Emma and Tommy
29.06.2018
Photographer: DK Photo
Venue: Lyrath Estate
We met…
We met in Secondary school. We are both from South Kilkenny and shared a lot of the same friends. Tommy went to the Good Council College – for Boys, while I was in The Mercy, for Girls. Inevitably – because we were separated during the school day – meeting the boys after school was a high priority.
Our proposal…
Tommy proposed in Fiji. I had absolutely no clue. He had been working away for Xmas so we flew to Fiji on St. Stephens day. The whole trip was just amazing. The proposal was a bonus. We stayed on a tiny island in the north – Paradise Cove, Yasawa – and that’s exactly what it was. Just Paradise. There was dinner and wine and music on the beach and a ring that he had gotten made in America- rose gold with an emerald cut diamond. I was completely shocked – we took our time celebrating, just us, drinking champagne and laughing on the beach – before calling home and letting the chaos of the excitement unfold. I found out after that he had brought the ring in his suitcase – which had been on two flights, a sea plane and a tiny row boat before he got to see it again. Needless to say, that was a conversation.
Our wedding theme/colours…
We wanted to keep everything really fresh. The Flowers/Greenery were a massive part of what I wanted to be the focus for the theme. I love the simple classic look so that was the aim with all of the Greenery and White florals. Eucalyptus is the epitome of freshness I think, especially the scent – and its native to Australia (We have been living in Perth for the past 5 years) so it was easy to choose that as the basis for the theme.
My Mam and my Aunties all have amazing gardens. Mam did all the flowers for the Ceremony– with flowers from our own gardens at home and the fields/hills around us. Everyone was on board to help, even the kids – which made it even more special.
Everything else just flowed into that fresh theme. The rose gold tied in because I like its classic look but also because of my engagement ring I suppose. There is so much inspiration out there on pintrest and Instagram etc that its so easy to get sucked into it all.
We just went with what we like and how we wanted the day to feel overall.
My dress…
Was made by Zanis Couture Bridal in Perth. Jennifer is an amazing talent and such a fabulous person to work with inside and out. I left “the dress” to what some people might say as the last minute – I never had any anticipation about the wedding dress I wanted or dreamt I would love. I think I have worn a long dress once in my life, so I am sure Jen will admit I was a difficult candidate to deal with because of my lack of experience ha-ha. The key for me was to be able enjoy myself and dance.
The spilt up the front allowed just that – the overall design was fresh and somewhat modern and the hand stitched lace was romantic and floaty which is what I loved most about it.
My hair and make up…
Callan and Co Dublin did both the hair and makeup for the wedding. They were the dream team – super relaxed and easy going and provided great laughs the morning of the wedding. We were all ready with lots of time to spare and the girls did an amazing job at having us all look fresh faced and natural, especially with how hot the day was.
His suit…
Tommy mixed it up with his suit. His tartan jacket was from Politix – a popular Australian men’s suit brand. His pants waist, coat and tie were from Zara which he got in Dublin when we landed back home. else.
All the pocket squares and other details were from an online store call “ Otta” which are a really cool new Zealand brand that have great ideas for the Lads.
What our bridal party wore…
Our Bridesmaids wore silk slip dresses from Australian (affordable) designer Bec and Bridge. The girls are all gorgeous, so I wanted them to feel that way and to feel comfortable and enjoy the day from start to finish. The sand colour fitted perfectly with our fresh natural theme and the shorter length worked out so well with the fabulous weather we were blessed with. They were simplistic and understated which made them even more amazing on girls I thought.
The boys wore navy suits from Detail Menswear in Kilkenny. We went with plain navy 3-piece slim fit for the boys but in hindsight – given the weather on the day, we could have easily gone with shorts and brought the Aussie look home.
The guys in Detail were great to deal with and it was a breeze getting the boys kitted out and having them all look their sharpest. They do tailored alterations for sleeve length and fit which added to the overall finish .
All the boys, including Tom wore watches from MVMT – he got them for the groomsmen as a gift.
Our ceremony…
Even though we have been living in Perth for the past 5 years there was never any doubt surrounding where we would have our Ceremony. Getting married at home was so important for us both. We were so thrilled to have friends travel home from Australia to celebrate with us but we were always going to travel back home to get married. We are so lucky to still have so many friends and neighbours back there that we are still really close with so being surrounded by everyone we care about was the part of the wedding we were never going to compromise on.
We got married in my Parish Church in the small village of The Rower. Fr.Scriven, our local priest is really involved in the community and wont mind me saying he brings a lot of laughs to any situation – having him celebrate the mass and make it personal to us, our families, friends and where we grew up set the tone for whole day.
