Caitlin & Nick

Wait until you see this couples ceremony, it's simply stunning. Set in the ruin's of an outdoor chapel at the gorgeous Chateau De Clerbise in France. Making it a truly picturesque place to say I do. Inspired by chic rustic, a gorgeous palette of lilac & blue was used to decorate the marquee reception. Think fresh lavender sprigs, mercury glass filled votives, hessian and lace. All finished with lovely hand illustrated stationery and fun order of the day sign. I also absolutely adore the sumptuous satin Ghost Bridesmaid dresses Caitlin's best girls don, but not as much as I love Caitlin's one shoulder tulle Art Couture gown. All ladies look utterly dreamy, especially against all the quaint backdrops of the Chateau. The whole day is full of laughter, love and beautifulness.

Bridal Look

Caitlin The Bride: My dress was by Art Couture bought from McElhinneys Bridal Rooms in Ballybofey. This dress was nothing like I envisaged wearing when I first got engaged but I absolutely fell in love and it made me feel like a princess. My beautiful headpiece is the Renee by Corrine Smith. My earrings from Liberty in Love were a little treat from Nick for the day and my bracelet which co-ordinated perfectly with the earrings was actually 'something borrowed' from my big sister and maid of honour Erin. My shoes had to be Christian Louboutin, classy and most important comfortable!

Suited and Booted

The groom, groomsmen and the dads were all kitted out in Burton suits and shoes! Nicks Liberty floral tie and pocket-square in lilacs and blues from Mrs. Bow Tie tied in beautifully with his suit, buttonhole and blue cuff links. I wanted to keep the men's ties and pocket squares simple and opted for a plain ivory Paisley style. The dads and groomsmen had cuff links from notonthehighstreet detailing our wedding date and time, a little memento from the day. They all looked very handsome!

My Maids

My sister Erin, sister in law Joanna, cousin Jennifer and best friend Esther were beside me on the day. They wore the Taylor dresses by Ghost in pale lilac. All of my bridesmaids were really happy and felt comfortable in these dresses. Their pearl hairbands were from Accessorize, silver ankle strap heels with pearl and bead embellishments were from New Look and pearl stud earrings were from notonthehighstreet. They looked absolutely beautiful and I was so pleased they could stand beside me on this most special day.

Flowergirl

Our flowergirl was our little niece Lyra. Her dad John-John was Nick’s best man, and mum Joanna was one of my bridesmaids, so it was a real family affair! She looked absolutely adorable in her Ivory dress and shoes both from John Lewis. She had a little gypsophilia floral head garland to wear- but that lasted about five minutes!

Our Venue

It had never been a conscious decision to get married in France it just was going to be. Following our engagement, google searches ensued to find the venue. We stumbled upon a place about an hour from Bordeaux and booked a flight to check it out. Seeing Chateau Clerbise for the first time in December of 2013 we knew that this magical place was perfect for us, and our friends and family and would lead to the most perfect wedding. We wanted somewhere we could have exclusively for a week where myself, Nick and our closest friends and family could unwind and enjoy quality time together.

Colour Scheme/Decor

I love the elegance of mercury glass vases and candlesticks but as we wanted a more relaxed tone I added hessian table runners and table-cloths as well as chalkboard details throughout. We went for lilacs and blues as we both really love these colours and they definitely have a French feel.

Flowers

I didn't give a very detailed brief on the flower front as I know florists are so artistic and creative when left to it. I simply wanted lilacs, blues, Ivory/whites and wow did she deliver. I was only adamant that I definitely wanted roses somewhere as I just love roses and weren't they just beautiful!

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was held in the stunning chapel ruins on the grounds of the chateau. It was a truly magical setting. Two of the guys from Brightlights performed the music for our ceremony. They learnt both collide by Howie Day for the entrance and Shine by Benjamin Francis-Leftwich for the exit. My brother Fabian recited a poem written by Ann Gray titled Love Listen. Nicks father Paul recited Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 and my best friend Dave also did a reading. One of our close friends Pete who is a pastor married us giving us a personalised and special ceremony that I'm sure everyone will remember.

Entertainment

Brightlights provided our music for both the ceremony and the evening band and dj. They are a group of English fellas who have been living in the south of France for 8 years. We found them and instantly knew we had to have them! To us having an excellent live band in the evening was one of the most important aspects of our day.mWithout doubt one of the best wedding decisions we made- they were incredible! Had everyone up dancing all night!

The Cake

Patisserie Cherie made our cake. The instructions I gave were simple and tastes good!! It was made up of red velvet, Nutella and vanilla/raspberry! Fabulous!

Photographer

I just love Frankee’s style! She captures natural moments so beautifully. She instantly put us at ease and the individual photographs, something I was not looking forward to was a really enjoyable experience. The photographs are just incredible and reflect our wonderful day perfectly.