A Valentine's Day Wedding in Dublin City: Sinéad & Lorcan

Chic style and lots of Guinness!

If you’re looking for city wedding inspiration that is simple and understated, yet oh-so-elegant and a whole lotta fun, then you'll love this real wedding! Sinéad and Lorcan's wedding captured by Wonder & Magic was an effortlessly chic Valentines Day celebration in the city that was all about LOVE. Their day started with an unforgettable ceremony at Dublin's City Hall, before the couple and their guests headed to The Guinness Storehouse for a revelrous dinner reception with their nearest and dearest, but not before a stop-off in a beloved pub for a pint (and a glass) of the 'Black Stuff'! We sincerely hope you have as much fun poring over this gorgeous Valentine's Day wedding as we did!

Sinéad tells us that she met Lorcan through work, "we met through work in 2016 and kept in touch. We celebrate our official anniversary on the first game of the Six Nations each year."

Lorcan decided to pop the question on their second anniversary of dating. "It was on that second anniversary that Lorcan proposed at home in our apartment. He had the ring and had told our parents and some of our closest friends the plan," Sinéad says. "We celebrated the rest of the day, despite Ireland losing (which they also did the day we officially started going out), with our friends and family."

When it came to choosing their ceremony venue, it was a no-brainer for the couple,"we didn't look at anything else besides City Hall. We wanted a Dublin wedding and didn't look any further because it's perfect and had availability. City Hall is beautiful and historic. It was exactly how we pictured our ceremony."

Sinéad describes the couple's vision for their wedding day as, "we wanted a big, fun, but chilled-out party and that's the vibe we got. We wouldn't describe ourselves as big on attention to detail so we were pretty calm about everything; and just excited to see people and start our married life with them."

Sinéad and Lorcan's wedding was super personalised, reflecting all aspects of their relationship and that meant including their family and friends in everything. "It was beyond anything we could have thought of. We had asked four close friends to do our readings but also to introduce themselves and say a bit about our relationship with them. Niall, Alan, Shane and Vanessa went far above that direction and made the entire ceremony so intimate and special. Our friend Mary Kate Geraghty sang, accompanied by the Tiny Quartet, and it was magical. She had been involved in all the wedding planning but her beautiful voice elevated each and every song we chose."

Sinéad's advice to engaged couples is simply, "take recommendations on board. It will save you time and you won't worry about the outcome. We did this for everything from the photographer to the celebrant (Terry Hegarty - a recommendation we can now gladly pass on). We also didn't do anything for the sake of it - we left out some things because we felt they weren't necessary and we could use our budget and time elsewhere."

"We were both clear that we wanted a city centre wedding and everything flowed from there. We didn't want to do a huge amount of shopping around for things so we took recommendations on board quickly and seriously. It made planning much more straightforward to take trusted friends' recommendations. We set ourselves a savings target and stuck to it. The biggest changes were not eating out or takeaway as much; and Sinead didn't buy any new clothes for about 11 months (Christmas meant she didn't get the full year!). The General Election was called four weeks before the wedding and with Sinead's job, this left no time to relax or think about little details."

Sinéad's looked absolutely sensational as a bride! Her chic wedding dress was by Agata Wojtkiewicz and her veil is by Maria Feikh both sourced at bridal boutique, The White & Gold in Kinsale, Co. Cork. Sinéad has some very high praise for her shopping experience there, "shopping there was one of the best experiences of the entire wedding planning. Sorcha is a joy and such a help. Her collection is absolutely stunning. Other friends of mine have gone down since and the service is just incomparable."

Sinéad accessorised her contemporary bridal look with white leather croc pumps by Jimmy Choo and earrings by Natasha Sherling. "I loved shopping local for these and for my wedding ring. Natasha took one look at my dress and knew her baroque pearl earrings would be perfect - and they were."

For her bridesmaids, Sinéad didn't want classic bridesmaid dresses so she went with a mix and match look tied together by the colour navy. "Sarah, Susie and Ash all have such different style, it felt weird to try to put them in a uniform. It made the search a bit more difficult as we sent about a thousand links over and back on Whatsapp but eventually they all found dresses they loved and wanted to wear to the wedding. Susie wore a navy Reiss dress with a bit of sparkle and a cape; Ash's was a beautiful blue sequin gown from Self Portrait and Sarah's was the most fun velvet and diamante dress from Self Portrait as well."

Lorcan looked incredibly dapper in a burgundy dinner dress suit from Remus Uomo, while his groomsmen wore navy dinner suits which matched his.

After the ceremony the couple held a drinks reception in City Hall before buses took all the guests to The Guinness Storehouse. "We took a car and stopped at Harkins pub for a pint (and a glass) of Guinness. The owner and staff were so lovely in there and we had a nice few moments to ourselves before walking down to the venue."

"For the reception, we did look at one other place but once we had seen the Storehouse, we knew that's where we wanted to have the big party. We met one of the event planners in Seasons at the Storehouse and liked the Arrol Suite and her straight away. We knew we'd have over 200 guests, which is difficult if you want a city centre venue, so once it seemed doable there, we were delighted. The Storehouse was still open to the public on the day, so it was lovely to have people coming and going and wishing us well throughout the day. Our guests also had good craic going up to the Gravity Bar and asking tourists if they were enjoying the Irish Wedding!"

"The only date in Feb which both places had available was 14 February - so it was a necessity rather than us choosing Valentine's Day. We've never celebrated it before but we'll have to from now on!"

For their entertainment, the couple chose a three-piece trad band and a DJ, "Dó Fá Dó played for about 90 minutes after dinner before the DJ took over. We decided to do this instead of a wedding band and it worked out so well. Some people got up for a jig, while it gave others time to have a drink and catch up with friends with some great background tunes. Then Louise Bruton took over as DJ and the dance floor was packed until 2am. We loved every second of it all."

For their honeymoon, the couple opted for a staycation around Ireland which sounds just fabulous! "We spent two nights in the Merrion Hotel, two nights in Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney, eight nights in a family home in Castlegregory and two nights in Dromoland Castle."

This looks like one seriously epic party! At this point, we have to say thanks so much to Sinéad and Lorcan for sharing their gorgeous day with us, and to Richie Stokes and Emmylie Cruz of Wonder & Magic for providing the beautiful imagery. There are more photographs in the gallery below, so be sure to click through for a look!

Recommended Suppliers

Photographer
Wonder & Magic
Earrings & Bride's Wedding Ring
Natasha Sherling

Suppliers 

Bridal Boutique //
The White & Gold
|
Ceremony Venue //
Dublin City Hall
|
Reception Venue //
Guinness Storehouse
|
Bridal Designer //
Agata Wojtkiewicz
|
Veil Designer //
Maria Feikh
|
Suits //
Remus Uomo
|
Bridesmaids Dresses //
Reiss
|
Bridesmaids Dresses //
Self Portrait
|
Flowers //
Joeanna Caffrey
|
Invitations //
Paperless Post
|
Table Plan //
Table Plan Designs
|
Groom's Wedding Ring //
Fields
|
Band //
Dó Fá Dó
|
Videographer //
Wanderlust Weddings
|
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