A Romantic Black Tie Wedding in Ireland for a Pronovias Bride + her Jenny Packham Bridesmaids

Rockhill House Wedding Photography Fraser Stewart 075

I’m very happy to be heading to the Irish coast today, courtesy of this showstopping wedding celebration filled with timeless elegance. It all takes place steps away from the Wild Atlantic Way on the Northern Headlands of beautiful Donegal, at a lovingly restored country house.

There’s so much classic inspiration to marvel at here, from the soft colour palette, to the black-tie dress code and the bride’s love of vintage pearls and lace. Meet Lauren, a solicitor and Kieran, who works in TV production. They were married on the 11 August 2018 in a ceremony at St. Joseph’s Church followed by a reception at Rockhill House, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

“Being from Ireland, I spent my summers in a nearby seaside village. Kieran is from Yorkshire so it was a long distance to travel, but it is a beautiful part of the world. An old country house, Rockhill Estate was recently refurbished, and when we visited it was still a building site.”

Images by Fraser Stewart Photography

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It’s brilliant to read that Lauren and Kieran found their photographer through Love My Dress. Fraser Stewart’s romantic, natural style captured their imagination, and they were delighted with the results.

“We were drawn to Fraser’s stunning colours and the fact everyone in his photos looked so happy. We couldn’t recommend him more. Such a professional, great fun to have around, and he made stunning photos (without posing for long!). He captured everything.”

“The House had the wow factor even at the time, and we were blown away by the careful renovations and new glass orangery. The house was grand and elegant, and the grounds were beautiful. We took a risk as it was early stages, but it only got better as the refurbishment progressed.”

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From Donegal boutique McElhinneys, Lauren chose a beautiful lace gown by Pronovias, with lovely contrast between the ivory lace and blush coloured layer underneath. By the way, did you see our recent Pronovias article? You will swoon! Annabel was invited to their spectacular 2020 collection catwalk show in Barcelona last week, take a look!

“I loved the detail; the gorgeous lace, embroidery and the blush coloured underlay made it feel vintage and romantic. I always wanted a plunging back. It felt so comfortable (to dance in) although there were several layers of lace. It ticked all the boxes, and I knew it was the one; tears all round! My Maid of Honour made it via FaceTime from Dubai too.”

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The bridesmaids wore blush pink halterneck dresses with pearl detailing from Jenny Packham, pearl earrings, with fresh flowers in their hair, as well as sparkly embellished clutch bags from Monsoon.

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Emma and Ellen from Echo Hair Studio created elegant hair styles for the bridal party, including a stylish chignon for Lauren, whilst Bronagh from Live Beautifully took care of make-up (that rose gold eye shadow – wow!).

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“I love soft, elegant, romantic looks. Vintage pearls and lace details worked really well with our venue. My engagement ring was my favourite colour, rose gold, so that was incorporated with blush pinks, creams and lush greenery too. Dreamy!”

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Lauren wore blush suede court shoes (with rose gold stiletto heels) from Dune London, as well as pearl and rose gold drop earrings from a US based jewellery designer (sadly no further details provided).

“My belt was a bespoke piece from Victoria Millesime, London. I went to the gorgeous little studio and met Rohan. Together we came up with the design, using pearls and blush beads, and it was made so beautifully. It finished off the dress. It was so fun to help with the design. An heirloom piece! I also got a beautiful lace and rose gold garter as a gift from there. Rohan made ribbon and pearl hair clips for our flower girls too.”

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Wedding day perfume was the classic Guerlain, a favourite of Lauren’s mum and a fragrance that reminds Lauren of her.

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For her veil, Lauren chose a handmade, lace edged design by Mirror Mirror London. Not only are Mirror Mirror part of our incredibly useful supplier directory, Little Book, they’re also part of the Luxe Bride collective, whom we are very proud to partner with.

Cathedral lenth wedding veil

The bridal party made their way to the church in smart 1930s Bramwith cars. The incredibly sweet flower girl wore a pale pink tulle dress (sadly no details about this), and the pageboys looked very smart in tuxedos from Roco.

