“Relaxed, rustic, intimate with a very autumnal feel.”
Your Names: Kate O’Brien and Justin Van Dyke
Length of engagement: 9 months
Wedding Date: 2019-09-26
Wedding location: Brooklodge, Macreddin Village, Wicklow Ireland
Photographer: Wedding Storytellers
How did you meet and get engaged?
We met at work in 2011, we worked for the same company PopCap Games. Friends for a year before getting together in 2012.
Describe your wedding:
Relaxed, rustic, intimate with a very autumnal feel.
Tell us about your bridal look:
Simple and elegant white dress, aiming for a relaxed look. My dress looked quite simple, very little detail. My only must was that it had pockets. My hair again was quite simple with a couple of plaits and loose curls to compliment my dress with some green foliage and babies breath placed through. I don’t wear much makeup usually, I asked Niamh to emphasise my eyes while keeping the colours coordinated with the overall theme.
What did your bridesmaids wear?
Marguerite wore a simple cap sleeve forest green ‘Elle Gown’ from Folkster.
What was your ceremony like?
We had a civil ceremony in a small chapel on the venue grounds, very straightforward in terms of the vows. Only 43 people in total on the day, very intimate. Our 4 year old son walked me up the aisle, and stood beside me and Justin. After a minute of the ceremony, my son Jacob decided to repeat back every line the celebrant and we said – for the remainder of the ceremony, for all to hear! Needless to say, he had the chapel in stitches laughing, and it was a very unique ceremony.
Tell us about your wedding venue:
Brooklodge and MacCreddin village is a stunning, intimate venue in the heart of Wicklow, surrounded by hills, trees, filled with autumnal colours and beside a small brook running beside the chapel. Making for a picture perfect, relaxed and intimate day. The Strawberry tree room restaurant has an absolutely beautiful private dining room with a long table dining experience, suiting just the 43 people in attendance. The food was out of this world, absolutely amazing. All organic, locally sourced, with amazing cuts of meat and vegetables from the surrounding area and pasta that had people coming back for seconds and thirds. The staff were incredibly supportive and reassuring, taking care of every need up to and on the day itself. Everything was flawless.
What is your favourite memory from your wedding day?
It’s a toss-up for us both. Between the laugh-out-loud ceremony performance by our son, or the amazing food, or the fantastic private party room that was filled with the great sounds of our guitar player and singer Liam Bryne (highly recommended – absolutely amazing. he blew us away, and was so engaging) to our after hours karaoke session that led into the wee hours of the morning. We had so many memories that made for an incredible day.
Have you got any advice for other couples?
Having suppliers you trust is key. The right people have done this loads of times, let them lead you on the day. Same with a venue with supportive staff. Because we had a great team around us, our day was so relaxed.
Don’t feel under pressure to invite people unnecessarily. This is your day. We made a decision to keep our numbers relatively small (43 people) our nearest and dearest. Because of that, we knew people would get along and we didn’t feel under pressure to entertain (or pay for) a huge amount of people we barely knew.
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Brooklodge, Macreddin Village | Photographer: Wedding Storytellers | Musician: Liam Byrne | DJ: N/A – karaoke machine supplied by Sound Hire in Ranelagh | Hair: Sarah McDonnell | Makeup: Niamh Martin | Dress: Covet in Powerscourt Townhouse | Suit: Baumler on Dawson Street | Bridesmaids dresses: Folkster | Groomsmen outfits: Supplied by groomsmen | Caterer: Strawberry Tree Room Restaurant in Brooklodge | Cake: Olwen McGee | Celebrant: Roseanna Howell | Stationery: Greenenvelope.com | Jewellery: Swarovski + Weirs Jewellers | Flowers: Celine’s Florists in Tallaght
