Roisin and Andrew’s Country Elegance Pretty Pastel Irish Wedding by Hannah McKernan

Happy Friday everyone and if you are in the UK, happy Bank Holiday weekend! And yes, hello to the sunshine that has been forecast for our 3 day weekend, Happy days indeed! How are you all? Do you have much planned for the bank holiday? Today and Tomorrow I am enjoying some time with Dexter, then I’m off to get my hair cut off eek!! Sunday and Monday we are all together as a family enjoying some down time and hopefully a big burst of spring sunshine! I can’t wait!
Getting back to today’s wedding, it comes from sunny Ireland. Roisin and Andrew fell in love with Rathsallagh Country House the first time they visited it and the rest of their wedding fell into place from there. Following the classic, elegance theme-ing of the house, they opted for natural colours in light greys and pretty pastels and filled their day with classic touches mixed with vintage inspiration. The photography by Hannah McKernan is light, bright and perfect for this summer country house wedding.

The most magical day filled with love, laughter, family, friends and amazing food. 

Roisin and Andrew were married on 4^th August 2018 at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, Dunlavin and Rathsallagh Country House, Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow in Ireland ‘It was the first and only place we looked at.  We fell in love with the setting when we saw it online but when we visited Rathsallagh House the friendliness of the staff exceeded our expectations. We had 105 guests and it took just over a year to plan.’

How they met 
At the time of the wedding we’d been together 7 years. We met at a mutual friends birthday in Liverpool.  Andy is from Liverpool and I was teaching in Kent at the time and had made the trip to Liverpool.

The proposal
It was the first night in our first house that we had bought together.  Andy rushed home from work before me and had everything set up in the living room – music playing and candles lit.  When I heard the song I cam running in as I had been telling him how much I loved it as it was newly released (Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud) and he was on one knee.  And of course I said yes.

How did you allocate your budget?
Andy jokes that we didn’t have a budget!! However we knew we wanted to spend our money on a fabulous venue with high quality food.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the venue and my dress but we saved on the cake and invitations as they were done by family friends.

How did you choose your photographer?
I had seen Hannah’s work while looking at a previous wedding she had done with some people I knew and the natural look that she achieved was exactly what we were looking for.

The dress
My dress was by Divine Atelier, my shoes were Ted Baker, my earrings were from Jules Bridal jewellery and my veil was my something borrowed but I’m not sure who by.

The suit and bridesmaids
Bridesmaids dresses were by Mori Lee and the suits were French Connection.

Theme or colour scheme
No colour scheme as the bridesmaids were pretty neutral wearing grey dresses. We wanted everything to look quite natural and to fit in with the style of Rathsallagh and its setting.

Flowers
A mixture of wild and set flowers with pastel and summer colours.

Decoration 
We just tried to keep things as natural as possible with wooden plaques for the tables with flowers from Rathsallagh Gardens and teacups with candles.  We liked the idea of a vintage theme – we didn’t want anything too modern as we knew it would clash with the style of Rathsallagh.

Food
We invited guests to stay in Rathsallagh the night before the wedding also and we had fish pie and curry, with a cold meat buffet and a range of desserts.  On the wedding day we had our drinks reception out in the walled gardens and we had prosecco,  tea/coffee, scones and cookies and canapes of chicken skewers and brie tartlets.  Then for the main meal we had vegetable soup, chicken spring roll, roast sirloin of beef or seabass and then toffee cheesecake and petit fours.  We also had a late night buffet and a cheeseboard later.

Wedding cake
The wedding cake was three tiers – a chocolate tier, a madeira tier and a coconut and Malibu tier.

Entertainment
We had an Irish traditional band play outside during the drinks reception.  They were absolutely amazing and so many of our guests commented on the atmosphere they set. For the evening entertainment we had a band called ‘The Edition’ and then a DJ.

Who supplied the stationery?
A close family friend.

Personal touches
Instead of a guestbook we had a polaroid camera and an empty photo album where guests took photos of themselves, stuck them in the book and left us a personalised message.  Andy did a lot also – he decorated all the jam jars for the flowers in the centre pieces and wrote the tables names which were each a number that meant something significant to us.  Andy’s dad also sourced and chopped the wood for the centre pieces.

Special moments
The Church ceremony.  I personally loved walking down the aisle and saying my vows in front of all my family and friends and seeing Andy at the altar waiting for me.  We also both loved the drinks reception – everyone was so happy and there to celebrate with us.

Advice other couples
Whatever happens on the day let it be – don’t let any little details that go wrong annoy you or spoil the most magical day.  However we were so lucky that everything went smoothly.

Biggest surprise
The weather – even though it was 4^th August we were prepared for cold and rain as it was in Ireland however the sun shone all day.  People even had their jackets off and sunglasses on!!

Supplier Shout Outs

• Venue – Rathsallagh House
• Suits – Moss Bros
• My dress – The White Gallery
• Bridesmaid dresses – Perfect Day
• Flowergirl’s dress – Children’s Salon
• Photographer – Hannah McKernan 
• Band – The Edition
• Church and drinks reception music – Celtic Breeze
• Flowers – A Daisy a day, Baltinglass (no website)
• Hairdresser – Sandra Maher from The Powder Room Girls
• Makeup – Fiona Murphy 

For more information on Hannah’s work go to

www.hannahmckernan.com / www.hannahmckernan.com/blogwedding / [email protected] / 07518958266 / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER

I am based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. My jam is BOHO! I am ALLLLLL about the boho wedding vibes. Floaty, airy dresses which capture the light and the air. Flowers. Rustic walls and sunsets. Lavender. Bare feet. The outdoors. The maid unmade. The more free flowing, natural and unstructured the look, the more I love it. These things are like a flame to my moth!