It's no secret that I'm not the most traditional when it comes to weddings and I love it when a real wedding comes our way with a couple who really run with their own unique style. Today's amazing couple, Natalie and Ciaran, did just that and had it all stylishly captured by the lovely Katie Farrell, and not only that but these guys are absolutely adorable!  As they explained their wedding "It was a very family-oriented day with a vintage-woodland vibe to it and lots of personal touches. We didn’t do things just because it was ‘traditional’ and really just focused on what was important to us and the fact that we were getting married." All planned from Australia! Natalie and Ciaran have to be one of my favourite couples of the summer. I hope you love their wedding too...

Natalie, an Aussie girl, met her husband-to-be down under, where they both live. There's a touch of serendipity about their first meeting as Natalie explained to us. She had decided to meet her Irish pal Jenna for a few drinks after a rather stressful work week, and in typical "what a small world" fashion during the evening Jenna ran into a friend from her hometown back in Ireland - Ciaran - whom she introduced to Natalie. Natalie and Ciaran gelled perfectly and Ciaran plucked up the courage to ask the beautiful Natalie out the next evening for a coffee and cinema date. All smooth sailing, right? Not exactly... Both a little tired from the previous nights shenanigans Natalie and Ciaran dozed off during the film, but this sleepy start didn't deter the couple. Ciaran asked Natalie out again and they've been together ever since.

So the first date was the very definition of "low key", so I was already crushing a bit on this couple, when Natalie explained how Ciaran proposed "I am notoriously hard to surprise so Ciaran did amazingly well. Last April, he arranged for us to go on a picnic to Wiseman’s Ferry, which is where I last holidayed with my grandparents and one of my favourite places. He was acting a little odd so I thought he might be up to something. Halfway through the picnic he pulled out a mug with his family crest O’Connell on it and said “I know you were probably expecting a ring but I hope you will be happy with this for the time being.” I had brought him the same mug as a gift a couple of years earlier and would often jokingly ask when making tea “when I would be getting one of my own?” Shocked, but without wanting to seem rude, I hid my disappointment. We continued to have a nice picnic and after an hour I had well and truly given up on proposal and we packed up to leave. After folding the blanket I turned around and Ciaran was on bended knee with a beautiful ring, asking me to marry him. He had managed to do the impossible and completely surprise me! It didn’t end there though, we went home and I walked into a backyard of our nearest and dearest and an impromptu engagement party which he had organised with the help of my sister." A present, a ring AND a party - Ciaran is my kinda guy. And that pocket watch you see above is not just a stylee accessory, it was a really special memento of someone very special - inside was a picture of his mother (who passed when he was just a baby) in her wedding dress in it. A beautiful way to keep her close.

Planning an Irish wedding from Australia can be rather stressful so to help minimise the strain Natalie and Ciaran wanted to find a venue that had it all on site: space for the reception, ceremony, accommodation for guests and beautiful grounds for memorable wedding pictures. Natlalie's friend Jenna (matchmaker and venue finder, Jenna is a keeper) came to the rescue here and suggested Brooklodge and it couldn't have been more perfect. "The food and service was phenomenal and guests haven’t stopped raving about it! We didn’t actually view the venue until the week before the wedding as we were on the other side of the world. The wedding team at Brooklodge went above and beyond during the planning and really put our minds at ease though."

Talk about stylish kids! The flower girls were both decked out in Zara, and for a wedding in winter you really can't go wrong with a bit of fake fur. As for the boys (Natalie's little brothers!) they donned some more Zara and bowties with wooden cufflinks reading "best brother" - such a nice little touch to keep them involved. And the younger boys all rocked Converse shoes (a tribute to the groom who LIVES in them according to Natalie)

Tears at the top of the aisle... Natalie walked down the aisle to a Boyce Avenue acoustic cover of Glycerine, a surprise for Ciaran as it was their song.

The emotion on both Natalie's and Ciaran's faces would just melt your heart!

It's official aaaand time for a party!

Natalie's little brother's pocket-squares are too cute.

Now, before we go any further let us address Ciaran's amazing dreadlocks. It's not every man who can pull off such a look but Ciaran looks perfectly dapper and I adore the subtle print and blue of all the groomsmen's suits. Ciaran's best accessory was his pocket watch, which had a picture of his mother (who passed when he was just a baby) in her wedding dress in it.

