Having a formal dress code doesn't mean you have to stick to formalities on your wedding day, as proven by this real wedding couple. Natacha and Andrew managed to create a sophisticated black tie look for their wedding while embracing and encouraging a fun and relaxed atmosphere for their guests to celebrate. Natacha schooled us in contemporary bridal style, with her cool winter wedding cover up and gorgeous winter bouquet, and Andrew looked so dapper in his black tux! Their Tankardstown House winter wedding was just plain gorgeous from start to finish, and so beautifully captured by Forever Social.

Natacha and Andrew met how many modern couples do - on a dating app. Natacha was initially unsure of her feelings for Andrew, not believing the pair were compatible but after a few conversations, her nervousness subsided. "On our first date, Natacha explained she could only meet for two hours as she had an 'event' at 8pm, an excuse in case she didn't like me," Andrew reveals. However, the date lasted much longer, with the pair sharing their first kiss at the end of the night in a tube station in London!

Andrew pulled out all the stops when it came to the proposal. As the pair were on holiday in Gstaad, Andrew planned for them to go hiking to the top of a Swiss mountain where they enjoyed a meal in a log cabin-style restaurant on the side of the cliff. With a photographer arranged to capture the moment, Andrew tricked Natacha into believing they were heading off on a hot air balloon ride. Arriving at the peak, Natacha spotted an outdoor seating area by the restaurant and suggested they walk down to take pictures. When they got there, as Natacha was busy posing for pictures, Andrew was getting down on one knee. "I was completely surprised and it was a very romantic moment," Natacha reminisces.

The pair had originally wanted to get married in Barcelona but that wasn't proving popular with their families. With Natacha, half-American, half-Danish, who grew up in Belgium and Luxemburg, marrying Dublin native Andrew, her family had hoped for an Irish wedding with all the traditions that go along with it. "A lot of our international guests were disappointed that it wasn't going to be an Irish wedding, including Natacha's mum," the pair tell us. "Andrew insisted that if it was to be an Irish wedding, it would have to be at Christmas time as you can't ever plan for good weather. At least, at Christmas, there would be decorations and a festive atmosphere."

They ended up choosing Tankardstown House as their venue as it ticked all the right boxes for them. "Not only is the venue classy and chic, we knew it would be cosy during Christmas time as we had seen the beautiful decorations they typically put up. On top of that, the food is absolutely amazing. We're not big fans of traditional wedding food but when we tasted the food at Tankardstown, we were blown away. The staff were so lovely, which made a big difference to us. With some wedding venues that we visited, we felt like we would be another couple in their conveyor belt wedding business, while at Tankardstown we felt there was scope to make our day feel special."

Natacha and Andrew asked their guests to wear formal attire but that, they say, is where the formalities ended. "It was a very intimate, personal and relaxed day. While we did incorporate a few traditions - the white dress, walking down the aisle, the speeches - we also did away with others. For example, we sat facing our guests during the ceremony rather than having our backs to them. We wanted it to be a celebration and not a 'boring' ceremony." The couple also wanted to keep their guest list relatively small with 75 people there so they could spend more time with them individually. "We also decided against a top table and instead organised a seating plan that would allow us to sit at a different table for each meal to ensure we had enough time to speak with all of our guests."

We can all agree that Natacha looks drop-dead stunning in her contemporary Alyssa Kristin gown, which featured a chic fitted silhouette, with mesh V-shaped cutouts to the sides, and a dramatic train.

When it came to entertainment, the newlyweds also went against the grain and opted against a wedding band, instead enlisting the help of their talented guests to provide entertainment. From Irish dancing to singing, it was a family affair!

As for advice for other couples, Natacha and Andrew narrowed it down to three points; "Put the time in to do your research and work out what will make the day memorable to you. Plan it together as a couple, otherwise, the wedding could end up just being a reflection of one person's dream. And finally, don't worry about tradition. If you aren't into it, do what feels right for you."

Thanks so much to our couple Natacha and Andrew for sharing a look at their gorgeous wedding and to Forever Social for capturing their day so beautifully. Make sure to visit the gallery below to see more.

You'll find lots more winter wedding inspiration here!