Orlaith and Allen were married in a vintage garden wedding in Ireland, and everything from the adorable banners to the romantic dessert table were absolutely perfect. The icing on the cake are these beautiful photos by Savo Photography who captured all the lovely moments in their warm and emotive style.
The Couple: Orlaith and Allen
The Wedding: 6.22.13 – Ballyvolane House Gardens, Castlelyons, Cork, Ireland
The Goals: We really enjoy entertaining, fashion and design so for what was going to be one the biggest events in my life it became almost all consuming. There are so many important elements in the planning of a wedding but I truly feel the venue, food and music should be the main priorities around which everything else will grow and of course a great photographer to capture it all.
The Moments: The highlight of the day for me had to be at the end of the ceremony when we all surprised Allen and broke into song and whistled “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, one of his favourites. All of the guests had been prepped months before and there were tambourines, guitars and euphoniums scattered amongst them. There was no chance for a dress rehearsal so what followed was hilariously brilliant.
Photographer: I was looking for a photographer with a photojournalistic style, that isn’t too time consuming with a soft, artful, vintage feel yet modern in their approach. Eric showed he had an amazing talent for capturing all the little details and beautiful moments that make a wedding. He is wonderfully professional and helpful beyond the call of duty and yet unobtrusive, managing to capture moments when we were blissfully unaware of his presence. His work exceeded our expectations! We are so happy we have such beautiful pictures to match our beautiful memories.
Design: I don’t think we went for one particular look. We wanted a vintage, Midsummer’s Night dream, relaxed kind of vibe full of colour, romance and fun. The venue and the amazing gardens did a lot of the work for us in creating the atmosphere. From the outset we wanted to make the outdoor space a real feature of the day. We added in lots of vintage touches like china, lace doilies, cake stands, hand-painted display dresser, typewriter and homemade bunting and a wishing tree and encouraged everyone to wear garden party attire. Everything was inspired by the garden and enchantment. We have heard from lots of guests that the day was like a fairytale so I guess our vision came true!
The Advice: Try not to get too carried away with DIY and stick to a few projects. I originally wanted to take on the flowers and cakes and I’m so glad I opted out in the end. Be practical and use the expertise of family and friends should you still want the homemade, personal touch. Take time researching your vendors. There is lots of amazing talent out there and don’t be afraid of the highstreet or shopping online. Most of all follow your heart, choose things that reflect you as a couple and make you happy, as it should be the day of your dreams.
My biggest wedding success was our outdoor humanist ceremony. This was really going against the grain in largely Catholic Ireland and was received with quite a bit of controversy from the parents and grandparents! Also, planning anything outdoors in Ireland despite the season is a major risk. However everything went as planned and worked out perfectly, enjoyed by both young and old and adding something really personal, special and memorable to our day.
Thanks Orlaith and Allen!
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Savo Photography
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Ballyvolane House Gardens
Videographer/Film Maker: Best Day Productions
Officiant: Norma McElligott Humanism Ireland
Invitation Designer: AprilInk
Catering: Ballyvolane House
Florist: Bloomsday Flowers
Cake: Swell Bakeshop
Wedding Dress: Maria Lluisa Rabell
Bespoke Dresser: Kyle Lane
Bride’s Accessories: Shoes – Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaids’ Apparel & Accessories: Warehouse
Groom’s Apparel & Accessories: J. Crew & Ted Baker
Groomsmen’s Apparel & Accessories: ASOS
Hair: Hairy Fairy
Make-up: Caroline Bourke
DJ: Gerry Cunningham
Live Music: Cafe Orchestra & Supersoul Machine
Transportation: Clonmel Transport Museum & Egan Coaches
Favors: Collected at Vintage Fairs
Rings: Boodles & Neta Wolpe
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