“I always knew I wanted an autumn wedding as we both love those deep autumn colours. We were able to incorporate different shades of green between Cian’s groom suit, the bridesmaid dresses and accent these with gorgeous dried flowers that brought in some taupe and burgundy. One of the reasons we chose Boyne Hill House is because of the gorgeous surroundings – you don’t need to add to many more elements when the trees and gardens surrounding the venue are already so beautiful!”
Couple: Aoife and Cian
Engagement length: 2 years
Wedding date: 2024-12-10
Wedding location: Boyne Hill House
Photographer: David Maury
Aoife and Cian met at work! They worked together for about a year before they actually began talking more, and then would spend a lot of time in the work kitchen talking.
Aoife shares the engagement story: “We were in Agadir in Morocco in 2022. Cian initially was hoping to pop the question during a sunset walk on the beach but didn’t find the perfect moment (I began to suspect something was up when he seemed annoyed at all the people enjoying a beach walk). We then did a special safari trip to other parts of Agadir during which we visited Sidi R’Bat beach, and he got down on one knee there.”
“I always knew I wanted an autumn wedding as we both love those deep autumn colours. We were able to incorporate different shades of green between Cian’s groom suit, the bridesmaid dresses and accent these with gorgeous dried flowers that brought in some taupe and burgundy. One of the reasons we chose Boyne Hill House is because of the gorgeous surroundings – you don’t need to add to many more elements when the trees and gardens surrounding the venue are already so beautiful!”
Cian went for a bottle green suit from Diffneys which he got tailored to fit him perfectly. It may have been the quickest shopping trip ever as he walked into the store, said ‘I like that one’ pointing to the mannequin in front of him and luckily loved it just as much when he tried it on. Cian had gone to the Rugby World Cup in Paris in 2023, and bought some cufflinks there to use on the wedding day. Aoife also bought him a bracelet which she gave him that morning with the date engraved on it.
Aoife bought her dress at Pearls & Lace in Donegal. They both have family connections to Donegal so this was always where she wanted to get her dress. To make things even more special, Cian’s late dad was from the same area that Pearls & Lace is based in. After a long day of dress shopping, she eventually said yes to the Lauren from Essence of Australia. She also bought her veil and earrings from the shop to match.
The groomsmen and Aoife’s dad all got the same dark navy three-piece suit in Diffneys, which were complemented with an olive green tie. They all also had buttonholes that complemented the dried flower bouquets the girls wore.
For the girls, the bridesmaids dresses were a bit of a journey.
Aoife says, “I eventually got some Folkster dresses secondhand from a past bride which were lovely but due to different issues (including an iron that marked one of the dresses) I had to scrap them all and the girls all chose their own dress then from Folkster. They ended up all being slightly different shades of olive green but I’m so glad it accidentally ended up like this as it looked lovely in the pictures. One of my bridesmaids, Rushda, has Pakistani heritage so she made her own dupatta in green and gold to match her dress and it was so beautiful. I asked the girls to just wear white shoes and they could choose their own accessories but I gifted them all a bracelet from Seoidin that morning, as well as necklaces to my mam and my mother-in-law.”
“We opted for a spiritual but non-religious ceremony by our solemniser Gabrielle McAuley who couldn’t have been more calming and lovely for us. One of the readings we chose was Neil Gaiman’s ‘All I know about love’ as it perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to find your person and also incorporated our love of reading and fantasy. We also chose a mix of romantic and fun songs for the ceremony. I walked down the aisle to ‘Love You To The End’ by the Pogues, sang by the beautiful Tracy Gallagher, and we also chose ‘You Got a Friend in Me’ for during the ceremony to bring in some light heartedness as well. Cian is a big fan of David Gray as well so we also asked Tracy to play ‘Please Forgive Me’.
