Weddings are a fantastic way to bring those nearest and dearest to you together and this couldn’t be more true for Alex and Bairbre’s bohemian wedding day.
Alex and Bairbre made the most of the summer months and turned their wedding into a breathtaking festival vibe celebration. Check out this real-life bohemian wedding!
How did you both first meet?
We met at a fairly early age when we were in Scouts and we started dating at a young age too. Because we’ve been together for so long, we went through formative years together and shaped each other into the people we are today. Genuinely, we are the people we are today because of each other! Looking back, it is likely why we spend a lot of time together. We want the best for each other and have supported each other for the past ten years!
Tell us about the proposal!
It was a cold Saturday morning in the lead-up to Christmas 2021. Alex had a very tight window to work with as he wanted to capture the Christmas magic! It had to be a weekend so we had time to enjoy it. Christmas has always been a great time for both of us and we love the festivities that come with it. So the weekend before Christmas at home, still sleepy and waking up, Alex asked me to marry him. We’ve been together for over ten years so there were some nerves but it had been also a long time coming. There were few surprises, yet Alex kept this completely secret. A culmination of a few months of planning, capturing the magic feeling of Christmas and having all our family at home was exactly how we wanted it. It was perfect!
When did you start planning your wedding?
We started planning pretty soon after. Alex and I both have high standards for everything we do in life and this was no different! We begun with spreadsheets and to-do lists. From this, we did pretty much everything ourselves with the help of friends. Once we found our perfect venue, the rest started to fall into place. We put the work in to be on top of our planning and prioritised the important tasks. As with everything,you can’t expect everything to go to plan and knowing that from the start also helped us set our expectations.
Tell us more about your suppliers!
Ballintubbert was our venue and also shared suppliers they worked with for us to work with. Huge, huge shoutout and thank you to Jo-Ann in Ballintubbert. She was the perfect planner for us and things would not have gone as smoothly without her. Ballintubert also took care of wine/drinks. Food, which was a top three priority, was done by Liam at Gourmet Kitchen Ireland. Exceptional food and service. Everyone was treated like we were, which was exactly how we wanted it.
My niece made our cake! Our flowers were from Aiva Veinberga. Aiva was so easy to work with and brought our plans to life perfectly. Eva Kyne did my makeup and was fab! She was so well prepared and did an incredible job.
Who captured your day?
The lovely Dena Shearer took our photography and David Duignan produced our videography. We knew early on that we wanted documentary-style photography with limited posed setups. We already knew Dena and her style was exactly what we wanted. Dena was exceptional. She set out her plans and expectations from the start. She was also relaxed and easy-going, which is exactly what we wanted.
Dena was also incredibly quick on the turnaround time and even gave us a sneak peek of photos a few days after to keep our excitement high! Not too long after, she sent our full album and nailed it. The quality and attention to detail were incredible and she thoroughly utilised the venue’s beauty.
A massive thank you to Dena!
What did you and the wedding party wear?
Alex’s suit was from Remus Uomo on Stephens Green. He had a suit from there before for a wedding and was impressed with the care shown from Florin, so it was an easy choice. As we were having a summer wedding, the idea was to use colours that would be complemented by the venue’s gardens.
The suit was a dark beige with a fine brown/black square pattern, with a dark green tie. Our groomsmen had a similar colour profile but lighter with a faint pattern in the jacket and to provide texture to it.
I actually made my own dress and my veil from Alice May Bridal! The bridesmaids wore a light green satin dress from Oh Hello Clothing.
What was your favourite part of the day?
For Bairbre:
- We are so lucky to have so many talented friends and family who could be part of making our day so special. My nana made us a beautiful piece of stained glass, a group of friends provided the music for the ceremony, a close family friend Dave was our celebrant, my niece made our cake Alex’s mum decorated it and my sister job shared as hairdresser and bridesmaid! It was so special to have all these talented people included in our day and meant so much to us both.
- My absolute highlight, though hard to pick just one, is having our amazing DJ James play the song Maniac 2000 not once, but twice!! It was a moment I’ll never forget! It was the only song request we had for him and the reaction was so incredible when he played it the first time that he closed the night with it and there was not one person not on the dance floor!
For Alex, top two:
- The first look was definitely a favourite of mine! We spent all morning apart and normally spend almost all our time together. Doing this and having to make decisions was hard. Seeing Baibre and her dress was a heart-stopping moment and a relief. We could finally communicate directly again rather than through people.
- We held a day two and the venue had a fire pit outside. We do a lot of camping, so sitting with our nearest and dearest around a fire brought back a lot of fond memories. It’s something we may never get to do again!
Any advice you can give?
Looking back, the thing that worked for us was choosing a venue and date first. From there, we could start planning everything else and it gave us a deadline which we both needed.
Second to that is to make a budget. Even if you don’t stick to it, it will force you to track spending and be practical in decision-making so you don’t accidentally go over budget, which is very easy to do!
Lastly, you can’t control every aspect and things may go wrong or may not go to plan and you need to be okay with that. For us, it was the weather. Doing that made things flow so much more for us and we had way more fun.
