A Lovely Rustic Wedding in Ireland

Real Weddings

Names: Louise Flynn and Darragh McEvoy

Length of engagement: 11months & 3weeks.

Wedding Date: 04 / 01 / 2019

Wedding location: BallyBeg House

Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography

 

 

We met… Darragh was senior football captain with Celbridge and he signed himself up for that year’s fundraiser, which was “Jigs & Reels”. Myself and my maid of honour, Gill were the local Irish Dance teachers so when we were approached to do it we thought ah sure why not! The first practice in the club hall didn’t exactly go to plan as the footballers were in the middle of championship and afraid of injury therefore not wanting to really give the dancing 100% and moaned a lot!! As the weeks of practice passed – Gill’s phone never stopped with texts from Darragh – trying to get some insight into the other dance teacher and eventually asked her for my number. He texted me a couple of days later asking me out. Our first date you guessed it the clubhouse as it was the launch night of the competition. And since that first date we have never looked back.

 

 

Our proposal… In Glendalough on the 13thJanuary 2018. We had decided that our New Year’s resolutions would be to get more activities into our weekends. So that Saturday Darragh suggested we go for a walk around Glendalough. As we got there we started reminiscing about one of our first dates when I brought him to Glendalough for a romantic picnic. As we walked we remembered that and chatted about everything we had done since that date, travelling being a huge talking point. We then got to the large lake and started to skim stones. I walked away from him looking for stones, when he called me and I turned around he started his proposal. It was then I noticed the ring box in his hand. He asked would I take a leap of faith with him, and in between happy tears I said YES.

 

 

Our wedding theme/colours… We didn’t really have a theme, and to be honest with our venue the absolutely stunning Ballybeg House you really don’t need one. So we took inspiration from Ballybeg for most aspects our day. Our invitations had a sketch of a large oak tree with lanterns hanging from the branches, and we made sure to get a photo the night of our wedding at the tree. We had wooden boxes for our rings and our ceremony wine box.

 

 

Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… We did shot glasses for our favours. So over Christmas we had a production line of sticky dots, cards with “we’ve tied the knot so take a shot” and twine. Other than that, Tee our wedding co-ordinator from Pairs & Peaches used her magic touch with candles, flowers and everything else that was needed to add to our day.

 

 

My dress… I had no idea what style I liked or what would suit me, so I went to my first appointment with Caroline at The White Room in Mullingar with an open mind. Caroline put my mind at ease and told me to try on one of everything. As the appointment went on Caroline got a sense of what I liked and didn’t like and said there was one more she would like me to try. And there was my dress. I fell completely in love with it. I loved that it was different to the dresses I had seen before.  And it just made me feel like a bride, I loved it.

 

 

My hair and make up… My make-up was by Adele Miley. I found her on Instagram and I really liked her natural style. For my hair, I actually asked Adele for a recommendation and she passed me to Nicola Kelly who understood that I was after a very soft look.

 

 

His suit… Darragh bought his suit from The Formal Suite. He really wanted something a little different as he wears a suit every day for work. We loved the tweed and it really looked great on the day and he’s received lots of compliments since.

 

 

What our bridal party wore… The dresses are from House of Fraser. I knew I wanted the girls in navy, and they looked beautiful on them. We got the lads suits from The Formal Suite. Same as just with Navy ties and pocket square to match the girls.

 

 

Our ceremony… For the ceremony we went with a spiritual ceremony. Our celebrant was Vincent Whelan. The ceremony was very important to us, as it’s the whole reason for the day. When we met with Vincent he put my worries at ease and assured me that it would be perfect. Vincent explained all the different aspects we could include in our service. We had the tying of the knot and the love letters and wine that you seal away until our 10th Anniversary. We also had words of wisdom from married couples in our lives including our grandparents who are all married 60+ years. That was our idea and it worked out really well as an alternative to traditional prayers of the faithful.

