Today I delivered a beautiful hand-crafted Storybook Album to one of my Couples from the summer just gone. I love delivering albums, the smiles on people faces as they go through the album remembering special moments from their big day is  a real high for me. Today that moment was accompanied by some further good news.

The image you see below was taken in a pub in Eyre Square in Galway in June of this year, Paula & Mark had decided to stop in for a pint of the black stuff as it was so wet and miserable outside and their plans to go to a location for photo’s were scuppered by the inclement weather. Seeing this as a perfect photo opportunity I gladly went along with them and when I heard they were all having a pint of Guinness this shot immediately jumped into my head.

Today they tell me that Guinness Ireland contacted them to say the photo now hangs in the Guinness StoreHouse Gallery, The Guinness offices and their own local pub back in Ahascragh!

Wonderful news indeed:)

Who knew?

Who knew that a long distance relationship from Edinburgh to Dublin would result in a fabulous Scottish/Irish wedding in Tipperary?

Margaret & Mark met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in Edinburgh in April 2007 and before they knew it they were frequent flyers, flying back and forth from Edinburgh to Dublin to see each other. After a year and half of this long distance relationship (LDR as it is affectionately known!) they decided someone had to move! And so Mark moved to Dublin in September 2008. And in April 2010 on a return visit to Edinburgh, Mark proposed to Margaret on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle.

And all this led to the wedding in Margaret’s home county of Tipperary on 17th September 2011 which was beautifully planned and immensely enjoyed by all concerned.

Margaret says;
The only thing I knew I really wanted were red bridesmaids dresses and the rest took off from there. My mother had red bridesmaids and it is also my favourite colour. I also think it goes really well with Mark’s tartan.
From there the invitations were designed by Declan. Depicting the Irish word for love in Ogham script. This is significant in highlighting our Celtic connection whilst also introducing the Scottish clan to an Irish word – Grá. The Ogham script was also used to stamp each book for the book favours with the date of our wedding alongside our initials.

I followed two wedding blogs for inspiration. One Irish blog OneFabDay http://onefabday.com/ and one UK blog LoveMyDress http://www.lovemydress.net/
I found wedding magazines to be too ‘flat’ and uninspiring but the blogs (there are so many I had to limit myself to two) were much more vibrant and exciting and provided a daily ‘fix’ of wedding glamour and inspiration. Also both of these blogs captured what I was looking for in terms of style. Vintage and classic with a touch of handmade fun.

I found my dress in Anabel Rose. The ladies there were so brilliant and amazing. When I tried on that dress it was the only one that brought a tear to my eye so it had to be the one! I also knew Mark would love it.

We viewed 10 venues in the Tipperary region and Kilcoran Lodge won hands down on what we were looking for which was a gorgeous, cosy, old style lodge in a fabulous setting surrounded by amazing staff, serving quality food. We also felt so ‘at home’ there. It just felt right for ‘us’. And it was.

We had the most amazing day surrounded by family and friends and we were looked after so well by the staff at Kilcoran Lodge.

Holycross Abbey http://www.holycrossabbey.ie/
Hotel Kilcoran Lodge Hotel http://www.kilcoranlodgehotel.com/
Kilts http://www.thekiltstore.com
Photography http://www.alanmooney.ie
Wedding dress by Augusta Jones http://www.augustajones.com/ from Anabel Rose http://www.anabelrose.com/
Bridesmaids dresses http://www.bellezabridalwear.ie/
Heritage Wedding Cars http://www.heritageweddingcars.com/
Flowers – Dot Whelan at Sunflowers, Thurles.
Make Up by http://www.themakeupcrew.ie/ (Tracey Scullion)
Nobody does it better from Kyleigh’s Papercuts on www.notonthehighstreet.com
Children’s colouring books from Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/KTPaperCrafts
Chalkboards from Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/dazzlingexpressions
Table plan board from Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/maxinewalshe

Kudos to the following people:)

Dress: Truly Bridal Boutique

Candy Buffet & Signage, Wish Tree, Table Names/Plans and other signage – FireDropDesign

Flowers, Church Decor & Table Center Pieces – CandleLight Weddings

Band – Superstition

Room Decor, Fairylight, Backdrops – EventServ

Hotel – Osprey Hotel, Naas

Photography – Myself

They had mentioned going to Altamont gradens in an earlier meeting so I went and checked out the gardens a few days prior to their big day so that I would know my way around, I always find that it helps the day run smoother. If your having a Mount Wolseley wedding, or indeed, if you’re getting married in the carlow area, I would highly recommend Altamont Gardens as a beautiful setting for your photographs. Don’t get me wrong, Wolseley does have its own beautiful gardens, but isn’t it nice to go somewhere different?

On the morning Roisin was getting ready in the beautiful bridal suite at Mount Wolsley, you can see a wide image of the suite below, it’s ideal for the preparations that happen on the morning. Plenty of space for both hair and make up to be happening at the same time without getting too crowded out.

After a beautiful ceremony in the lovely Ardattin Church we headed to the gardens. Roisin was a trooper and walked the whole way around the lake in a wedding dress and heels for a photo by the bridge which you can see in the images below. Standing their in the beautiful Autumn colours, it was well worth the trek and in reality, only took a few minutes.

Afterwards we headed to the nearby Mount Wolseley to let the celebrations begin. It’s a beautiful venue for a wedding, plenty of space for your guests to move around and everything is laid out very well.

After a beautiful meal and some great speeches the dancing began, I stayed for a few dances and when I left the party was really kicking off. I’m sure a great night was had by all.

Video on the day was by the great lads at Jmb videos the lads are an absolute pleasure to work with, they work very unobtrusively, capturing those special moments without intruding.

Here are a few images from the day, enjoy:)

They both got ready at home so I called around to Fergus first  to see how he was holding up on the morning and to capture a few images so that Hayley could see how Fergus’s morning had been.

Afterwards I called to Hayley’s where I spent a little longer capturing images of the make-up and hair which was being so well looked after by the lovely ladies of www.thepowderroomgirls.com

Hayley and her family were having a great morning and everyone was in top form. The morning flew by.

We left there and went to Barberstown for the beautiful Civil Ceremony, followed by some photographs in their stunning gardens. Hayley & Fergus had asked that I keep the photograph’s casual and relaxed so I tried to do just that, letting them take a stroll through the stunning gardens while I tried to stand back and capture it. The images say more than I ever could..

Here are a few images from the day.

Current list of suppliers include;

Alan Mooney Photography – Photography www.alanmooney.com
Hamlet Court – Venue www.thehamlet.ie
Precious Memories – Videograpy www.preciousmemories.ie
Michael Costello – Flowers www.michaelcostello.ie
`I do` weddings by Laura Leigh – Wedding Dress www.idoweddings.ie
Michael Ward`s Menswear – Grooms Suit
The Candy Cart Company – Candy Buffet www.thecandyycartcompany.com
Who knew – Afternoon Music
Irish Wedding DJ – DJ Services www.irishweddingdj.com
Little wedding crechers – Childcare www.littleweddingcrechers.com
dayout.ie – €500 towards honeymoon www.dayout.ie
Mauro Design – Wedding Invitations www.maurodesign.com
Wedding Cake – Grace Daniels Cakes www.gracedanielscake.ie
Table Names & Candy Buffet Labels – Firedropdesign www.firedropdesign.com

Also, we have cars sorted, but we are discussing details before releasing suppliers names. JK travel have kindly offered to come onboard and will help out towards the honeymoon, details to be announced. Discussions are ongoing with Band & Wedding Rings Suppliers also.

Full details on entry, specifics of what is to be won and dates will be announced in the next week or two so stay tuned:)