“I decided I wanted a Gatsby inspired wedding. It is one of my favorite movies.”
Names: Kaley and Philip
Length of engagement: 18 months
Wedding Date: 21.08.2018
Wedding location: Boyne Hill House Estate
Photographer: Eric Ronan Photography
We met… In Portugal in 2005, I was away with my friend’s family. He was away on his first boys holiday. It didn’t work out back then. Phil contacted me again in Nov 2014 by Facebook and we met for our first date. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Our proposal… Phil’s proposal was minus romance. We had spoken about getting married. He asked me one day if I would like to go shopping. I asked, “For What?”. “A ring,” he said.
Our wedding theme/colours… black, white and silver. I had always wanted a boho wedding, but felt it had been overdone, so I wanted something different. I decided I wanted a Gatsby inspired wedding. It is one of my favorite movies.
Phil was oblivious telling everybody our theme was Moulin Rouge, which is slightly different! My dress really determined this and the rest followed. I know Gatsby is mostly black and gold, but I fell in love with silver and grey for my bridesmaids so that settled that.
Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… my mam made feather centrepieces. For some of the tables, my good friend made our table names, which were inspired by our favorite movies. We also made the table plan using a mirror.
My dress… I had been researching dresses for ages and every time I saw a boho one I loved, I couldn’t help but thinking “It’s like any summer dress I could buy anywhere.” I stumbled across Eliza Jane Howell dresses and fell in love. After trying a few stores, I went to Frilly Frocks and I fell in love with 3 dresses! I had seen the embellished cape as I walked in the door and I knew I had to have it. So it was just a matter of deciding which dress would suit the cape best! I finally settled on a fully embellished figure-hugging number which felt right.
My hair and make up… I always knew I wanted my hair up and messy. Not at all Gatsby, but I’m all about breaking the rules! As my mam says we went for a ‘glamarustic’ wedding in the end, so it had a little bit of the boho vibe I’d always wanted. My makeup trial I went for intense eyes, very dewy skin. I didn’t want the natural bride look. But in the end I decided to go for a dramatic lip. Mac Russian red was the shade of choice!
His suit… it was a dark grey textured suit which had some depth and a vintage feel to it.
What our bridal party wore… both Philip and I had a tribe and agreed on 6 each! Even that was a struggle . However we decided we’d go big! 5 of my girls wore a charcoal embellished 3/4 sleeved split back top. With a metallic maxi split front skirt! And I adored their look. They were all so comfortable and beautiful. The ensemble suited them each in different ways. My junior bridesmaid wore a silver midi dress with an embellished torso and tulle skirt. I wanted her to stand out from the others and also to be age appropriate. She’s only 15!
The boys were kitted out in Collar and Cuff also. We bought them charcoal grey suits. And they complimented the bridesmaids brilliantly.
Our little flower girl wore a scalloped hem silver dress and she was too cute!
Our ceremony… was outdoors on the grounds of our venue, Boyne Hill House. We couldn’t have wished for a more beautiful day. The sun shone through after days of raining and the secret garden we got married in was so stunning. The backdrop in the photos is amazing, with vibrant greenery and a wellkept garden. We had a humanistic ceremony and incorporated some of the rituals that were appropriate to us.
Joe Armstrong married us. He was an absolute pleasure to deal with and a true professional. So witty and intelligent. He made our ceremony so relaxed and enjoyable. We laughed from beginning to end. We had Shane and Jenni from Good Times perform throughout the ceremony and the music was just gorgeous. Jenni’s voice is absolutely out of this world and I couldn’t have imagined walking in to any body else singing ‘By Your Side’ by Sade. One of my favorite moments of the day was walking toward Philip with that behind me. Incredible.
We chose our photographer because… Eric Ronan is so professional and down to earth and honest. His photography spoke to us because it is a combination of fun shots, family shots candid moments. And we felt like he would capture the essence of our day. He also provides a photobooth which was lots of fun. He was brilliant! So easy going but worked very quickly to ensure we got as much time with our guests as possible, as we had advised him we wanted to enjoy our day with our family and friends. He directed us brilliantly and we got the job done so easily and had lots of fun too!
We chose our wedding coordinator because… We dealt with a couple of coordinators through our venue and each was fantastic. But Leone in Boyne Hill House is so energetic and full of enthusiasm and genuinely is buzzing the whole time. It was great to work with somebody who was an absolute yes person. So full of life, so happy to help and accommodate us. I felt like she was just so excited to be coordinating our day wedding celebrations for us and we were so lucky to have her on board.
We chose our venue, Boyne Hill House, because… we had been to a wedding there about 3 years ago and we absolutely loved the relaxed vibe. We always wanted an exclusive venue so we could hire the venue for 3 days. Make a big event out of it! And after viewing a few places similar, the staff there are so warm and welcoming. And all of our guests said the same. They couldn’t do enough for us. I felt like I was famous for 3 days!
Our menu…
Starter: Roast Veg Soup and Chicken and Mushroom Vol Au Vant.
Mains: Steak or Chicken wrapped in Bacon and Potato Gratin. Veg option was a Tofu Pad Thai.
Dessert: A selection of Mini Desserts, including Brownies, Ice-cream, Profiteroles, Cheesecake and Panna Cotta.
Our honeymoon… we went to Malta for a week on our minimoon after our wedding to decompress. The weather was so beautiful. We really took time to soak it all in. It really is all over in the blink of an eye. We ate out in lovely restaurants, chilled by the pool, went Gozo and the Camino. But mostly we caught up on our sleep, which was desperately needed.
We plan on going on a Carribean cruise at Christmas for our honeymoon. It’s the dream.
My favourite part of the wedding day… it’s a tough one, but the ceremony was our favorite. The music, the atmosphere, the celebrant! Finally getting to see each other after all the build up of the day. Sitting looking out at all of our friends and family who joined us to celebrate really made it all magic for us.
My piece of advice for other couples… Don’t stress the little things. Just do you! Make it all about you two. Soak it up … every last drop of it! And just enjoy every moment because you’ll never get them back!
(Oh And definitely get a videographer)!
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Boyne Hill House | Photographer: Eric Ronan | Planner/coordinator: Leone | Videographer: Kevin Bennett (miweddingfilm) | Musician: Good Times | DJ: with band | Hair: Rachel Hughes | Makeup: Robyn O Brien aka The Makeup Gal | Dress: Eliza Jane Howell Frilly Frocks Drogheda | Suit: Collar and Cuff | Bridesmaids dresses: Folkster | Groomsmen outfits: Collar and Cuff | Caterer: Boyne Hill House | Cake: SweetShells | Celebrant: Joe Armstrong
