Chic & Quriky Wedding In Ireland With A 1930s Style Bride

I've been featuring a lot of American weddings recently, which have been very lovely indeed but it's great to get back to my roots and share some utterly fabulous UK and Irish suppliers!

We're heading over to the beautiful Emerald Isle for Susie and Robin's quirky, vintage inspired wedding full of Irish charm. Susie is such a graceful, happy bride who pulls off 1930's chic to perfection in her slinky Belle & Bunty dress, whisper soft veil and elegant chignon.

Sean Curtin Photography did a wonderful job of capturing all the joy and beauty of their day. The shot of Susie sitting on the claw foot bathtub takes my breath away each time I see it…

The Location and Venue

Robin and I got married in a small country church in Annascaul, Co. Kerry. The ceremony was followed by a pint in a pub down the road called the South Pole Inn. The day was finished off with dinner and dancing in Ballingtaggart House, Dingle, Co. Kerry. We also had a St. Patrick’s day hog roast BBQ on the 17^th.

After a long search in both England and Ireland – Robin is English and I’m Irish living in London. We finally decided on Ballintaggart House in Dingle. We really wanted our guests coming from the UK to experience the best of Ireland and you can’t go wrong with the west coast – wind, rain or sunshine it always looks amazing.

John and Clodagh Cluskey who own Ballintaggart made us feel so welcome and comfortable from the minute we stepped out of the car we knew it had the right feel for us. Robin and I very much wanted a relaxed, chilled out wedding that we could bring some of our personalities into. Ballintaggart was an awesome canvas that lent itself to us adding our own touches. The views alone over Dingle bay were reason enough to pick Ballintaggart.

The Grooms Attire

I always knew Robin would look super handsome in a three piece suit and when he tried on his light grey Reiss suit we knew it was the one. It fitted him perfectly and damn did he look good :0) Teamed with a crisp white shirt, simple navy tie and a touch of detail with the silver tie clip it was a very classic look (even if he did have it on upside down for the ceremony!).

The Dress

My dress was from a small boutique in Camden, London called Belle & Bunty. I had done the obligatory traditional wedding dress shop visits and they just didn’t appeal to me – I couldn’t get over how heavy some of the dresses were, I was all about comfort! When I put on my dress for the first time it felt so amazing on I was hooked before I even saw what it looked like.

It was very simple and elegant with a little cheeky touch with the keyhole back. I was a bit worried before the big day that it would be a bit too simple but it was needless worry, complete with hair, make-up and accessories I loved how the whole look came together.

Hair & Make Up

Once I had my dress and accessories sorted I had a very clear idea of how I wanted my hair done – quite soft curls pulled into a chignon and a wave curl framing my face. It took a few practices with my wonderful hairdresser Phil but she got it perfect on the day. My make-up was very simple and fresh faced. I have quite droopy eyes so all credit goes to Georgina for transforming me on the day. I really did feel so beautiful.

Bridesmaid's & Groomsmen's Attire

My three beautiful bridesmaids, Sara, Grace & Sophie, were all red heads so the choice of colours for their dresses was somewhat limited by this. But when we saw the J Crew dresses in Dusty Shale, a pale grey mint green, we were all in agreement that they would be fabulous. They all chose the style they liked best and all happened to be different which was fantastic.

We chose smart navy suits for the three best men, again paired with a classic white shirt and a (very hard to find) dusty shale coloured tie! To bring the navy into the girls outfit I took on the task of sourcing chunky navy necklaces, failing that I ended up buying silver necklaces and spray painting them – I think they were a great quirky, powerful addition.

The Flowers

My flowers were always going to be peonies, white for me and pink for the girls. I love the softness of the petals. Breeda did a wonderful job with these and the church and table arrangements. As we were only having 54 guests to the wedding and the church could hold much more than that Breeda suggested blocking off the back pews with organza and flowers which was an inspired idea.

The Shoes & Accessories

I found all my accessories in Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon, London. Rachael at Luellas was amazingly patient and helpful. After several visits I finally decided on my pearl and crystal shooting star headpiece – it really had that WOW feeling.

One wedding detail I knew I would like was a beautiful sheer veil that sat on top of my head without any combs or gathering – combined with the headpiece they complemented the dress beautifully and created a amazing embellished focal point. Rachel also worked with me to create the hand sewn crystal belt. I topped it all off with a pair of Jimmy Choo Lace shoes, which were a perfect nod to the 1930s feel of the outfit and incredibly comfortable.

The Wedding Music

I walked down the aisle with my dad to Ave Maria, sung beautifully by the lovely Caroline of Kerry Wedding Music . We had a lovely mix of traditional Irish and modern songs throughout the ceremony. Robin and I walked out of the church to the great fanfare of the Mendelssohn Wedding March.