We chose our photographer because…
Daniel from DK Photo had been highlighted to us by so many people. He captured a number of our friends’ weddings and we just loved all of his work. I really loved the idea of capturing moments from the day rather than set portraits or groups and Daniel’s glowing reviews from other couples promised he would do just that. To me – this was going to be the biggest party we would every throw, surrounded by the everyone we cared about so I really did not want to waste time away from our guests spending hours taking set pictures while all the real moments, of fun and chats and dancing and laughter were happening without us.
The pictures completely blew us away and exceeded all expectations. There are some moments that completely capture everything we wanted the day to be about – which we are so grateful for.
We chose our venue because…
We initially looked passed The Lyrath as it was literally too close to home being on our doorstep, but in the end we just couldn’t find where that came close by comparison. We looked farther afield for something a little different but on all levels kept coming back to Kilkenny and to The Lyrath.
Firstly, the setting is Magic!! On driving up – the countryside views and landscapes stretching for miles really creates a breath-taking feel that not many of the larger venues who can cater for numbers of 250+ can coffer. Living away from Ireland, the setting was so important for us as we wanted to feel like we were really at Home, surrounded by Green.
The House and Estate are pristinely kept and even though it has that beautiful Old Estate feel, the Lyrath offers superiorly modern amenities and décor and their 5 * customer service on all levels left anyone else we had dealt with in the blocks.
We were lucky to be gifted with Gillian – their Events Manager, who was our personal angel in disguise and made organising everything from Australia an absolute breeze. No suggestion was too much and everything we wanted to incorporate into the day was accommodated for. I can honestly say that Gillian and the team made. All of the organisation was super relaxed– and not only that – we had such a laugh in the progress.
We had cocktails on the outdoor terrace because the weather was amazing, a whiskey and cigar bar, our own theme incorporated throughout with help from the events theme and florist, all our guests – especially the ones wo travelled – more than accommodated for and this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Our menu…
We completely trusted the expertise the Lyrath had to offer with our menu. Everything we had tried at our tasting and to be honest any time we had went for lunch in the bar, has always been above delicious so we had absolutely no reservations about the food that would be served on the day.
The canapes perfectly accompanied our summery cocktail selection of Pimm’s, Mojitos and Processco.
And for the main event; to coincide with the summer feel we went with some lighter options of goat’s cheese tart, sorbet, sea bass or beef and apple crumble for desert. The food went down a treat and on the advice from the head chef – left everyone feeling satisfied but not too full to dance!!
Our honeymoon…
Traveling back home from Australia for the wedding and taking 6 weeks off work was already in most ways a holiday for us both so we decided to wait until Christmas to honeymoon.
While at home we stayed @ The Europe hotel and resort in Kilarney for 3 nights just after the wedding to unwind, as a mini moon, and it was out of this world. The views were something from a postcard and the spa was world-class. The weather added to it being a highlight for us, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who would rather honey moon back home.
My favourite part of the day…
I thoroughly enjoyed being at home for the build-up especially with all the family.
There was such a buzz around the whole thing.
I think walking into the church initially and seeing old school friends and neighbours, and friends and family that had travelled home from all over the world just to be there was extra special.
Having lots of time to chat and enjoy cocktails outside in the sun with all the guests before dinner was another big highlight
My piece of advice for other brides…
Don’t sweat the small stuff, the medium stuff or even the big stuff.
This is the biggest party you are ever going to throw – so make sure you don’t miss any part of it. Make sure your plan for the day allows you have the time to actually attend your own wedding and spend time with all the people who wanted to be there.
Suppliers
Venue: Lyrath Estate Kilkenny | Photographer and photobooth: DK Photo | Videographer: Edithouse Emma Walkin | Brides Dress: Zanzis Bridal Couture, Perth | Bridesmaid Dresses: Bec and Bridge online | Hair and Make up: Callan and Co, Dublin | Grooms Suit: Politix, Perth / Zara | Groomsmen suits: Detail Menswear, Kilkenny | Watches: MVMT online | Flowers: Mam and Family | Floral Crowns /Bouquets: Wild Bunch Flowers, Kilkenny | Cake: Homemade by Aunt Bridget | Flower Girl dresses: Monsoon | Wedding Bands: Rosendorfs, Perth | Wedding Cars: Michael Lyng Motors, Kilkenny (family friends) | Ceremony Music: Dublin City Folk | Band and DJ: The Bentley Boys | Stationary: Etsy | Party Favours: Jameson Distillery | BBQ next day: Trudies Catering Kitchen, Kilkenny (family friends)
