Classic weddings have my heart. This classic wedding, set in charming Ireland and complete with a platinum-hued Bentley getaway ride? Has my whole heart today. With Amanda Crean stealing every moment in picture perfect form, THE VAULT is looking a little shinier with love today. See it all here and don’t miss this darling bridal red carpet moment.
From the Bride…Kieran and I first met over 10 years ago while both studying at University College Cork. Even after going out with each other for over 8 years, our engagement was still a complete surprise to me! I was in the throes of finishing off my PhD, so was completely caught off-guard when, while exchanging presents on Christmas Eve, Kieran went down on one knee with a stunning emerald cut engagement ring. I was so surprised and happy and excited that it took me about 20 minutes to stop freaking out and say yes!
Over the summer months that followed we visited lots of different venues around Ireland before deciding on the Village at Lyons. The Village at Lyons is a beautifully restored seventeenth century village, located on the towpath of the Grand Canal in Co. Kildare. Every inch of the venue is simply exquisite, and we knew from the moment we stepped inside the front door that this was the only place we could imagine for our wedding venue. As for the wedding vendors we chose, I have a slight obsession with everything got to do with weddings, so after all the hours spent scouring wedding blogs and magazines, I knew exactly which vendors I wanted for our big day. We decided on a date for the wedding that would allow us to have all our top choices of vendors … and boy, were we happy we did!
Kieran and I were married on a beautiful sunny day last June in front of 70 of our closest friends and family. We wanted the day to have a relaxed and elegant feel, so chose a romantic palette of mint, peach, soft pastels and white. Stephanie from The French Touch worked with us to achieve a soft and romantic aesthetic by incorporating large open roses, peonies, campanula, hydrangeas and lush foliage into our floral design. The flowers were simply incredible, and I would say that they were my highlight of the day … apart from getting married to the man of my dreams!
In keeping with the feel of the day, I really wanted a dress that had a quiet simplicity and timeless feel about it. After 7 shops and over 60 dresses I finally found the perfect dress, a Pronovias chiffon gown with an illusion neckline covered in embroidery and pearly beading.
We were very lucky to have Father James McSweeney travel from Cork to LadyChapel Church that day to marry us. Father James had been my chaplain when I attended primary school all those years ago, and we are so thankful to him for officiating our wedding ceremony with such warmth and joy. He made such an impact that there was a queue of people lined up after the wedding to ask him if he would be free to do their own weddings in the future.
After the ceremony, we made our way back to the venue in a beautiful grey 1954 Bentley R-type wedding car, sipping champagne in the back seat and enjoying the feeling of finally being married. After arriving back at the venue, we slipped off to have some private photos taken with our incredible photographer Amanda Crean and had such a fun time. It was great to be able to finally relax and have a laugh after all the nervousness before the ceremony. While we were off posing, our guests were treated to prosecco, homemade lemonade and a selection of canapés in the sunshine bathed courtyard.
Dinner was served that evening in The Mill which is a beautiful double height room overlooking the cascading waters of the canal which flows through the property. The food was absolutely delicious. We had tried everything at our menu tasting the previous month and loved it all, but I don’t know whether it was the occasion, the wine or what, but I have to say that on the day it tasted even more delicious than I remembered. All of our guests were raving about it afterwards and it still comes up in conversation now about how amazing the lamb was.
After dinner, the well-known Cork based jazz and swing band The Roaring Forties kept everyone up on the dance floor for the rest of the night, with guests only taking a quick break to scoff down some tasty fish and chip cones along with the amazing wedding cake, cupcakes and cake pops made by Cat from the Cakecuppery!
The following day all our guests returned to the Village at Lyons for an afternoon BBQ outside the stunning old coach house. There was a huge gas BBQ set up in the garden along with plenty of tables and chairs for people to rest their feet after the night of dancing. We all really enjoyed catching up and sharing stories from the night before with some great food and drink, relaxing in the sunshine. A great end to an amazing wedding and a great start to the next chapter in our lives together. Our wedding day was everything we could have hoped for and more, and we have Amanda to thank for capturing all those precious moments for us on camera. Its great to be able to look back on the stunning photos and remember what an amazing day it was.
Photography: Amanda Crean | Cinematography: Best Day Productions | Floral Design: The French Touch | Wedding Dress: Say I Do | Cake: The Cake Cuppery | Stationery: Appleberry Press | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Fran And Jane | Band: The Roaring Forties | Groom's Attire: Roy Robson, Tom Murphys Menswear | Transportation: Heffernan Wedding Cars | Venue: Village at Lyons | Bridesmaids' Belt: Jenny Packham