A Dreamy Vintage Winter Wedding

Real Weddings

“We both preferred a winter wedding and wanted to keep it vintage as we picked Darver Castle as the venue.”

 

Names: Michelle & Gary

Wedding Date: 9th Feb 2019

Wedding location: Darver Castle 

Photographer/Videographer: Darren Byrne Photography 

 

 

We met… In an Irish Bar in Melbourne, called the 5th Province. It was packed and we were in a group squashed by the bar and we didn’t really speak much, but before Gary left he asked me for my number and text me the next day, we dated a week later and just hit it off.

 

 

Our proposal… Gary got the ring made in Melbourne. I got to have a say in the design but never seen the ring until he proposed 6 months later. We went to Dublin for a night out for his birthday, and we checked into the Harcourt Hotel and as I was getting ready to go shopping I turned around and he was on one knee. I was totally shocked and said no it’s your birthday before he even said anything lol. I said yes then quizzed him to see if he asked my dad for permission first. I think he did it then to get out of shopping, we went for a late lunch and then was busy telling family and friends before we went out to celebrate.

 

 

Our wedding theme/colours… Gary was pretty laid back with the wedding planning, and I fell pregnant exactly 12 months before the wedding and was studying at the time so kept putting the wedding planning off. We both preferred a winter wedding and wanted to keep it vintage as we picked Darver Castle as the venue. We picked St. Enda’s church in Killanny to go with the theme as it’s an older church with big beautiful arches and marble alter. The colours I chose were ivory, blush pink and burgundy.

 

 

Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… nothing lol.. the wedding vendors did everything, I just gave them ideas or pictures of what I had in mind.

 

 

My dress… my dress was out of this world. The designer is Demetrios based in Australia just by chance. I saw a few of their dresses online so found a retailer in Carrick-on-Shannon and went to try them on. They were very embellished and full lace, but I was just too short for them. I was looking through the magazine and saw one however she wasn’t getting it in. I then saw it in a different bridal shop in Kildare and quickly organised a day out with my mam and 2 of the girls as I was 8 weeks pregnant by then so hadn’t much time. My mam asked me to try on a big ball gown but I just had no interest in it at all and just wanted to get into the one I had seen in the magazine. I knew as soon as I had it on it was the one, as it was so different and had a wow factor.

 

 

My hair and make up… my bridesmaids did my hair. I was lucky that 2 of them are hairdressers. My make up was done by 2 local girls and after a trial I realised that less was more.

 

 

His suit… Gary wanted him and his groomsmen in a tux, as it’s just a classic look that never goes out of fashion. We just chose a different suit jacket for the groom but no one even noticed on the day.

 

 

What our bridal party wore… groomsmen in tux. Bridesmaids wore TFNC dresses from Asos. It was a soft mink colour in 4 different styles. I find strong colours date quickly and take over the photos, and I wanted a soft colour to compliment the burgundy flowers.

 

 

Our ceremony… was done by our local priest, he came over from Inniskeen on the day. Our singer was amazing, and as usual only booked 2 weeks before the wedding and she was able to accommodate some songs we wanted that were not on her list. Flowers by Ann, did our flowers and the flowers for the altar. The rest of the church was decorated by Evergreen silk plants.

 

 

We chose our photographer because… We chose Darren and Juliana based on the website, reviews, the gallery, as well as customer service as their work is amazing and very professional.

 

We chose our venue because… Darver Castle was just beautiful we both fell in love with it.

 

 

Our menu… food was amazing, tea and scones on arrival was a big hit.

 

 

Our honeymoon… 4 days in Paris, to sleep and shop and Disneyland of course.

My favourite part of the wedding day… all of it, especially the time in the car travelling to the venue as we got to have a breather and spend a bit of time together.

 

 

My piece of advice for other couples… take it all in, the day goes super fast. We are glad we opted for the video so can go back to our day anytime we want.

 

 

What is it that makes your wedding unique? Our day was unique as we got to share it with baby Bonnie who was only 12 weeks old. We are fortunate enough to have all parents present as well as some grandparents. One of my guests and long-time friend brought a basket of candy apples which went down a treat. Gary picked a great band, Sugartown Road that had everyone up on their feet the whole night.

 

 

Suppliers

Wedding venue: Darver Castle | Photographer: Darren Byrne | Videographer: Juliana | Musician: Aoibheann Music | DJ: Sugartown Road Band | Dress: Demetrios | Bridesmaids dresses: Asos | Flowers: Flowers by Ann | Cake: McConnon cakes