Good morning lovelies. I truly can’t believe we’re well into February already- where did January go? I have the most gorgeous Irish wedding for you today which I can’t wait to share. The bride has the most amazing dress made especially for her by her Uncle, and an incredible floral veil, while the coastal scenery is quite spectacular!
Let me introduce Tara and Paul, who married at St. Patrick’s Church, Cushendun on the 3rd of October 2015, followed by a reception and party at Cushendall Golf Club, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
“I suppose my brief was that I wanted everything to be able to be used or worn again, from my dress to my shoes to the bridesmaid dresses and I wanted things to tone but not to match. I picked up bits and pieces like candlesticks, glassware and perfume bottles as and when I seen them for centrepieces, my invites were a book of postcards that I’d bought years ago that were still from old Hollywood movies – I loved the images and with the help of another relative, and friend, we modified and printed them as invitations.”
Photography by Mary McQuillan
Tara’s delicate veil really is something else- I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Once again it was the work of her Uncle Eamonn, who added the petals to match her floral headpiece.
“I am very fortunate to have an extremely talented family. My late grandmother, Molly, was a dressmaker and my uncle Eamonn, a very successful dressmaker, inherited her creativity in abundance. There was never any doubt he would make my wedding dress.”
“I knew I wanted a silk dress that flowed in a shade that suited me. Eamonn and I bounced ideas around and once I picked the material everything else just kind of flowed from there. I loved every single inch of my dress; it was beautiful and so very special that my Uncle made it for me. It was incredible to wear a dress knowing it was created with love and that it is the only dress of its kind in the world. My dress fittings were normally filled with fun, eating good food and listening to old vinyls- not many brides can say that!”
Ladies, if you are considering having a dressmaker make your own wedding dress we have a number of designers listed in the bridal fashion category of our wedding directory, Little Book For Brides?
The couple’s adorable daughter Molly, was just perfect as flower girl and very nearly steals the show with her beautiful purple dress, dark curls and cheeky grin- what a cutie! Her dress was pared with a fairy-like delicate petal cape, which unfortunately Molly absolutely refused to wear for the ceremony… Meanwhile, the adult bridesmaids looked extremely glamourous in dark blue dresses from Coast.
Tara’s sister owns a hair and beauty salon and another of her sisters works at the salon too so between the two of them they did the bridal hair and make up. I love how Tara’s whole look was so much down to her talented family!
Tara’s delicate veil really is something else- I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Once again it was the work of her Uncle Eamonn, who added the petals to match her floral headpiece.
“I wanted a completely new scent to remind me of my wedding day so I chose Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt body crème and layered it with Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily Cologne.”
Matching the petals of the veil to perfection were the flowers in Tara’s utterly gorgeous bouquet. Jill at The Stables Flower Company was the talent behind the flowers.
“I had seen some of Jill’s work on Instagram and loved it, so myself and Eamonn met with her. I showed her my dress material, Eamonn drew a sketch of my dress, explained my colour palette, said I didn’t want a nice, neat posy and told Jill she had creative licence to do what she wanted…she did not disappoint! The flowers and buttonholes were fabulous.”
To accessorise, Tara wore a set of antique pearls which were a birthday present from Paul, and earrings made from spares from the necklace. She also wore a bracelet belonging to her mum, and had a holy medal belonging to her late grandmother sewn into the hem of her dress.
“Paul and I met when we were just 14. We dated on and off until our late teens when our lives took us in different directions but in the summer of 2007 I was at a festival with my mates and we just happened to be camped beside each other. We exchanged numbers and got together shortly afterwards.”
“We had our daughter Molly in 2011. One spring morning in 2013 Molly came into my bedroom and asked me “Will you marry Daddy?” When I eventually prised the ring from her hands, I said yes. (She’s still not entirely happy that she didn’t get to keep the ring)”
Tara was walked down the aisle by her Dad Seamus, towards a very smart Paul dressed in a three piece suit by Remus Uomo. I especially love these ceremony photos- Tara trying to get the ring on Paul’s finger, the faces pulled by Molly and the pure delight on her face at being part of the ceremony, as well as the sheer joy in the eyes of the newlyweds. You can’t help but smile.
I kept flowers in the church and venue to a minimum and just used pink heather. The wildness and simplicity of the heather suited both the church and the décor in the venue perfectly.”
Once again we have the work of a wonderful new (to us) photographer to showcase. I just love that apart from allowing me to see so many beautiful weddings, writing for Love My Dress means I get to admire the work of so many gifted people too! The talent behind these lovely images was Irish photographer Mary McQuillan.
“My very good friend Mary was our photographer. Mary is one of my sister Orla’s closest friends and I have known her a long time. We knew she would do an excellent job and she captured the day perfectly- full of fun, laughs and memories. I could not recommend her highly enough- she is a gem.”
“We found it really hard picking a venue, for a number of reasons; we both have big families so we needed a venue that would accommodate up to 150 guests, that offered us good food, creative licence and was not a great distance from home. We were both born and raised in the Glens of Antrim, and it truly is the most beautiful setting so why go anywhere else? The Cushendall Golf Club ticked all the boxes.”
Catering was undertaken by a family friend, who did an amazing job, while the fabulous cake was made by Louise of Lou’s Little Cakes– blush coloured petal-finish butter cream, decorated with blackberries and flowers- stunning.
“We decided to give a donation to a charity in lieu of favours. Cancer fund for children was the obvious choice as it a charity close to hearts of friends of ours. The only thing was that we forgot to bring the lapel pins we were supposed to give out to guests! We will send them out with out thank you cards instead.” (I actually rather like this idea- they’re also less likely to be accidentally left behind on tables).
Tara had three first dances; one with her new husband to Al Green’s ‘Lets Stay Together’, one with her Dad to Sam Cooke’s ‘Nothing Can Change This Love’ and finally, one as a family with both Paul and Molly to Johnny Cash’s ‘Jackson’- one of Molly’s favourite songs. Perfect.
“It was wonderful to be able to have a huge party with all the people that mean the most to us. What I loved most about it was the fact that Molly was able to share it with us.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Don’t sweat the small stuff and remember the reason you are getting married; all the little details and expenses that people get caught up in are irrelevant. I had a beautiful dress, a handsome groom, the most perfect little flower girl and we were surrounded by people who we love, and who were happy to be sharing in our special day. All the other stuff is just extras.”
Huge congratulations to Tara and Paul, and many thanks to Mary McQuillan for sharing her work with us today. I hope you have enjoyed this fabulous wedding as much as I have, and maybe have some fresh new ideas for dresses and headwear! Are any of our other readers wearing a bespoke gown?
Much love
Shona x
Photographer – Mary McQuillan
Venue – St. Patrick’s Church, Cushendun and Cushendall Golf Club
Wedding dress – Bespoke by Eamonn McKay
Shoes – Ted Baker
Accessories – Antique Pearls and family jewellery
Scent – Jo Malone
Bridesmaid dresses – Coast
Bridesmaid’s shoes- ASOS
Flower girl dress – Monsoon
Groom – Remus Uomo
Hair and Makeup – Salon61 Tel: 02821758204
Florist – The Stables Flower Company
Cake – Lou’s Little Cakes
Rings – Robert Adair, Ballymena
Stationery – Ronan McCann at Black Advertising
Favours – Pins from Cancer Fund for Children
Entertainment – Bespoke Music Solutions