Month: August 2018

Equestrian Wedding Theme

It is said that Ireland is the land of the horse and they aren’t wrong. Whether you and your partner have horses, ride horses, compete, ride for fun or are just horse lovers from afar, why not bring that joined passion into your wedding day?
There’s lots of really personal and beautiful ways to include horses, equestrian themes and accents into your wedding day décor.

If you’re both horse riders, then it’s the ideal way to bring a shared passion into proceedings, plus it will be a chance to put all those rosettes and trophies to good use too!

If neither of you are horse riders or owners, but still adore these stunning animals, then don’t worry, there’s still lots of ways to bring their spirit to the day too.

With all of that in mind, here’s some visual inspiration for you, to get the ideas flowing. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you wish to chat about any aspect of your wedding planning and décor.

Make An Entrance
If you’re a horse owner, then you’ve got to give arriving on horseback some serious consideration. Whether it’s the bride/groom arriving to the ceremony or the newly married couple arriving to their venue, this is guaranteed to be one special way to make an entrance. If you’re not a horse owner, but can ride, then be sure to look into venues that offer horse riding as an activity and check out their options in terms of hiring a horse for the wedding. If you cannot ride but still love horses, then why not arrive by horse drawn carriage?

 

Location
Channel the rustic charm of the stables by seeking out a barn style venue for your big day. Think lofty spaces, with high ceilings, lots of wood details and access to outdoor space. If you really want to channel the horse theme and know someone with an indoor arena, think about using that as your venue!

 

On the table
There’s lots of ways to have fun with your table décor, so why not stat with the most obvious – horseshoes for your favours/place cards! You could also use rosettes. Why not name the tables after your favourite horses, be it Black Beauty or Red Rum! Use trophies for your flowers instead of vases and use them as you centrepieces, interspersed with rosettes. Stirrups can be used to hold tea lights on the table or indeed look stunning as hanging tea lights.

Around the Room
If you or your partner have amassed lots of rosettes over a lifetime of competing on horseback, then why not put them to good use as your table plan or escort cards? Why not have a game of horse shoes set up in the outdoor space of your venue for guests to play. Use your old saddles as décor around the room, put flowers in your old leather boots and have some hay bales placed around the venue.

 

Images via pinterest 

Summer Weddings

It’s no mystery why summer weddings are on average more sought after than their winter counterparts.  While of course, winter weddings have lots of special qualities of their own, there’s no denying that a summer wedding brings with it lots of advantages to leverage the beauty of the outdoors.

That said, in Ireland you can never predict what the summer weather will do… it may rain in the middle of June and be sunny and bright in October. However, going for a summer wedding date gives you a greater chance of being able to have part of your reception or even your vows outdoors!

With all of that in mind, here’s some visual inspiration for you, to get the ideas flowing. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you wish to chat about any aspect of your wedding planning and décor.

 

Outdoor I Do

Planning an outdoor wedding ceremony in Ireland might seem risky, but I’ve planned dozens of successful outdoor weddings. It’s all about being prepared, having a backup plan and a good wedding co-ordinator to help bring it all together. Summer time allows you the opportunity to plan more fully for an outdoor wedding.

 

Lawn Games

Get the guests outside and having fun with some giant lawn games! From giant Jenga, to Connect Four, to more traditional games like chess or croquet, it’s a great way for guests to break the ice, relax and get ready to have some major fun!

 

Embrace Your Location

Summer weddings tend to offer up more varied wedding locations. Such as near the beach, glamping in a yurt, a festival style wedding, on a clifftop and so on. Leverage the opportunities the good weather will hopefully bring and embrace some stunning outdoor locations for your ceremony, reception and photos.

 

Outdoor Eats

Be it a main meal that’s a buffet or BBQ, or your midnight snacks, eating al fresco is always a special thing to be able to have at your wedding and people love to eat outdoors. Think about having ice cream vans, or food rucks for your pre dinner reception or why not get the marshmallows out for a midnight fire pit? Don’t forget to have lots of blankets on hand for after the sun goes down

 

Images via pinterest

Ice Cream Dream Wedding Pastels

Pastels are the epitome of romance. They bring with them a subtle hit of colour and can work with all types of wedding themes. For a modern twist though, don’t be afraid to intersperse a hot pop of colour in between the subtle ice cream dream hues of greens, canary, blush and pale blues.

