During the beautiful month of May, in charming Co. Meath, the spring sun pushed the clouds away to make room for a wedding filled love and laughter in an idyllic Georgian house close to the banks of the Boyne river. Our real wedding couple, college sweethearts Emily and Nathan, brought their loved ones from near and far together to celebrate their marriage at Bellinter House. The bridesmaids each chose three totally different dresses, the ceremony had a unique ritual and the table names were inspired by well-known movies! Photographer Olga Hogan, ensured each loving moment was caught on camera. Take a look!
The fine details photographed during morning preparation are always a great indication of the aesthetic tone of the day. Here we have a cheerful spring shades, a fresh, floral bridal scent and just take a look at the exquisite aquamarine engagement ring! So, how did these two lovebirds meet? Emily and Nathan first met during their first year of college at Dublin College University in 2008. After a few months of awkward flirting and countless cinema dates, they finally kissed at the DCU Christmas Ball as the band Slade played on stage.
Twelve years later, and with many memories made, the couple took their relationship to the next level and went engagement ring shopping. “After discussing marriage the last couple of years, I became a woman on a mission in fear that another lockdown was looming and there would be more closure of shops. With the ring bought and hidden by Nathan, I didn’t see it again until Christmas Day of 2020.” The couple were in Nathan’s mother’s house playing Bowls (which Emily describes as like charades on acid) and as Emily shouted her guess, ‘ring’, Nathan got down on one knee, and produced the ring out of nowhere.
Emily looks absolutely breathtaking in her Hera Couture wedding dress. Intricate embroidery, appliqué leaves, and lace-covered buttons give this dress an effortless flow. With her hair pinned back in loose curls, her divine diamonte drop earrings were able to shine bright. A beautiful moment, captured and no doubt cherished, is the very special first look between the bride and her father below.
The wedding day began with the ceremony at Bellinter House! As the guests made their way through the long winding avenue lined by mature trees, up to the Georgian house, Nathan and Emily were only moments away from beginning their next chapter together as husband and wife. They explain: “We wanted our wedding day to be light, fun and full of laughter. We had a fantastic celebrant who listened to our every word and made that ‘theme’ apparent from the get-go. She warned our guests that the first person whose phone goes off mid-ceremony would be buying the first round of drinks. We laughed our way through the short but meaningful ceremony and it really set us up for an incredible day, which was captured perfectly by our photographer Olga Hogan.”
Blossom, their adorable doggie was eagerly waiting at the ceremony for the arrival of her humans!
One ceremony reading was recited by one of Nathan’s best friends from school, a poem which they had both learned in English class over 20 years ago – A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns. “Nathan recited it for me one evening in our kitchen as we manically searched for ceremony readings, and it was really moving. The Cazettes were on hand to serenade the guests with beautiful songbooks during the ceremony.
The couple chose to include a wine box ritual too. In this ritual, the couple seals a particular wine bottle into a box during the wedding ceremony. On their first anniversary, 10th wedding anniversary, or another significant day, the couple will open and sip the wine together. Some couples include love letters in the box as well, to be read when the box is opened. Perfect for vino lovers!
After the ceremony came to an end, it was time for the bride and groom to kick off celebrations. As the ceremony took place onsite in Bellinter House, and only 30 minutes from Dublin, there was little to no stress involved as all guests had to do was make their way to the drinks reception. Emily tells us what made the exclusive Georgian house venue the one for their dream wedding day: “The grounds were stunning and although it was an old country estate, it felt unique, kooky and, dare I say, hip? The staff were extremely professional, kind, and communicative and answered every silly question we threw at them – and boy did we have some silly questions!”
Now that’s what we call personal style! Can we just say that this mix-and-match style works fabulously well? The gorgeous bridesmaids were each dressed in a distinctive style and colour that remained in tune with the peachy-perfect colour palette. When asked what inspired such a gorgeous aesthetic, Emily replied: “I don’t think we really had a wedding aesthetic, to be honest. I loved the colour palettes of corals and peaches. Amanda at Fernwood Flowers essentially gave it some sort of aesthetic with her beautiful, bright and fun flower arrangements.”
Nathan looked ever-so-dapper in his three-piece suit from Louis Copeland & Sons. The cool-toned navy suit and coral tie worked perfectly on the spring wedding day. The creativity continued through to the table names, that were inspired by the couple’s favourite movies. To give back in a beautiful way, their charity wedding favours supported The Irish Red Cross towards aid for Ukraine. The little packets from Sow Now Ireland, consisted of sustainable sunflowers seeds for guests to bring home and plant in their gardens. Last but not least, a wedding cake balloon arch framed the one-tier seasonal berry wedding cake.
The newlyweds also couples in the middle of wedding planning with two points of excellent wedding advice: “Firstly, accept that sending out save the dates and invites are a pain. Go electronic as much as possible. Secondly, anytime wedding planning gets too overwhelming, just remember that it will all work out on the day. It’s easy to put pressure on to have this perfect Instagram-worthy wedding and I definitely felt pressure to get decorations that we 100% didn’t need and could have saved a few quid on!”
To keep the celebrations going, the lovebirds took a couple of days off after the wedding for a mini moon in Co.Kerry and West Cork to eat, sleep and sightsee. “It was a nice way to wind down after the highs of the big day. We booked flights to Vietnam for a three-week honeymoon the folllowing September. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, with delicious food, and extremely kind people. I’d highly recommend it for a honeymoon for travel lovers!”
Emily and Nathan concluded their wedding day with a rocking dance floor! They shared their first dance to Bring on the Night by The Police, which their wedding band learned and played for them. “I had one priority (even higher than marrying Nathan himself) and that was the band – Springbreak. They had the crowd on the dance floor the entire night, lashing out the 80s hits but also engaging with the crowd. We based our wedding date on their availability,” admits Emily.
A very special thank you to the lovely couple and Olga Hogan for sharing their beautiful Georgian house wedding day with us.
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