Today we are sharing the nuptials between two people from two different parts of the world. Sarah from Ireland and Andrew from Australia married at a romantic bay in Ireland and incorporated elements of both of their cultures into their several days long nuptials. Sarah chose a simple organic silk & chiffon wedding gown with intricate beading on the waist & low back. The stunning bride paired her ‘Sonia’ gown with a chapel length veil. 

The couple met at O’Hagan’s Bar in Auckland’s viaduct precinct. Andrew was over from Sydney with his father to support the Australian rugby team in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. They were playing their arch rivals, New Zealand in the semi final. Sarah had taken a year out from her job as a teacher in Ireland and was in Auckland as one of the many stops on her world tour.

THE PROPOSAL

Andrew proposed at the top of Cardiac Hill, overlooking Killarney (my home town).

THE VENUE

The ceremony took place in St Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney. St Mary’s Cathedral is my parish church where I was baptised and provided a spectacular setting for our wedding ceremony. The Church was wonderfully decorated by Breeda Nagle of Sliabha Luachra Flowers. Flowers and lanterns lined the aisle. The Delta String Quartet set a wonderfully warm atmosphere and played the songs we had chosen, including my entrance, Pachelbel’s Canon. Parish priest, Father Niall, ensured all guests were made to feel extremely welcome and had the congregation in stitches when he discussed the differences between the Aussies and Irish culture. The guests left the Church and were ushered onto a few Kerry Coaches that were waiting to take them to Kenmare, where our reception was to take place.

We had always joked together that when we chose our venues for our Irish wedding that we’d have to try and take the weather out of the equation. Prepare for rain is what we told our Australian guests. What we were greeted with on the day (and for the entire week) was glorious sunshine. Sunglasses were the order of the day.

It was lovely to arrive at our reception and see our guests enjoying their drinks out on the terrace and roaming the grounds of Dromquinna Manor which overlooks Kenmare Bay. Harlequin’s jazz band provided a lovely atmosphere and everyone was in good spirits. After all, the Guinness taps were flowing.

When deciding on our reception venue, Dromquinna Manor stood out from all the rest, there was nowhere else we were going to have it. It is hard not to be impressed by John Brennan, he has a wealth of experience and personalises each wedding to each individual couple. Of course, with his experience comes knowledge of what will work, and what will not work. This was invaluable for us. Dromquinna is famous for its food and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Our guests were blown away by the high quality of food and wine served at the wedding. Ensure you have the beef as one of your main options – your guests will be salivating. The sharing platter, not only for its immaculate presentation – is also highly recommended.

After a few speeches and the food has finished, guests were ushered out to the bar and fire-pits on the balcony areas of the manor house. This allowed Harlequin, and their lead singer, Shane McGrath, to set up.

THE THEME

The wedding bought together both the Irish and Australian cultures. We were conscious while organising our wedding that we wanted to ensure that all guests were “one”. Whilst the wedding was in Ireland, it was going to be a celebration at heart. As a result, we didn’t chose a specific theme as such, rather, we wanted both cultures equally represented across the course of the weekend. Andrew wore one Irish flag cufflink and one Australian flag cufflink as well as the groomsmen and father. Andrew’s button hole had a sprig of eucalyptus in it, a native plant in Australia.

The priest, Father Niall, to our surprise, spoke to the similarities and differences between cultures in his address to the congregation. Given that sport has been an integral part of how we met, he made sure he made it aware that the Irish would not be taking up cricket any time soon! Both sides of the wedding thoroughly enjoyed this.

As it now customary in Australia, the day after the wedding incorporated a recovery day. Guinness was on tap and a couple of cases of Aussie VB beer had found their way to Killarney. Irish and Australian flags were flying.

MOST MAGICAL MOMENT

It was definitely sitting on the altar looking down and seeing all of our nearest and dearest there to share the moment with us.

FINDING THE DRESS

All of my bridesmaids had flown over to London from Ireland for the weekend and I booked up lots of dress fittings for the Saturday. From the moment I spoke with Sanyukta on the phone I had a good feeling about our visit. She was so different to all of the other places I called. I could immediately feel her warmth through the phone. Behuli by Sanyukta Shrestha was our last appointment of the day and to be honest at this stage I was sick of trying on dresses. However this all changed once we arrived at the fitting. I immediately fell in love with my dress. It stood out from everything else I had tried on and I knew from the girl’s reactions that we had found ‘the one’.

THE WEDDING DRESS

I absolutely love my dress and I got so many compliments from everyone on the day. Even my uncles who normally never comment on clothing or fashion were impressed by it. It was so comfortable to wear and it suited my style perfectly. I loved that its made from fair-trade organic fabrics; it felt so nice against my skin.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE

Old: lace from my mother’s wedding dress was wrapped around my bouquet

New: dress

Borrowed: my mother’s earrings

Blue: my bridesmaids wore blue dresses

CREDITS

Photographer: Ian Cronin 

Dress: Sonia Wedding Dress by Sanyukta Shrestha, London

Wedding Veil : Behuli by Sanyukta Shrestha, Bridal Boutique in Fulham, London

Venue: Dromquinna Manor

Videographer: Joseph Berg 

Shoes: Kurt Geiger

Cake: Cheese wheels assembled and decorated by Maja at The Little Cheese Shop

Hair: Denise from Ruby Tuesday, Killarney

Makeup: Ciara Bisby (my cousin)

Bridesmaids Dresses: I bought the bridesmaid dresses while on a trip to Sydney earlier in the year. The 100% silk dresses were bought from Zimmermann.

Entertainment: Harlequin

Car: Horan’s cars

Bus transport for guests: Kerry Coaches

Church Music: Delta String Quartet

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