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Kieran wore a classic tailored black tuxedo by Moss Bros. He wanted something timeless. He had our names and the wedding date embroidered inside the jacket, which was such a nice touch. Everyone, including my Bridesman, were in classic black tie – they looked so smart.”

Kieran also wore smart dress shoes from Kurt Geiger, onyx cufflinks, and a silver pocket watch; a lovely wedding day gift from his groomsmen.

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The church doors at St. Joseph’s were decorated with a spectacular floral display, filled with more roses and lots of fragrant eucalyptus and lovely greenery.

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To an Irish twist on Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Lauren walked down the aisle together with her dad to begin the ceremony.

“We met in our third year of university. After seven years, Kieran proposed during a ski trip in April 2017. He got down on one knee at the top of a glacier in Whistler, Canada. It was a complete shock! But the shock helped me get down the black slopes (I’m a total novice) to celebrate. It was an unforgettable trip. We got married over a year later.”

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The couple exchanged vows with one another, as well as rings chosen at the Bradford jewellers Kieran’s family uses (sadly no further details supplied).

“Kieran sourced a dainty, vintage rose gold and diamond band for me to match my engagement ring. Kieran went with classic white gold.”

There was lovely live music throughout the ceremony, played by a traditional Irish band, as well as a wonderful dance interlude!

“My talented cousin did a beautiful ballet dance to the band’s rendition of How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding, while we signed the register. It was magical.”

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Lauren’s glorious bouquet of ivory, blush and cafe au lait roses was by florist Gill of Flowers by Mee.

“Gill, our florist, was fab. I adore large vintage roses, and a bouquet I got from my mum for our engagement was the inspiration. We went with blush and creams, and wild greens.”

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After the church ceremony, it was over to Rockhill House for more live music and drinks. Guests found their way to their seats for the wedding breakfast courtesy of an elegant rose gold table plan designed by Lauren (as was all the stationery).

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“We had lots of little details including a basket with flip flops for all the dancing feet, bubbles for the children and a gorgeous vintage copper birdcage for cards. Our table names were places we had lived together or else from our childhood.”

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The newly built orangery at Rockhill House is spectacular. Just look at the soaring ceiling and those full-length windows bringing so much light into the room.

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The dining tables were decorated with romantic pedestal arrangements from Flowers by Mee, with each place setting decorated with a sprig of eucalyptus, on top of ribbon-tied menus and napkins.

“Our favours were rose gold dusted truffles from Marks & Spencer, in cute bags with a handmade wax seal closure (a new found hobby!). My bridesmaids helped make 100 of them.”

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The team at Rockhill House cooked up a wonderful feast, including ham hock terrine, prime Irish beef, oven roasted salmon, risotto with local creme fraiche and herbs, and lemon tart and dark chocolate brownies.

“We had a three-tiered cake from Funky Cakes, with chocolate, white chocolate and raspberry, and classic lemon. Lace icing and a pearl pink finish was added to match, with lots of macaroons. We don’t know where they went!” 

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After dinner and much merriment during the speeches, there was a surprise in store for Lauren and Kieran’s loved ones!

“We had a ‘wee’ Irish surprise by two Irish dancers, the Shevlin Twins, one of whom tours with Riverdance and the other is a World Champion. They were fab!”

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When the time came for their first dance together as a married couple, Lauren and Kieran chose Etta James’ timeless and wonderful song, At Last, played by their eight-piece swing band (sadly no details about this).

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“It is so hard to pick a favourite part of the day. It all went too quickly. I loved the excitement before the ceremony, the ceremony itself, and the celebrations after, dancing with friends from near and far (as far as Australia and Canada!). I would do it all again. To change one thing, we might have had a videographer. The more memories the better!”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Take it all in. The day will be over before you know it. Be sure to stop and appreciate all the little things and the people around you.”

“Although difficult, try not to stress out. You’ll miss all the planning some day! Also don’t worry about being late!”

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Lauren and Kieran, congratulations, and thank you so much for sharing your day with us all. It’s been incredibly romantic and beautiful, with so many thoughtful details. Huge thanks to Fraser Stewart for this lovely collection of images, too.

If you’d like to see more beautiful weddings in Ireland on our pages, then be sure to take a look here.

With love,

Laura

 

Credits & Thanks

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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