If you are thinking of a vintage theme for your wedding, you will definitely be inspired by the beautiful look of Kate and Alan’s wedding. Starting with the perfect venue, the theme carried through all parts of the wedding. (Including Kate’s amazing birdcage veil)!
Real Wedding | Kate & Alan | Tipperary, Ireland
The venue
Alan proposed in November 2007, he brought me away for a weekend to a beautiful spa called Monart in Wexford, Ireland and proposed over dinner. We didn’t start planning out wedding for six months, and for a while we toyed with the idea of getting married abroad, in either France or Italy. In the end, we felt it would be too much pressure to organise a wedding in a foreign country and we really wanted Alan’s granny to be able to attend – she is 90 years old and a really fit for her age but a trip to France would have been a too much for her.
Once we made the decision to get married in Ireland, we started looking at venues. We are both perfectionists and we saw so many venues before one ticked all the right boxes! Once I saw Kilshane House, that was it, I couldn’t even contemplate anywhere else.
The magnificence of the house and the fact that its really close to my family home in Tipperary clinched it. Kilshane is a private house, which is available for hire for private functions. The fact that its private means that only you and your guests are in the house for the weekend of the wedding. We had our wedding on a Friday, and on the Saturday had an informal barbecue with closest friends and family. The whole weekend was really intimate and relaxed, we really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding celebration.
The wedding
Alan and I were married in October 2009, in the Church of the Assumption Bansha Co. Tipperary, Ireland and our reception was in Kilshane House near Bansha. It was the most magnificent Autumn day, which was a miracle as the weather in Ireland is completely hit and miss even in July and August! I had really high expectations about my wedding day, as any bride does, but the day itself actually surpassed my expectations which i didn’t think would be possible. The most magical moment was walking up the aisle and seeing Alan at the top of the Church waiting for me. We held hands all through the ceremony and our priest, who is a distant relative and family friend, made the ceremony really personal.
The theme
The theme of the wedding was vintage, Kilshane is an old Regency House and the vintage themes, which I had always wanted for my wedding, fitted perfectly with the venue.
I wanted stationary that was a bit different form the standard cream vellum, and I found a seller on Etsy who had exactly what I was looking for – beautiful art deco designs in colours which fitted with my theme. The design we chose was “Carnations and golden filigree“
Our car was a vintage rolls.
The dress
My gown was Monique Lhuillier’s Clementine. Ever since I saw Clementine in the Monique Lhuillier ad campaign it was my dream dress. From the moment I tried it on I knew it was the perfect choice, the silk was so rich and the latte really suited the vintage theme. I knew i didn’t want to wear a traditional veil, and I really loved the idea of a birdcage veil. I found a great milliner in Dublin and showed her my ideas for a headpiece and between us we worked on the design which incorporated lace from my gown which was left over from alterations.
Kate’s advice for other brides
My advice to brides would be to plan well and pay attention to every detail, we did and it really paid off – people commented on how beautiful the whole day was. Also, because we were so organized, on the day we just kicked back and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! When the bride and groom are relaxed it really shines through and sets the tone for the day.
Also, remember the day is about the two of you, and don’t sweat the small stuff. My florist told me two days before the wedding that he thought my wedding was a day later than it actually was, so I was pretty afraid we would have no flowers! but it all turned out fine in the end.
Good luck all the brides out there, its the most amazing day enjoy every minute of it.
