Meet Sophie and Pádraig, our first real wedding couple of 2026! The couple chose a summer wedding at Ballymagarvey Village with a romantic and elegant white and sage green colour scheme.
Couple: Sophie and Pádraig
Engagement length: 2 years and 5 months
Wedding date: 2024-07-26
Wedding venue: Ballymagarvey Village
Photographer & Videographer: The Fennells
‘Pádraig and I first met while we were working for the same company in London. I am from London & Pádraig moved over from Ireland in 2012 to pursue his career in insurance. We were in different departments, but he was in the same department as my Mum, which is how we first met. We were friends for over 5 years before we started dating!’
‘Pádraig had planned to propose at the top of the Rock of Dunamase, but when the big day arrived the weather prevented that from happening. He decided to kill some time in the hope the sun would come out so we went for a bite to eat. He seemed really distracted, little did I know why! Luckily the sun made an appearance, but he had to change plan & so we went for a walk in the beautiful grounds of Emo Court, where he got down on one knee & asked me to marry him. It was so peaceful being just the two of us & it came as a huge surprise to me!’
Sophie wore a boho style mermaid Milla Nova dress. Fully adorned with lace, it had an off the shoulder bodice with detachable sheer tulle puffy sleeves and overlay skirt. She paired the gown with a cathedral veil & delicate flower drop earrings. For the evening she wore a structured mini, off the shoulder Rosie Etienne dress with detachable lace sleeves. She kept on her ivory petal heels, but soon swapped for a pair of white converse for dancing! Pádraig wore a navy houndstooth three piece tailored suit from Suit Supply London with a navy knit tie. His shoes were from Loake Shoemakers & he wore a single white rose boutonnière.
‘Our summer wedding in Ballymagarvey Village was our version of perfection. A mostly sunny, warm day with a touch of rain for good luck! In keeping with the natural beauty of the venue we opted for a white & sage green colour scheme. We included Orchids, my favourite flower, in the bouquets & top table arrangement to add a touch of elegance. Using various types of candles & individual vases of white blooms we wanted to create a soft, romantic feel.’
Sophie and Pádraig’s three bridesmaids wore floor length, sage green satin dresses, each choosing their own individual style. The Man of Honour wore a three piece sage green tweed suit & Pádraig’s two groomsmen wore three piece navy suits, all from Moss Bros. All three, as well as the father of the bride and father of the groom, wore matching green ties and single white rose boutonnière’s.
‘We decided to have a humanist ceremony on site at Ballymagarvey Village in their beautiful mill loft, officiated by Billy Hutchinson. We had the privilege of having The Ward Sisters perform during our ceremony, singing Easy by James TW as I walked down the aisle; Dreams by The Cranberries while our families lit the unity candles; I Get To Love You by Ruelle as a stand alone song; I Choose You by Forest Blakk whilst we lit our unity candle & signed the register; & Runaway by The Corrs as our exit song. Our readings were A Vow by Wendy Cope; a poem named The One; & I Love You Because by Jim Reeves. It was a wonderful, relaxed ceremony which we felt reflected us perfectly.’
The venue:
Ballymagarvey Village is stunning, it really is one of a kind. From the main house with its crackling fires & homely feel, to the beautiful mill loft & enchanting banquet hall, it gave us everything & more for our special day. The staff are second to none, leading up to the day & on the day itself they go above & beyond. The food was incredible, the garden is so pretty & the bridal barn is an amazing space to get ready in the morning. We viewed a few other venues but left Ballymagarvey until last as we had a feeling it would steal our hearts & as soon as we walked through the doors of the main house I had butterflies. Walking into the banquet hall was the moment we knew no other venue would compare for us, I even cried it was just so breathtaking! We booked our wedding day on the spot!
Our photographers:
We were so lucky that our photographers were The Fennells, who are absolutely brilliant! We met Mark at Ballymagarvey the night we booked our wedding date & we loved their photos. Being a husband & wife duo who capture their own individual styles on the day & having got married at Ballymagarvey themselves, Mark & Fiona felt like the obvious choice for us. They know the venue so well & they worked so efficiently so we could be with our guests as much as possible. They are so lovely & make you feel so at ease on the day, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. The photos are simply stunning, they captured our day perfectly!
We booked videography as part of our package with The Fennells. They worked seamlessly together. Our videographer was amazing, we completely forgot we were being filmed most of the time & he caught all of the special moments of the day! We adore our videos & we will treasure them for a lifetime.
Favourite memories:
It’s so hard to choose a favourite memory of the day, but one was walking out after our ceremony to have photos taken and seeing our cocker spaniel, Woody, in his suit ready to greet us as Husband & Wife! He stayed for the drinks reception and enjoyed all of the attention from our guests, it was so special having him there with us as part of our big day and he thoroughly enjoyed his day with Melissa who runs PETigo. Another would have to be hearing Pádraig’s moving speech, which had everyone in tears and he received a standing ovation!
Advice for other couples:
Our advice when it comes to planning a wedding is to book your main vendors as early as possible. Not only to tick items off the list, but they can get booked up months in advance so contact anyone you have your eye on! We found this made planning less stressful & much more enjoyable. Also, some of the best advice we received is to take some time together during the day to relax & to just take it all in! It’s a magical whirlwind that goes by too quickly & having everyone you love in the same room can mean you are pulled in opposite directions, so including even just 10 minutes in your timeline to have a glass of champagne together to celebrate you’ve just got married is a pretty special moment!
Recommended Suppliers
Venue: Ballymagarvey Village
Photographer& Videographer: The Fennells
DJ: DJ & Sax
Other Suppliers: Wedding dress: Milla Nova | Evening Dress: Rosie Etienne | Grooms Suit: Suitsupply London | Bridesmaid Dresses: Pretty Lavish | Man of Honour & Groomsmen Suits: Moss Bros | Cake: Caroline Goulding | Celebrant-solemniser: Billy Hutchinson | Stationery: The Ivory Feather | Rings: 77 Diamonds | Flowers: Arbour Blooms | Photo Booth: Photobooth Ireland | Musician: The Ward Sisters | After dinner band: The Enemies | Hair: June Murtagh | Makeup: Breifne Keogh
