Meet Marina and Steve! This beautiful couple got married after an almost 2 year engagement, exchanging vows at the gorgeous Cabra Castle. They opted for a fairytale themed wedding and embraced classic neutral colours with botanical elements. Marina is a designer, so of course, everything is immaculate!
Couple: Marina & Steve
Engagement length: Nearly 2 years
Wedding date: 2024-08-22
Wedding location: Cabra Castle
Photo and Video: Conlon Photography + Film
Marina and Steve met on Instagram and then had their first date at a whiskey bar in Sydney.
This is the proposal story from Marina’s perspective:
“Steve proposed to me a year later after writing to me on social media for the first time. In fact without realising it, he proposed in the exact same day a year later. He organised a surprise trip to Fiji, and had everything set up and decorated to perfection, with table, champagne, candles overlooking the ocean. He even hired a photographer to capture the event.”
They hosted a fairytale themed wedding with a style they would describe as ‘effortless beauty’. To embrace the composed aesthetic they were after, they chose classic neutral colours with botanical elements.
Marina says, “As a designer myself I take concepts very seriously and have created a design development pack to capture every essence of the mood and idea. It was very important for the concept to be strong and to hire the vendors that will be able to cater to that. Roses & Gypsophila were the primary flowers. We wanted abundance of flowers so the choice was to go for the simple ones.”
The wedding gown was design by a famous Australian designer, Leah da Gloria. It was a fairytale dress and filled with handcrafted flowers all over, including the veil.
Steve wore a tuxedo with gorgeous velvet jacket and a velvet vest. All by M.J. Bale. They added high gloss Louboutin shoes to add a subtle splash of colour for him. The famous red soles gave the whole outfit an even more elevated appearance.
“The bridesmaids wore the off white flowing dresses. I chose not to have any colour for the bridesmaids because of the old tradition where bridesmaids wore white to confuse the evil spirits. To compliment this idea the style we dressed the groomsmen in black suits – a more subtle alternative to what the groom wore.”
“Our ceremony was in the Granary at Cabra Castle. And the venue was just spectacular! We had a violin player Courtney Cullen for some of the songs and she also played couple of songs through Spotify. I fell in love with Spring 1 by Max Richie and actually cried the very first time I heard that song so I had to have it for my entrance. Steve went down the aisle with his mum Yvonne which was very special, all songs we chose where special to us one way or another. Steve’s uncle Wayne passed away not long before the wedding so we played his favourite song too as Steve’s mum was lighting the memorial candle for him. Our celebrant Teresa Boyle was absolutely amazing and wrote a beautiful reading for us. We chose a handfasting ceremony to honour the Irish tradition.”
“Steve and I went to many castles last year in search for a perfect one. Cabra Castle was the last one we saw and we immediately knew it was the one! Every corner of it was absolutely stunning and the price point was also more favourable than the previous venues. It was an easy choice, actually.”
The wedding was beautifully captured by Conlon Photography and Film!
“We chose Conlon Photo & Film, because of their beautiful work, great package deals and the fact that they are a couple themselves. They made everything so effortless, easy and fun and of course all the photos and videos turned out so beautifully.”
To entertain their guests, they had a saxophone player, Tom Clarke from Sax Mood to greet all the guests after the ceremony as they walked up the red carpet. The drinks reception was flowing with cocktails, various drinks and canapés, as well as Ceili Cottage to entertain everyone with Irish trad music.
They had the amazing Men In Black (featuring Steve’s dad, Sandy) perform and entertain the guests. Everyone was dancing all night long, creating a fun vibe for Steve and Marina’s loved ones. They also had a surprise appearance from Celtic Rhythm with some river dancing.
The party favours were simple but very important – they made a donation on behalf of all their guests to Brain Tumour Ireland.
“
Newlyweds give brilliant wedding advice. Here’s what Steve and Marina said:
“Don’t leave anything to the last minute. Have all your vendors meetings as early as possible and finalise everything as early as possible.
Make sure you run through everything and every little detail with your wedding coordinator.
It’s true what they say – the day will just fly, so don’t stress about things you can’t control and enjoy and be present every moment of it.
Have someone there to take videos and photos on your phone for you, because it will be a while till you get your wedding footage back but it’s so nice to see the videos right away on your phone.
Invest in good photographer and videographer, they are expensive but they art that they will create for you will last a life time.”
Recommended suppliers
Photo and Video: Conlon Photography + Film
Venue: Cabra Castle
Band: Men in Black
Trad music: Ceili Cottage
Celebrant/solemniser: Teresa Boyle
Stationery: What’s The Plan
Photobooth: Snap Magic
Candles: Opulent Candles
Other suppliers
Hair: Hair by Sarah Jane Edenderry | Makeup: Julia Lawless with assistance of Niamh Hanly | Ceremony music: Courtney Cullen | Sax: Tom Clarke | Entertainment: Celtic Rhythm | Couple’s outfits: Leah da Gloria, M J Bale, Christian Louboutin | Wedding party outfits: Azazie Gowns, Connors Suits | Cake: Lorna’s Cakes | Jewellery/rings: Monty Adams | Flowers: Sheefin Flowers | Other: Ceotha Handfasting Cords