One of the main things we wanted to do was have a moment of remembrance at the start of the ceremony so Boyne Hill House helped create a lovely memory corner with a memory candle which was lit for everyone who wasn’t with us anymore but especially to remember Cian’s dad Gerry, and my granddads Michael and Liam – one of whom had passed only a month before so having that moment was special for everyone. We also chose to do a handfasting using a beautiful cord we purchased from Ceotha Studio. My Maid of Honour Zara and Cian’s Best Man Ciaran helped us complete the handfasting.”
The wedding festivities were hosted at the beautiful Boyne Hill House, which was the first of only two venues that they viewed.
Aoife says, “As soon as I saw another venue I knew I didn’t need to see anymore as Boyne Hill House was the one. From the moment you drive past the gate and go up the driveway canopied by the beautiful trees and fairy lights, it’s magical. I love that there were little pockets of space that people could gather in to enjoy the music or get away from it if they wanted to, and the grounds are beautiful as well. The Manor House is so charming with each room decorated differently but above all the staff make it truly special. We were treated so well from the very first day.”
The day was perfectly captured by David Maury Photography!
Aoife says, “David was an easy choice for us. Three other friends of ours have used him for their weddings so not only have we seen the results, we’ve seen him in action and observed his gentle, friendly style and he was perfect for us as well. We aren’t a couple who take a lot of pictures together and sometimes getting our mothers into pictures can be very hard indeed so some of the shots David ended up with when we didn’t even know he was taking them, are so special and lovely. He was also able to expertly wrangle my grandmother who was quite determined to get her polka dot walking stick into every picture. David was also incredibly patient and kind by allowing us to include our two dogs, Dezzie and Roci in the pictures, even when they weren’t cooperating so well on the day.”
Entertainment was a big deal for Aoife and Cian. In fact, the band, Springbreak, was the next supplier they booked after securing the venue! Cian and his friends are big fans of 80s music, so when they came across Springbreak, they just had to have them. They made the booking almost two years in advance and everybody loved them so much that some family have also booked them for theirs!
Another standout was the photobooth! There was a queue all night long and at one point, Aoife had to pull her dad aside to ask him to let other people have a turn. They did end up with a two full albums of pictures as a guest book, with so many memories of their guests having a great time.
Aoife shares some of her favourite memories from the Big Day:
“There are so many! My gran joined us around 12 in the beauty room and she actually agreed to have her hair and make-up done which I never thought would happen so seeing her get fussed was lovely. I was also able to have a first look with her before the ceremony which was really emotional.
Walking down the aisle and seeing Cian’s face was just amazing. The love in his eyes reflecting how I felt was beautiful. And during the walk my dad held my hand in his and did three squeezes which was always our secret way of saying ‘I love you’ when I was a child.”
Cian says, “Seeing Aoife walk down the aisle.”
We always ask newlyweds for their best wedding day advice. This is what Aoife said:
“Do it your way – we knew there were certain things that we wanted or didn’t want. We always knew we wanted a child-free wedding as this was what suited us best and our venue/guest count and we received some push back on this from people but it’s your day to do what you want, not somebody else’s.
If you can, find moments to sneak away and just be the two of you – whether it’s a breath of air outside or a quick trip to the room to freshen up. You end up spending a lot of the time talking to other people so the moments together are all the sweeter.”
Recommended Suppliers
Photographer: David Maury
Wedding venue: Boyne Hill House
Band and DJ: Springbreak
Makeup: Pamela Matthews
Other Suppliers
Musician: Tracy Gallagher | Hair: Kelly-Anne Matthews | Suits: Diffneys | Dress: Pearls & Lace | Bridesmaids: Folkster | Celebrant/solemniser: Gabrielle McAuley | Stationery: TheAisle.ie | Jewellery/rings: Crystal Jewellers in Blanchardstown | Accessories: Pearls and Lace, Seoidin, Rugby World Cup Official Shop | Flowers: Twig & Stem | Photobooth: CandyLady Photobooth | Illustrator: Aine O’Hagan Illustrations
