A Rustic DIY Wedding with Pops of Bright Pink and Blue

Real Weddings

A rustic DIY wedding with pops of bright pink and blue.

Names: Anna and John

Length of engagement: 16 months | Wedding Date: 20 October 2017

Wedding location: Springfort Hall | Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography

We met… at Anna’s best friend’s 30th birthday party upstairs in The Bodega in Cork. Anna had known John’s sister for years (another of the birthday girl’s friends) but never knew John existed.

Our proposal… On the last night of a two-month adventure driving through Canada’s eastern provinces. To mark the end of an 18-month stint in Toronto, we splashed out a night in Chateau Montebello in Quebec, the largest log building in the world. Shortly after arrival, we were drinking cocktails by the river when John proposed. “I don’t know about going back to Ireland with you as my girlfriend, I’d like you to be fiancé.”. Needless to say, I agreed and we decided to keep it a secret until we arrived back in Ireland two weeks later.

Our wedding theme/colours… Rustic elegance with pops of bright pinks and blues.

Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… What did we not DIY is a better question??? Invites, table centerpieces with gorgeous locally grown flowers from Sarah at Flowers from the Secret Garden, seating chart, a floral chalkboard at selfie station, mini Polaroid place name pictures, various signs, wooden log cake stands, candle stands in church, pew ends and Anna’s fascinator.

My dress was a beautiful bargain from Cork designer, The Dress She Wore purchased though Bella Bleu boutique at The Spectacular Wedding Dress Sell-Off in the Castlemartyr Hotel Cork. The top of the dress was completely altered by Urata Designs, Ballincollig, Co. Cork.

My hair and makeup… hair was by Aisling Kelleher Upstylist of Polka Dot Dreaming Wedding Blog. Make-up was by the lovely Linda Collins. Anna’s birdcage headpiece was made on the morning of the wedding by the bride herself. Flowers in the junior bridesmaids hair were supplied by Flowers from the Secret Garden.

His suit… A stylish three-piece navy tweed Magee suit with light blue wool dickie bow and pocket square.

What our bridal party wore… The men wore navy suits from Tom Murphy’s in Cork with light blue wool waistcoats. And our ladies were beautifully dressed in Oasis dresses and shoes from Nine West.

Our ceremony… Unique. Beautiffuly celebrated by a family friend, a dear friend of Anna’s late Godfather at the Honan Chapel. Anna, her bridesmaids, junior bridesmaid, paige boys and flower girl walked up the aisle to a rendition of Nick Cave’s Into My Arms sung by her youngest brother. The singing throughout the bilingual ceremony (Gaeilge and English) was by Anna’s siblings.

We chose our photographer because they had a great energy on our first meeting.  There was an instant connection and we knew Laura and Benny were the best choice for our day.

We chose our wedding coordinator because… she worked for the hotel. Marcella was very accommodating from the word go.

We chose our venue, Springfort Hall, because… it had a relaxed country vibe in a beautiful setting with a top class chef who was happy to work with our specific requests for the meal.

Our menu… following the gin bar reception, guests started with tapas style sharing platters of roasted veg, chorizo and chicken, fresh bread and dips. This was followed by a choice of featherblade of beef or a vegetarian trio and dessert was served late into the night as a help yourself buffet of miniatures.

Our honeymoon… we had two. A couple of days after the wedding in late October we flew to Naples for a 10 day holiday on the Amalfi Coast and Rome. We stayed on Capri, in Positano, Ravello and around the corner from the Colosseum in Rome. Later in the year we travelled to Australia for a family wedding just after Christmas and took another short honeymoon in Langkawi, Malaysia on our way home.

My favourite part of the wedding day… the whole day from start to finish with all our family and friends enjoying themselves.

My piece of advice for other couples… enjoy every moment of the planning and the day itself. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t worry about what other people think – everyone there loves you.

 Suppliers

Wedding venue: Springfort Hall | Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography | Planner/coordinator: Mostly Anna, but Marcella at Springfort Hall also | Videographer: Lukas from DigaVideo | Musician: Diarmuid MacCárthaigh – Keyboard in Church and piano at drinks reception; Souldriven – Wedding reception band | DJ: Caoilian Sherlock | Hair: Aisling Kelleher | Makeup: Linda Collins | Dress: The Dress She Wore from Bella Bleu, altered by Urata Designs | Suit: Magee @ Tom Murphy’s | Bridesmaids dresses: Oasis | Groomsmen outfits: Tom Murphy’s | Caterer: Springfort Hall | Cake: Family friend | Flowers: Sarah Evans from Flowers From the Secret Garden