that posing, it was off to the awaiting wedding party at the Red Door, where a very special surprise had been arranged "Our two dogs Oscar and Bobby made a surprise appearance at the reception. They were waiting to greet us as we arrived. Very thoughtful of our dog sitter John!"

"From day one Conor and I knew we didn’t want a hotel wedding, we had been at so many weddings in the same venues it felt to us that every wedding was similar. We always knew we wanted something different. The venue we chose was the Red Door  located in Fahan only a few miles from our home in Buncrana. 

It was originally a country house/restaurant. It closed for a number of years so after it re-opened we booked dinner for Valentine’s night and we both agreed that if we ever got married that it be the perfect place for our reception. It’s a beautiful private country house, looking over Lough Swilly with magnificent views of Inch Island.

 So when we got engaged there was only one place we wanted to have it, the only problem was that they couldn’t cater for the 200 guests we planned on having, so there was only one option and that was to find a marquee company. After searching long and hard we found a company in Castlebar called Carnival Marquees. We couldn’t recommend them more highly, they arrived the Wednesday before the wedding to erect the marquee and the manager Derek even slept in his lorry cabin until the wedding was over just in case anything went wrong. The day was perfect. We couldn’t have asked for better." Now that's dedication! So Carnival Marquees come very highly recommended there for any of you folks looking to have a marquee wedding!

Claire also made sure to put her own personal stamp on things, with a little extra special help from her sister "I made the wedding invitations, which I do in my spare time, also I did a naming tree which had the name of each guest on a little wooden heart with their table number on it. My sister made the beautiful wedding cake, the first of many hopefully as everyone raved about it!"

So what advice would you have for other couples in the middle of planning? "It’s your day, do it your way! If you want something different, go for it. And make sure to relax and enjoy your day. The whole marquee wedding hadn’t been done in our area before or at The Red Door for that fact but it was what we wanted and even though our family and friends were a bit skeptical and unsure. When we saw the marquee erected we couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. When the day was over all our family and friends said it was the best wedding they’d ever been too. Also the great weather was a great help, all the guests felt they were in another country."

A few special words go out to the wedding band that had all the guests on the floor: Hard to Handle from Derry. "Fantastic band, they got the guests dancing after the first two songs, the floor never emptied. They can sing anything from Amy Winehouse to Kings of Leon, they also did the Disco."

So all that remains now is to wish Claire and Conor a very happy married life together, and to thank them both very heartily for sharing their beautiful day with us.

If that wasn't enough for you, and you yearn for more pretty - make sure to check out David McClelland's blog for more gorgeous images and lots more of his lovely work. Especially important for you brides and grooms-to-be who haven't yet picked your photographer!

All the Wedding Details

Ceremony: St.Mura's Church, Fahan

Reception: The Red Door Co.Donegal

Photographer: Dave Mc Clelland

Dress: Pronovias @ Mc Elhinney's Bridal Rooms

Bridesmaids dresses: Una Rodden Couture, Buncrana & Belfast

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Hair: Karen Porter

Make-Up: Margaret @ The Seagrass, Inishowen Gateway Hotel

Flowers: Patricia Mc Cormick

Accessories: Bridemaids Shoes by Jimmy Choo  & Manolo Blahnik

Cake Topper - Made by Cake Toppers Ireland

Cake: Bride's sister Lisa

Grooms suit: Remus Uomo

Groomsmen’s Suits: Mc Elhinney's

Cars:  Vintage Sky Blue Citroen DS

Stationery:  Claire's Creations

Ceremony music: Geraldine & Bernard Doherty

Harpist: Michaela Dorrity

Wedding Band: Hard 2 Handle

DVD: TinyArk