This Valentine’s Day wedding in Dublin’s city centre is so stylish that it’s hard to believe that our real wedding couple Olivia and Ryan only took four months to plan! So if you’re working with a short lead in time yourself, take notes. Inspired by the bright lights and glamour of old Hollywood, this city-chic wedding day is enough for you to go and change your wedding plans and consider an elopement – we did warn you. Adam and Grace Photography captured the day in both colour and black and white shots to stunning effect, so take it away! Lights, camera, action…
Olivia and Ryan first met on a night out in Dublin in 2014. Little did they know that night, that they would be returning to the same venue eight years later, with their three beautiful children to celebrate becoming husband and wife. The proposal came two years after they first met, during a very sentimental time, after their first son Harley was born. Olivia tells us: “Harley had the ring wrapped up under his blanket with a note asking me to marry his daddy. It was quite a long engagement and we only decided to set a wedding date four months prior to the day, everything was planned extremely quickly in the end!”
Whilst planning their intimate city wedding day, the most important element was to officially unite their family – Olivia, Ryan, Harley, India and Crue. “We had no bridesmaids or groomsmen as we wanted to keep the pressure off guests and for everybody to feel relaxed and enjoy the day,” they say. Their wedding day consisted of 28 of their nearest and dearest. Check out the bride’s ride to the church – we mean, wow!
As a surprise for Olivia on the day of the wedding, Ryan had a special plan that took weeks to execute. Olivia explains: “Ryan is big into bikes, hence naming our firstborn after one. He surprised me by building a custom Harley Davidson in my nana’s garage and had it parked up outside the church for when we were leaving. I had a few red flags go up when he kept disappearing for long bike rides with a friend every weekend leading up to the day, but everything turned out alright. The best wedding gift ever in my opinion!” Ryan also kept the old fuel tank off the original bike and sprayed it ivory for guests to sign instead of a guestbook – such a lovely creative keepsake.
The couple recall one of their favourite pieces of music during their ceremony – an acoustic version of Lana Del Rey’s Video Games played on the pipe organ while Olivia walked up the aisle to Ryan. Beautiful and fragrant bunches of eucalyptus hung from each pew wrapped in ivory ribbon, creating an earthy and simplistic style of ceremony decor.
Finally, to the style! This dreamy idyllic city wedding demanded something special and Olivia delivered in spades. The stylish bride opted for old Hollywood glamour in a white mini wedding dress from Kaviar Gauche, adorn with puffed sleeves, a chunky satin hairband and a pair of white Gucci tights. Be still our beating hearts! To finish the ultimate look, she chose a less-is-more approach for her bouquet with a fluffy bunch of baby’s breath and pearl accessories.
The dapper groom Ryan, chose to complement his glamorous bride with an elegant black tuxedo from the fabulous Louis Copeland & Sons.
To sum up the day, newlyweds Olivia and Ryan chose a classic and timeless theme with a bit of edge! “We wanted to keep it understated and timeless. We had a very small number of guests at the ceremony and reception which kept it very intimate. We had an extra 30 join us at the afters and we wanted to focus on having a great time with the people we were most close to.” Make sure you don’t scroll too fast, you need to check out Olivia’s wedding rings!
Choosing to keep the guest numbers small, meant there were a lot more venue choices for the couple. However, nothing was going to quite beat the same place where they first met and fell in love, The Dean. Their wedding aesthetic was inspired by a music icon they both adore – Elvis Presley and old-world Hollywood became the main vibe for their city wedding of dreams!
Not only did Olivia plan the wedding herself, but she also did her own makeup and hair, along with designing and creating their wedding stationery and personalised wedding favours! A DIY bride on top of everything else. For the reception decor, eucalyptus lined the centre of the tables, and neon signage paired with romantic pink and red candlelight created a dreamy, moody vibe – it was Valentine’s Day after all!
For those in the midst of wedding planning an intimate city wedding, the couple’s advice is: “I suppose to not take things too seriously, stay true to your gut and not let others influence your decisions if they don’t feel right for you both. Have fun and enjoy the process!” For their honeymoon, they first jetted off to Paris for a romantic city break after the wedding. They have planned a larger motorbike trip to Palm Springs in California!
The couple and their guests danced the night away to Off The Wall, Ireland’s ultimate five-piece wedding band! A very special thank you to Olivia, Ryan and Adam and Grace Wedding Photographers for sharing such a Pinterest-worthy wedding with us!