For the wedding portraits Brooklodge's woodland setting provided a fairly epic setting, and matched the relaxed non-traditional style of the wedding spot on.

Natalie's lovely sister acted as bridesmaid, and wore a muted Smik Clothing dress with a little bit of glitz and sparkle along the neckline to compliment Natalie's own dress.

For Natalie it was really important to her that her dress and accessories represented her home place of Australia. Luckily for her Australia has an abundance of stylish bridal designers (we are always in awe!), Natalie's pick was Anna Campbell - a real pro at embellishment and bridal glamour. Natalie stuck with Anna Campbell for her hair accessory and opted for Samantha Wills earrings.

Natalie's flawless hair and makeup was all thanks to Dawn from Glamour by Dawn and Christine from Snips and Lips. Natalie loved the girls so much they ended up dolling up most of the female guests!

The reception was held in the dark and luxurious Strawberry Tree Restaurant at Brooklodge, the girls here joke that I love all things dark but who couldn't love this setup? It's so atmospheric, and perfect for a dark January evening.

To make the space their own Ciaran and Natalie got crafty (even though they had trekked all the way from Australia!) "Love quotes were ‘stamped on to kraft tags that hung around some of the mismatched jars of flowers. The best man was given the task of getting the wood slices and we incorporated our something borrowed and blue into our flowers at the last minute. The groom’s mother had a vintage ‘blue’ china set which we ‘borrowed’ and filled with potted flowers for the day."

The mis-match of details works so well. In theory glass bottles, rustic kraft paper tags, tea cups, signage and little animals shouldn't work but it all just meshes perfectly.

Both cakes were made by Ciaran's insanely talented sister and amped up with some flowers and an illustrated cake topper.

If you're looking at this intimate wedding dinner in envy, thinking "We couldn't do that, we have too many to invite" don't be despondent. Ciaran and Natalie faced the same dilemma, so they spread the love "We wanted to celebrate with as many people as possible, even if the wedding was just for immediate families. So we held an Irish party a week after and Australian party when we returned. Although at times stressful to plan, it really meant we could relax and let our hair down at the parties. I doubt I would have had the same stamina if the party was on the same day as the wedding! Our amazing photographer, Katie Farrell, also created a video for us that we were able to screen at both parties and our guests loved it! There were lots of happy tears in the crowd." So you can have your cake and eat it...

Planning from afar Natalie and Ciaran have some helpful advice for couples in the planning process "Do it your way! Think about who you are normally and stay true to that on your big day. You will end up having much more fun and your guests will really walk away saying we did just celebrate their love and not someone else’s. On a more practical note, get the best photographer you can and make Pinterest your best friend. It’s a great way of keeping track of things you like the look of and if they tie together as well as being a source of some really unique ideas and options. Don’t be afraid to ask family or friends to help out – you never know what talents people have outside of their day jobs."

An extra big congratulations to Natalie and Ciaran, who are not only now happily married but are expecting baby number one. Huge Congrats guys!

Big thank you also goes to the lovely Katie Farrell for sharing her gorgeous work with us, to see more of Katie's work head over to katiefarrellphotography.com 

The Wedding Details

• Ceremony: Macreddin Chapel at Brooklodge
• Reception: Strawberry Tree Restaurant at Brooklodge
• Irish Party: The Stone Room at Fallons
• Wedding Dress & Hair Comb: Anna Campbell
• Bride’s Accessories: Samantha Wills Amoir Noir earrings
• Bridesmaids dress: Smik Clothing
• Flower girls: Zara with Dunnes Stores jackets, Pennys shoes & headpieces by Summerblossom

• Bride and Bridesmaid Shoes: Court Couture via Direct Shoe Warehouse
• Groom(smen)’s suits: Next
• Best Brothers: Next and Zara (they walked my sister down the aisle)
• Page boy: Zara
• Accessories: Ties and shoes from Next & bow ties from Roger David
• Stationery: Laura Munro from Cartamodello Etsy
• Make Up & Hair:  Glamour by Dawn & Snips and Lips
• Wedding Bands: Carati Jewellers