There are so many ways to bring pastels to life on your wedding day. From bridesmaids dresses and groomsman’s ties, to using the dreamy colours in your venue and even having some fun with your food and drinks, pastels are the easy, beautiful colour selection that is always a hit.

Here’s some visual inspiration for you, to get the ideas flowing. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you wish to chat about any aspect of your wedding planning and décor.

 

 

Attire

Pastels are a perfect choice for bridesmaid’s dresses. Bring a modern flavour to the look though and consider getting dresses in different colours or lengths instead of all matching. Why not get the guys in on the action and add pastel pops in their ties, shirts, waistcoats or socks?

 

On the table

If the thoughts of bright colours on your wedding tables is making you nervous, then look to the understated beauty of pastels to save the day. Think pastel flowers, chalk painted mason jars and lots of stunning hydrangeas in rustic style boxes. Wooden accents work really well with pastels too. Go for pastel table runners or table cloth and why not and contrast with accented napkins or chair sashes/draping and don’t forget the lanterns filled with everything from pastel florals to pastel tea lights.

 

Around the room

Don’t forget to add a splash of pastels around your venue too. Think pastel coloured paper goods like lanterns and fans that look ideal strung from the ceiling. Pastel streamers make fabulous backdrops or look stunning on the backs of chairs. Pastel and white draping will give the room an ethereal quality and don’t forget simple additions like giant balloons.

 

Food

You can have lots of fun with your food and drinks with this colour scheme. Cakes look amazing in these colours and there’s huge scope for creativity with everything from dripping icing, to naked style cakes and lots of pastel embellishment. Beyond the cake, what about having pastel macaroons and cake pops? Don’t just limit it to the food though, why not have pastel inspired cocktails with cotton candy or just pink bubbles. Create a minty cocktails and some pink lemonade for the kids and non-drinkers would be ideal. And it wouldn’t be pastels without ice cream, so why not consider getting in an old fashioned ice cream stall for the reception?

 

Images via Pinterest

Midsummer Nights Dream Wedding

Shakespeare’s a Midsummer Nights Dream exclaims ‘love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.’

A beautiful sentiment from one of the all-time great stage plays, but it turns out that’s it’s not just full of wonderful quotes. In fact, the play is an ideal inspiration for a summer wedding theme.

Think woodland, moss, ferns, fairies, magic and moonlight in this dreamy, sumptuous wedding theme that’s all about laid back indulgence and bringing the outdoors in.

Here’s some visual inspiration for you, to get the ideas flowing. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you wish to chat about any aspect of your wedding planning and décor.

 

 

Lighting

Lighting is key to any wedding them, but is especially vital to pull off a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Think lots of fairly lights, moon and star lights, hanging tea lights, dreamy lanterns to really hammer home the magical atmosphere once the sun goes down. You want to feel as though you’re walking through an enchanted forest, so don’t be afraid to skim on the candles and fairylights.

 

On the table

Have lots of fun with your table décor and centrepieces, think drama, because it is a play after all! Go for lots of green trees and foliage. Think ferns, grapes and greenery. Use Shakespeare quotes as table names. Place piles of old books in the centre covered in moss. Use wooden accents, lanterns and lots of pretty tea lights.

 

Around the room

If you’ve got access to an outdoor area for your wedding reception then make the most of it by lighting up with mason jars and hanging tea lights. Leave blankets outside for when the sun goes down. But don’t forget to bring a sense of the outdoors in with blossom trees, fairly lights, draping, ferns and capture that enchanted magical woodland feeling.

 

Food

When it comes to food, it’s got to be naked cakes or wood effect cakes embellished with moss, greenery and grapes to match the theme to a tee. Have fun serving drinks from goblets and play on the idea of magic potions which both kids and adults would enjoy!

 

Images via Pinterest