 

 

We chose our photographer because… Our photographers were Laura and Benny. I met them at the Bride of the Year showcase in the RDS the week after our engagement. I got chatting to Laura, and she was just so easy going. When I left the RDS the only good thing I took from it was my conversation with Laura. I booked them that night. It was great having two photographers on the day as we got so many photos back and from many different perspectives.

 

 

We chose our wedding coordinator because… Tee our coordinator was recommended through Ballybeg House. When we met, I knew that we would go with her as she knows Ballybeg inside out and just knows what you want before you do. Tee looks after every aspect of the day, from table plans to flowers and decorations. She is super-woman, and she helped make our day perfect.

 

 

We chose our venue because… I had seen Ballybeg a couple of years ago and it just stuck out in my mind, so when we got engaged I showed Darragh their website and thankfully he agreed we should go take a look. When we arrived at Ballybeg it was a cold January Sunday. Paddy the owner was so welcoming and showed us around the main house. It wasn’t until he brought us to the ceremony room, myself & Darragh walked up the aisle together, I looked at him waiting on his reaction and he just looked at me and told me this is where we had to get married.

Everything about the venue is just how we imagined our day.

 

 

Our menu…

Canapés

Cocktail Sausages with a Honey & Mustard and Toasted Almond Glaze served in a Bread Bowl

Teeny Yorkshire Puddings with Fillet of Beef and Horseradish Mayo

Starters

Confit of Duck with Pomegranate Seeds and Stilton with Organic Salad Leaves Drizzled with Pomegranate Molasses

Crab and Cheddar Tart

Main

Chargrilled Individual Fillets of Irish Beef with a Wholegrain Mustard Mash and a Wild Mushroom and Brandy Cream

Chargrilled Swordfish with a Roasted Pepper and Basil Salsa and Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Dessert

Chocolate Pots with Floating Cream and Raspberries and shortbread hearts

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toasted Pecan nuts and a warmed Butterscotch Sauce

 

We finished off the evening with a late night snack of Tayto sambo’s

 

 

 

Our honeymoon… We went to Venice & Rome. It was the perfect mix of tourist attractions and a bit of relaxation.

 

 

My favourite part of the wedding day…

Louise: Was waiting to see Darragh. Everyone was asking was I nervous or what I was looking forward to, and all I said was that I couldn’t wait to see Darragh. I couldn’t wait to officially start our day. My smile got bigger from that point.

Darragh: I was nervous standing there waiting for Louise to arrive but they went the minute I saw her walk up the aisle. It was a perfect day that I didn’t want to end.

 

 

My piece of advice for other couples…

On the day take a couple of minutes just the two of you. You have people with you at all times. The day goes quick once you arrive at the ceremony. We were lucky to have a 5 min break after the family photos. We got to try the canapes and had a glass of bubbly, a quick chat about the day so far, but after those 5 mins we were ready to party and called our bridal party to join us, as it was almost time to dance our way into the marquee.

 

 

What is it that makes your wedding unique?

All weddings are unique to the couple. For us we just made sure it was everything we liked and wanted. We had exceptional food, plenty of wine, and surrounded by family and friends, and just a really happy weekend.

 

 

 

Suppliers

Wedding venue: Ballybeg House, Tinahealy, Co Wicklow | Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography | Planner/coordinator: Tee, from Pairs & Peaches | Videographer: Colin from Videoforweddings | Musician: Doug Sheridan | Band and DJ: Pump up the Jam | Hair: Nicola Kelly | Makeup: Adele Miley | Dress: The White Room, Mulligar. Kandace by Enzoani | Suit: Tweed suit from The Formal Suite | Bridesmaids dresses: House of Fraser | Groomsmen outfits: Tweed suits from The Formal Suite | Caterer: Mollys Larder, Pauline & Ingrid | Cake: Mollys Larder, Pauline & Ingrid | Celebrant: Vincent Whelan