The Quintessential Girly Girl – Breaffy House Wedding by Eden Photography

Real Weddings

“Taking time out with my new husband after a few glasses of Champagne to have our photos taken was my favourite part of the day. We had a real giggly personal moment!”

The couple: Lucy Thomas and Liam Burke
Length of engagement: 18 Months | Wedding date: 3rd May 2014
Wedding ceremony: St Mary’s Church Ballinrobe
Wedding venue: Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Mayo

Photographer: Eden Photography

rachel simpson rose gold wedding shoes

real bride rachel simpson victoria blush wedding shoes

rose gold vintage wedding shoes rachel simpson

vintage pink dark green wedding bouquet

We met… at a Six Nations Rugby game in Cardiff in 2009. Wales were playing Ireland, Wales were the current Champions two years in a row; but Ireland won the match and took the Grand Slam victory. Cardiff was electric and the Welsh and Irish all celebrated together. Liam was visiting from Mayo with a group of lads and I was out in Cardiff with my friends. Liam asked to buy me a drink, we exchanged numbers and the rest as they say is history.

bride make up floral dressing gown

bridesmaids mix floral wedding dressing gowns

group bridesmaids floral dressing gown wedding

grecian style wedding hair do headband

Our proposal… We were on a winter cruise through the Norwegian fiords. We had been on amazing day trips and were lucky to have seen the Northern Lights. On our last day we visited the Northern Cape (the most Northern point in Europe) – it was white with snow and very cold! We waited to climb aboard a statue to capture a picture and I complained that I was so cold I needed to go inside; little did I know that Liam was planning to propose on top of the statue and the whole Cruise ship of people surrounding us were eagerly awaiting the moment. He got down on one knee (in the snow!) upon the statue and asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes! He produced a yellow gold Emerald cut Emerald that he and my mother had planned and purchased in the days before the holiday. Everyone clapped and cheered and plenty of photos were taken to capture the moment. It certainly was a magical holiday and magical moment!

pastel green bridesmaids dresses hanging

bride putting veil on

bride laughing getting ready

My dress…  My dress was purchased a year prior to the wedding from Carina Baverstock Couture in Bradford Upon Avon, England. The dress was Lady Mary by Naomi Neoh. It was antique gold lace covered with sequins and I loved the sparkle when I walked in it. It had a boned bodice with lace detachable sleeves with three tiers of scalloped edging and a satin ribbon waist band. I knew it was the one when I held my engagement ring against the colour of the dress, it was a perfect match. I teamed it with a Jenny Packham headpiece of gold and silver flowers to add a subtle but more modern twist, I wasn’t sure what I wanted for a veil but as soon as I tried the full length one on I knew it was the one.

gothic style church ireland

vintage silver wedding car with bow

little touches wedding bridesmaids number plate car

green mid length bridesmaids dresses ireland

flower girls page boys outside church

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_81

Our wedding theme/colours…  I always knew I wanted a pretty, country feel to the wedding. The theme came together after purchasing my bridesmaid dresses from himandforher.com; they were a pastel green and very delicate, pretty and dainty which were my idea of a ‘bridesmaid dress’. I knew being a girly girl I wanted  pink and later decided on a subtle hint of vintage blush to co-ordinate with the pastel green. I achieved this by threading it through my flowers, stationery and wedding shoes! My mother also decided on a blush pink Gillian Harvey dress for her outfit which unintentionally co-ordinated perfectly! This was, I must say, after returning two previous choices!

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_91

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_95

bride groom exchange rings

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_119

excited bride walking down aisle

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_163

bride groom meet greet guests church

Our ceremony… Was a Catholic ceremony at St Mary’s church Ballinrobe. My cousin made our Order of Service booklets so that they tied in with the stationery on the day. I chose amnesia roses, peonies and tulips for my flowers and added berries, eucalyptus, raffia and other greenery  to decorate the arch outside of the church and the aisles. The aisle was also lit with candles and rose petals, making for a romantic fairytale setting.

eden-photo-louis-liam5

bride naomi noah wedding dress

sea green bridesmaids dresses bouquets

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_211

What the girls wore… The bridesmaids wore pastel green tea length chiffon dresses with faux buttons down the back and a double bow on the side. They teamed them with nude round toe heels from Aldo. They accessorised with a rose gold bangle and a diamante hair clip from Accessorize. My mom wore a gorgeous lace and satin Gillian Harvey dress in dusky pink teamed with Rainbow Club calfskin dusky pink shoes called Cupcake, a satin pink clutch bag and a dusky pink fascinator by Couture Milliner Alison Todd.

fun groomsmen shot outside church

full wedding party guest fun photo

What the boys wore… Liam’s suit was purchased at Lavin’s Menswear store in Co Sligo, and we purchased all six navy Resus three piece suits  for Liam, his groomsmen and our fathers which we gave to them as a gift for supporting us on the day. The groomsmen wore pastel green ties and Liam wore an Ivory tie.

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_237

eden-photo-louis-liam6

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_248

We chose our photographer because… We had viewed Eden Photography‘s work in a bridal magazine and knew Tanya would be perfect for the look we were hoping to achieve. She was simply amazing! And really fell in with the laid back fun filled atmosphere of the day.

breaffy house wedding ireland

beautiful green forest wedding photo ireland

modern wedding photography ireland

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_288

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_305

My favourite part of the wedding day… Taking time out with my new husband after a few glasses of champagne to have our photos taken, we had a real giggly personal moment.

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_308

eden-photo-louis-liam7

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_360

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_310

eden-photo-louis-liam8

Our menu… Salmon or Beef. Traditional but very tasty!

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_331

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_332

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_344

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_350

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_356

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_381

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_370

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_375

We chose our venue because… The staff at Breaffy House were amazing and could not do enough for us, no job was too small and they even located a Welsh flag to fly alongside the Irish one. It was also close to our home and given that nearly a hundred guests were travelling from Wales we did not want to add further travel time. We also felt the look of the outside of the building fell in with our overall wedding day.

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_407

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_382

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_390

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_391

My piece of advice for other brides… I know it sounds so cliché; but on the morning of your wedding forget about all the finer details and just ENJOY it!

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_411

Lucy and Liam_Breaffy House Wedding_417