Planned with love and care....

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Today's real wedding couple Maureen and Simon were real life college sweethearts. Making their courtship official they planned an elegant woodland wedding party like no other at the stunningly beautiful Ballybeg House. Leaving no detail out, Maureen and Simon's wedding radiates eternal love, happiness and loaded with personal touches. We're thrilled to share their wedding by Roger Kenny from The Portrait Room with you today...

Photo by Roger Kenny at the Portrait Room, Ballybeg House // onefabday.com

Maureen explains how they first met..."We met 10 years ago when we both worked part time in SuperQuinn, Charlesland while we were both in college. We started going out although Simon thought I was his girlfriend a long time before I knew, he never asked me, he just presumed. We moved in together 5 years ago and 2 became 3 a few years later with the arrival of our Basselier puppy called Lucy!"

Maureen's stunning wedding dress was bought for her by her godmother.

Photo by Roger Kenny at the Portrait Room www.portraitroom.ie Du

Simon, a classic romantic, surprised Maureen with his proposal. Maureen remembers...''It was pancake Tuesday and mum had invited us over for pancakes. Simon asked me to go for a walk in the woods with Lucy. He is lucky I agreed as I was about to start to bake a cake as it was my Dad's birthday the next day. We went on one of our usual walks in the woods and when we got to the clearing looking out over Greystones he got down on one knee. It was a very special moment.''

The groom's shoes were from Luca Bosi. Simon thought...''they were the most beautiful things he has ever seen!!!''

Kilquade church held a special place in their families hearts, Maureen explains...''Both our parents got married in Kilquade church that’s where we wanted to get married.''

When it came time to plan their big day Maureen and Simon knew they wanted their wedding to be full of smiles, love, friends and family. Maureen explains...''All myself and Simon wanted was to get married. We wanted to give our guests great food and lots of memories. We got so much help from everybody planning our wedding. We wanted to thank all our friends and family that have supported our relationship and share a magical day with them.''

When choosing a venue they wanted somewhere they could share with their family and friends. The elegant woodlands of Ballybeg House was the perfect fit. Maureen explains...''Ballybeg House is the most magical venue. It is your venue for the whole weekend. The team at Ballybeg make you feel at home but we felt so special for the whole weekend. Everybody there is your wedding guest. It’s a truly special place.''

The whole family had a part to play in this romantic wedding. The stunning bouquets were made by the groom's mother, Jennifer. The bride's cardigan and bridesmaids' shawls were knitted by Maureen's aunt Rosanna.

Maureen and Simon felt very comfortable with their photographer, Maureen gives some advice...''We would recommend doing an engagement shoot with your photographer. I was nervous before our engagement shoot but was so happy when I saw the results especially because we did the shoot with our dog Lucy. We were so comfortable with our photographer on our wedding day.''

Maureen adds some more advice...''Don’t worry about the small stuff. Enjoy your engagement. Celebrate everything (when you buy your dress, when you book your venue etc). Think about what is important to the two of you. We wanted a great photographer, great food and we wanted to love our wedding rings because they are what you have after your wedding day. I would recommend getting a videographer. We only booked one last minute and we absolutely love our highlights video.''

There was personal touches throughout this wedding. Maureen explains...''We got so much help from everybody planning our wedding, our family and friends helped to give us so many personal touches.'' The stationery was designed by Heather Mullins one of the couple's good friends, the beautiful shortbread heart favours were made by Maureen's mother, while the wine was brought home from France by Maureen's aunt and uncle.

The beautiful array of cakes were hand made with love from a few of the bride and groom's guests, the fruit cake was made by the groom’s mum, chocolate biscuit cake was from Maureen's sister Gráinne, the lemon drizzle was from a family friend, raspberry sponge was from Maureen's aunt Rosanna and the carrot cake was by Maureen's mother Caitríona.

After their romantic wedding weekend at Ballybeg House the couple flew to Italy for their honeymoon. Maureen tells us...'' We went to Rome and Sorrento. The food and the wine were amazing. It was such a special holiday and we can’t wait to return.'' Photo by Roger Kenny at the Portrait Room www.portraitroom.ie Du

Huge congratulations to you both from everyone at One Fab Day - hope you guys had the best time! Thanks so much for sharing your very special day with us all. A big thank you also to the very talented Roger Kenny photography. To see more of Roger's work visit www.portraitrooms.ie Photo by Roger Kenny at the Portrait Room www.portraitroom.ie Du