Say hello to Marie and Kalvin, a lovely couple who got married in a beautiful wedding in Ireland! They describe their wedding theme as ‘timeless elegance with modern elements and a lavender love story’. Lavender was featured in the bridesmaid dress colour, and the Man of Honour suit.
Couple: Marie & Kalvin
Engagement length: 7 and half months
Wedding date: 2024-08-07
Wedding location: Seafield Hotel & Spa Resort, Wexford
Photo and Video: Bokeh Photography & Film
Marie and Kalvin met in 2020, after Kalvin sent a very sweet Instagram message to Marie. From there, they went out for coffee at 12 noon and ended up staying together until 10pm! They found they had so much in common, lots of shared opinions and just had an instant spark. A few months later they were living together and within two years had bought their first home!
Marie shares their engagement story:
“Kalvin brought me back to a bench in Waterford City along the quay on a Winters’ evening in December after we had a lovely meal in Momo’s. We were reminiscing on our first date where we spent hours sitting on this exact bench, just chatting, getting to know each other. I was looking out at the boats on the quay and pointed one out to him and said “look it definitely was this bench we sat on because I remember that boat!” and when I turned around, I realised he wasn’t tying his shoelace and he actually had the ring box in his hand, with the most beautiful engagement ring. He proposed by asking me “Will you be my forever human?” and to which I responded “Ya” and that was that! From there I started jumping into wedding planning and in about 1 months, I had a serious dent put into the planning, booking and organisation of it all.”
They describe their wedding theme as ‘timeless elegance with modern elements and a lavender love story’. Lavender was featured in the bridesmaid dress colour, and the Man of Honour suit.
“Our ceremony was personalised to us and took place in Seafield, followed by couples only photos on the beach, a beautiful drinks reception overlooking the sea with background music by Conor Clancy and Killian Browne, followed by superb food and night time entertainment provided by Shuffle & Pop. In choosing all elements of the wedding, I kept the modern and classic styles and tones in my head when planning and securing suppliers. It was really important to me that the styling and decor all tied in with the bridal party outfits and my dress!”
Marie’s dress was Harper by Justin Alexander, a beautiful, fun, classic, elegant A line dress with bardot sleeves and class button detailing all down the back. She absolutely adored it!
Kalvin wore a black tux jacket to greet guests, and then for his own groom’s entrance before the ceremony started, he changed into his white tux jacket. He walked up the aisle to an acoustic version of “The Green and Red of Mayo”. This was a really fab choice and Marie is so glad he went with the white jacket as she reckons he looks so handsome in it and really stood out during the day.
The wedding party groomsmen and Kalvin and Marie’s fathers wore a simple black tux (no waistcoats) from Lavins Menswear, Ballymote, Sligo. The bridesmaid dresses were from Folkster, Kilkenny. And the Man of Honour wore a suit from M&S.
“We created our ceremony centred on our personal vows, love of music and readings read by family and friends. We kept it quite simple but ensured everything was meaningful to us. We passed our rings to guests at the start for the ring warming blessing. We had a remembrance candle lit to honour family members and friends no longer with us physically but were present in our thoughts that day. We had beautiful music throughout and I walked up the aisle to Turning Page – At Last. It was beautiful.”
They hosted a stunning ceremony and reception part at Seafield Hotel. Here’s what they said about the venue:
“Seafield had it all – ambience, professionalism, style, delicious food, top class service, beautiful setting and just a fantastic vibe to it from day one of viewing until we checked out. We had such a positive experience with all of the team that we dealt with through our wedding planning process. Special thanks to Patrick, Hannah, the 2 Brians, Hannah, Micheal and Sharon for making it so memorable, beautiful and special for us both. I will forever sing Seafield’s praises from the rooftop as it was just the best venue!”
The festivities were beautifully captured by the team at Bokeh Photography, with Tim on photography and Liam on videography.
“Tim was super chill and professional, he is so composed at shooting weddings and he went unnoticed throughout the day snapping shots and securing some beautiful sneak peak photos that we received on the night of our wedding, just before our first dance. It was so beautiful to wake up and look at our first professional wedding photos the next morning and to relive those emotions and feelings all over again!
Liam was really positive, fun and relaxed in shooting our footage. We haven’t gotten to see it yet as we only got married 2 weeks ago, but I have no doubt it’s going to be beautiful! Liam actually video’d 3 other couples weddings that I know of and have been to their weddings, so I know it’s going to be beautiful when we get the footage. I can’t wait to relive it all again that night.”
They chose not to have favours as it wasn’t a priority for them. However, they did have amazing live music for the ceremony and drinks reception provided by Conor Clancy and Killian Browne which incorporated all of their special songs. They say the lads were top class, easy to deal with and super professional!
“One of our main priorities for the day was food, and so at the drinks reception, we had a white & milk chocolate fountain provided by Weddings by Fusion, where guests were queuing up for seconds and thirds throughout the drinks reception! This was a beautiful and delicious addition to our day and memorable for all the right reasons.”
Marie shares her favourite memories from the Big Day:
“There are so many, but I definitely think either seeing Kalvin for the first time on that day as I was walking up the aisle was just an unbelievable feeling, or else the craic and laughs that we had travelling to the beach on the golf buggy! I also remember so many head banging, outfit changing, crazy singing performances and dancing from the night that are so funny and special. I just loved it all.”
Newlyweds give such good advice to other couples and this is what Marie said:
“My advice would be don’t obsess over the planning to the point that it turns you off having the wedding or feeling overwhelmed by it. Visualise your weddings and create that into reality within your budget. Rely on your partner for support and input but understand that one person may end up taking more charge of the wedding planning, and that’s ok too. Play to both people’s strengths, enjoy the planning, make a big deal of the different stages like booking suppliers and picking flowers, and menu tasting. It’s such a special and unique experience that only happens once – make sure that you enjoy it all and support and love each other completely through it all! Ignore as best you can, any unhelpful input or questions that you’re faced with outside of your relationship. Also understand that as a bride, your emotions and sensitivities are heightened hugely, so try not to take things too personally or feel attacked when people are just enquiring or asking simple questions. Tis a strange but wonderful event to plan and experience, and I’m so grateful that we moved our wedding forward instead of waiting an extra year as we originally had booked for August 2025 and got married in August 2024. For some people that length of time to plan and organise a wedding might feel daunting or impossible, but for us it just made the whole thing more exciting, and that we got to be each others’ forever humans a whole year faster than we planned originally.”
Recommended suppliers
Photo and Video: Bokeh Photography & Film
Venue: Seafield Hotel and Spa Resort
Planner/coordinator: Patrick, Brian, Sharon, Hannah, and Michael at Seafield Hotel
Makeup: Deimante MUA
Other suppliers
Musician/band: Conor Clancy & Killian Browne | Band and DJ: Shuffle & Pop Wedding Band | Hair: Perfection by Paula Bridal | Couple’s outfits: Bijou Bridal Tramore, Lavins Menswear Ballymote | Wedding party outfits: Folkster Kilkenny, M&S | Cake: Jenny’s Cupcakes Wexford | Celebrant/solemniser: MK Ceremonies – Michelle Kelly | Jewellery/rings: Cara – Dubai | Accessories: Veil – Vows Bridal Cork, Jewellery – Rosie & Dott & Etsy | Flowers: The Blooming Event – Wexford | Chocolate Fountain: Weddings by Fusion
