Darienne and Reese

Thank you to our friend, Sophia of Adorn Invites for sending us this gorgeous destination wedding in Kildare, Ireland. (A 30 minute drive from Dublin.)

This submission is based on an interview with the beautiful Bride.

The Details:

How did you and your partner meet? At a local festival called the French Festival in Portarlington Co. Laois. I had been selected as the French Festival Queen that year and Reece was the photographer who had to follow me around all weekend and take pictures!!!!

How did he propose? We were on a trip to Las Vegas and New York. It was our last day in New York and we were getting ready for a very busy day of shopping!!! I had just started to get ready in our hotel room when all of a sudden there he was on one knee!!!

Length of Engagement? 2 years

What do you love most about your partner? His sense of humour and ability to make me laugh even when I’m angry with him!!! His creativity is just amazing!! He is a very talented musician and I love just sitting and listening to him play.

What’s your most important piece of advice for creating and maintaining a strong relationship? I think for us its keeping open lines of communication. I think it’s so important to be able to sit down with your partner and be able to express how each of you are feeling without feeling like you won’t be heard. Also, laughter. To be able to just let your hair down and have fun with each other is also so important.

Tell us about your wedding gown and how you chose it: Before I had even stepped into a bridal shop, I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted. I wanted form fitting and lace. When I started looking and trying on wedding dress that picture kind of fell apart when I figured out that what I wanted did not suit me one bit!! It was just me and my mum who went shopping and she was desperate for me to try on this one particular dress and I was adamant that I wasn’t trying it on as I thought no that it’s definitely not me. I eventually tried it on just to placate her and I fell in love with it! My dress was very simple, an ivory mikado silk ballgown with glass and pearl detailing. You know what they say ‘mother knows best’!

Did you do a ‘first look’ before the ceremony? No, we decided to keep the surprise for the ceremony itself.

What sort of style did you envision for your wedding day? For us we wanted simple but elegant. I had my bridesmaids in black dresses and Reece and the groomsmen in black tuxedos. The flowers were white with lots of greenery through them. So very simple nothing to overstated.

Can you describe what type of ceremony you had and how you were able to personalize it.- Any readings? We actually had an interfaith religious ceremony. Reece and I are both different religions so we decided to have both religions recognized in the ceremony. We had a priest and a reverend at our ceremony. We had our family and close friends do some readings. It was a very personal ceremony.

Vows – did you write your own vows, if so, would you be willing to share them in the feature. If you didn’t write your own vows, can you share what you said or were asked by your officiant? We didn’t write our own vows but we were both asked to remember, by our priest and reverend, that our love for each other will be bigger than any problem we face as husband and wife going forward.

Did you have any symbolic gestures during your ceremony i.e. a hand-fasting, candle ceremony, wine ceremony or something else? We had a candle ceremony. At the start of the ceremony we both lit our own candles to symbolize us as individuals. Once we were announced as husband and wife with then took a flame from our candles and lit one sole candle to symbolize us as a married couple.

Did you have a wedding party? Did they do anything special during the ceremony? We had 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen.

Were any of your guests involved in the ceremony in any way? Our family and some close friends did some readings for us which was very special.

How did you enter your wedding ceremony? Reece entered the ceremony with his groomsmen before the bridal party arrived. I arrived with my dad and he walked me up the aisle which was very emotional for him and me!!!

What made you choose the type of ceremony that you had? I think we just both wanted both of our religions incorporated into our wedding.

Do please share any other thoughts or feelings that you have about your ceremony, which might help inspire others: For us making the ceremony personal was very important to us as it just felt very special and we were both so happy with how everything went.

Describe the cake (including the flavors) and cake topper: Our wedding cake was black with white sugar craft lilies flowing down the side! It also had a gold tier to stand the cake on. The gold tier had intricate detailing on it but if our guests looked close enough Tanya, our cake supplier, had hidden our dogs face, a golden snitch from Harry Potter and a set of drum sticks in the gold detailing which was amazing!!! The top tier of the cake was a chocolate sponge, the next tier was a lemon drizzle sponge and then finally a chocolate biscuit cake!!!

What flowers did you use in the bouquet and at the venue? We used white lilies, roses, ivy and fern in my bouquet. For the bridesmaids we used just plain white roses for their bouquets. In the venue we used white lilies and roses and lots and lots of greenery for the decor.

How did you choose your table décor? We met with Edel Cooney from Vintage Affair. Her company specializes in venue decor and I explained to her what we were looking for and she just worked her magic. The table decor, the whole venue was breathtaking.

What was the menu for the reception? We had a duck and broccoli salad with a plum sauce to start. Followed by Garden vegetable soup served with pan fried soda bread and Guinness brown bread. For our main course we had a filet of beef served with caramelized onion, potato gratin and a red wine jus or pan-fried salmon served with a lemon butter sauce. For dessert we had the choice of a chocolate tart served with white chocolate mousse or Eton mess.

What were your favorite moments from the day? For me there was 30 minutes between the call for dinner and our guests being seated where Reece and I had a chance to sit on our own, having a glass of champagne and just soak in the moment and chat about our day so far. We both really enjoyed our time with our photographer also as it was just the two of us!!I loved the moment when I walked into the church to walk up the aisle and I could see Reece for the first time that day I was smiling from ear to ear!!

Name your wedding soundtrack (aisle entrance & exit, reception entry, first dance songs):

The entrance song was May It Be – Enya

Our exit song was Helium – Sia

Our reception entry song was Give me All your Loving – ZZ Top

First Dance – Secret Garden- Bruce Springsteen

Any DIY décor elements? Our table favour we did ourselves. They were little scratch cards in an envelope that said “for richer, for poorer”. We also had a cigar and cigarette bar.

Any sentimental personal touches? Each guest had a charm that they could keep that was attached to the stem of their wine glass that they could bring home with them.

What was the biggest splurge of the day? Definitely the venue and meal. Our venue was the Cliff at Lyons and the minute we went to see it before we booked it, we both fell in love with it. It is so beautiful with little cottages for guests to stay in surrounded by a lake. There was a courtyard with a book log burning fire pit where all of our guests could enjoy a few drinks and have a chat.

How did you save on costs? We were very strict with what we wanted and we tried not to get sucked into all of the little things that add up. For example, with didn’t go for candy carts or photo booths.

In hindsight, anything you would have done differently? We both agreed in saying that we wouldn’t stress as much as we did over the planning. It all works out!!

Where did you go on honeymoon? We went to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Dubai for our honeymoon and it was just amazing! Definitely a once in a lifetime trip.

Any tips that you can give to future couples? I think I would just tell them that your wedding day is about you and your future partner. Do what makes the two of you happy and don’t sweat the small stuff.

If you could sum up your wedding in one sentence, how would you describe it? Amazing from start to finish, it was everything and more we could have ever hoped for. If I was given a chance to do the day all over again I would. Marrying the person you love and being surrounded by the people who love you both and want every happiness for you both is definitely the best feeling in the world.

The Team:

Wedding Invitations: Adorn Invitations

Veil: Makeup: Lydia Maher- Blush Beauty Bar

Hair: Jamie-Lee Kavanagh- Society Salons

Shoes: Asos

Bride Accessories: Lynda O’Brien

Bridesmaids Dresses: Rosie’s Closet

Groom’s Suit: Savoy Tailors Guild

Groomsmen Suit: Savoy Tailors

Guild Cake: Tanya Ross- Novel-T Cakes

Food: Cliff At Lyons

Flowers: Coopers Florist