Wedding Day Fun In This Emerald Green Celebration

Meet Caoimhe and Blake! They hosted a beautiful emerald green wedding, where they went all out with their entertainment. The selfie mirror, 360 video booth, brilliant band, two Hummers and so much more. Their wedding doesn’t just look beautiful, it looks incredibly fun too!

Couple: Caoimhe & Blake
Engagement length: 20 months
Wedding date: 2023-08-05
Wedding location: The Abbey Hotel Roscommon
Photographer: Matt Browne Photography

Caoimhe and Blake first met in school. After 9 months of taking the same bus, Blake finally plucked up the courage to ask her out and 14 years later they got engaged!

“On December 23rd Blake passed by a ring in a local jewelers that he knew was perfect. In that moment he decided he would propose the next day. I had always joked that I wanted a secret photographer for the day he decided to propose, with that in mind he organised my sister to be there to capture the moment under the guise that she was there to mind our daughter. I was told we were going to Loughrea for lunch while our daughter was minded. We stood chatting for a few minutes in front of Loughrea lake where we met for the first time, still with no clue what he had planned. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him in the most thoughtful and romantic way. My sister got beautiful pictures of the occasion that I treasure now remembering that amazing day.”

“I have always been a fan of bold colours. For our wedding we chose an emerald green colour theme reflected in all aspects from the wedding cars to the seating plan, menus and wedding favours set at each place setting.”

Caoimhe and Blake both wanted a very classic, formal style with a twist that reflected their personalities and likes.

Blake wore a tailored black tuxedo with a crushed velvet jacket finished with an emerald green bow tie and pocket square purchased from Coreless Fashion in Galway city.

Caoimhe wore a fitted long sleeve heavily beaded gown with a fluffy over-skirt and cathedral length veil purchased from Angelo Bridal, Dublin.

Her hair was done by the amazing talented Emma from The Beauty Box travelling from Carlow. Emma created an overstated upstyle from hair extensions attached to filler which was then pinned to Caoimhe’s natural hair, topped off by a diamanté hair piece. Even with all the dancing and being in the go all day the hair stayed in place as if it was just done right up to 3.30am!

Caoimhe’s makeup was perfectly finished by Lydia, Slimdhot Makeover. She had a natural glam look that lasted all night. Both artists also did the wedding party.

Each of the bridesmaids wore a different emerald green gown they chose themselves to suit their style. The Groomsmen wore tuxedos matching the colour scheme with emerald green pocket squares and bow ties. The fathers also wore tuxedos with green ties.

“We had our ceremony in a small local church. It was decorated beautifully with lanterns and candles outside the main doors and in the nave. The pews were lined with white roses, greenery and ribbon along the aisle while each windowsill was filled with flowers and candles. The alter was completed with giant vases filled with white flowers, 2 alter arrangements more lanterns.”

“We decided on our wedding venue during covid through a zoom tour. I fell in love with the beautiful front and large stairs knowing that I would have a long dress that would photograph perfectly on the stairs. The Abbey had great packages including a lot of extras that would take some of the stress of finding vendors away during the planning process. The ballroom was a perfect size for the numbers we had in mind equipped with a full bar and gorgeous raised area for the top table.”

While planning their wedding, Caoimhe and Blake spoke with over a dozen photographers, visited wedding fairs and spent countless hours researching portfolios. They had decided early on that their photographer would be the most important vendor they would hire. They wanted someone that could provide photographs that were a bit more unusual, like silhouettes and using sparklers for special effects.

Matt Browne was the one they instantly fell in love with, when they saw his portfolio and realised his package included everything they wanted and more!

“He totally understood the style I had in mind and each time I sent him inspiration he would send back an image he had taken similar to it. It was obvious he had done it all and was very well experienced in his field. Communication with Matt before the wedding was always quick and easy, his response times made for a very simple planning process and his own recommendations were so helpful, he always knew how to improve and add to my vision. The level of service we were provided with on the day still surpassed all our expectations, Matt was there from early in the morning until late in the evening capturing every special moment.”

Matt went the extra mile by editing a few photos during the meal, so that Caoimhe and Blake could send them to guests who were sadly not able to be at the wedding.

Caoimhe and Blake went all out with their wedding entertainment, because they really wanted everyone at their wedding to have fun and enjoy themselves!

They hired two stretch Hummers, one for each side of the wedding party, so they could travel in style.

As guests arrived, they were greeted by a caricaturist who drew them as a cartoon, perfect for a keepsake of the day. Guests were also given a personalised scratch card as a wedding favour, giving them a chance to win a free drink of choice at the bar.

After the meal, guests could pose with props in front of the selfie mirror, which enabled them to take a printed photo home. Next to the selfie mirror was the 360 video booth, where guests enjoyed getting short video clips while dancing on a platform.

Their wedding band, The White Cakes, were amazing and had the crowd going in no time! The dance floor was never empty and guests are still talking about how amazing they were.

“Myself and my amazing husband Blake have so many fond memories of the day. It is difficult to choose one single favourite. We can both agree that we had so much fun and felt the day was stress free and easy going. We spent the majority of the night with our guests on the dance floor enjoying ourselves and spending time with our guests. Our photographer and videographer took every opportunity to capture every moment perfectly, including sneaking us away for a few brief moments as the sun began to set to get footage of us under the trees in an amazing silhouette shot. I love that we have those important moments captured forever to look back on whenever we want.”

We love asking newlyweds for their wedding advice! This is what Caoimhe and Blake said:

“Enjoy your day, it goes in a flash. There might be little hitches that don’t go exactly as you planned but don’t let them stress you out. Just go with the flow, it’s a celebration not an army regime. Try to enjoy the planning too, though it can be stressful finding the perfect vendors to suit your needs but make it fun, go to fairs, use weddingsonline to reach out and Facebook groups to look at reviews.”