Inspiration

This gorgeous Northern Ireland wedding is not only full of breathtaking botanics but emotion too. I can pretty much guaranteed when you see the images captured by Honey and the Moon of bride Nadine making her grand entrance with her brother by her side you'll get a huge lump in your throat. The intimate outdoor ceremony in the gardens of Ballyscullion Park, was followed by a light lunch before all the extended circle of family and friends joined them in the afternoon for a delicious hog roast, drinks and dancing. All the ladies look incredible. Nadine wears a truly stunning Jesús Peiró gown, with the bridesmaids in off white dresses from Mango. And I can't leave without mentioning the fourth bridesmaid – Jessie, their 16 year old, one eyed Jack Russell, who made a brief appearance before returning to his bed because weddings are tiring and a bit overwhelming when you’re 112 in dog years! Just lovely, and utterly heart warming from start to finish.

The Dresses

Nadine the Bride: I wanted to have a dress that reflected the casual vibe of the whole day, so I went for something quite simple and soft. My bridesmaids was a little last minute ­ none of them live here, so it was back on forth with a lot of pictures. I had 2 options for them to try on 2 days before the wedding when they arrived in Belfast and luckily one of them suited perfectly! I wore earrings and a bracelet that belonged to my mum, which was really meaningful. I wanted to be really comfy on the day and never wear heels so I knew from the start I wanted flats. Trusty Zara came to the rescue and my shoes were so comfy and matched perfectly. My sister who was my Miad of Honor (Rachael Moody) bought me a small charm with a picture of my late parents on it, to tie around my bouquet. It was so nice to know they were with me as I walked down the aisle to marry Gareth. My bridesmaid, Laura, gave me an anklet to wear with a crystal blue heart as my something blue, and my other bridesmaid, Beth, lent me a vintage hair pin that belonged to her greta aunt. All these small bits and pieces were all so meaningful and special.

Grooms Attire

We knew we wanted mis matched suits, which lent themselves to the laid back style of the whole wedding. We kept it simple with navy trousers, white shirts and grey/brown tweed jackets. They were conformable and casual for the groomsmen. Gareth bought watches for the guys which he gave to them on the morning of the wedding and they all wore. Nadine made Gareth’s bow tie and all the pocket squares. I bought Gareth a vintage pocket watch from Etsy that was originally from Russia that he wore with his suit on the day.

The Venue

We don’t really have any connection with that part of the country. We were quite intrigued when researching wedding venues and as Ballyscullion Park had only really started doing weddings, there wasn’t much about it online. We had to go up and see it! Gareth’s parents came with us and it was just fantastic from start to finish. The venue was exactly what we wanted, and Rosalind who owns the venue and showed us around, was so lovely and helpful. We just knew the venue was for us! and again, matched the casual, simple, summer vibe we were looking for.

Colour Scheme/Decor

As flowers were such a big part of our wedding, we didn’t really have a colour scheme! The bouquets were full of lots of different colours, and the bridesmaids wore off­white. The only real different colour was the dusty blue for the table runners, the guys pocket squares, and Gareth’s bow­tie. Other than that we had lots of greens and natural colours which tied in with the gorgeous colours and foliage around the garden.

Flowers

Luckily for us, Janet is a very good friend of Gareth’s mum, so we knew our flowers were going to be very special. We sat down with Janet and went through exactly what we wanted, and we were on the exact same wavelength, we had even pinned so much of the same stuff! She put together the amazing foliage curtain in the room we had our meal in, and had lots of pots and jars of mixed flowers along the lunch table. The bouquets were absolutely perfect and exactly what I had imagined. I grew up in Southern Africa so it was quite special to have a protea in there too. We wanted the whole look of the flowers and bouquet to be wild, colorful and sumptuous, which I think is exactly what we got!

The Wedding Party Fashion

I knew I wanted the bridesmaids in white or off­ white, but as they didn’t live here it was really difficult to get dresses that suited them and also matched my dress. Luckily enough I had very relaxed, easy­ going bridesmiads, they were so helpful and understanding! I wouldn’t like to have to choose from 2 dresses 2 days before the wedding! I ordered the dresses from Mango online and they matched perfectly with my dress, and looked exactly how I envisioned my bridesmaid dresses to be. On the morning I gave my bridesmaids dainty gold bracelets to wear. We all had green foliage head crowns, which is probably the thing I knew I wanted before we decided on anything else for the wedding!

Ceremony

As both my parents have passed away, I asked my brother to walk me down the aisle. Gareth and I were both very emotional. We had a civil marriage, which was relaxed and straightforward. Gareth’s sister Emma did a reading called A Walled Garden ­which was very apt! We asked Gareth’s dad to sing a song. during the ceremony he sang Shania Twain’s You’re Still the one I want he played the guitar and sang the song which was so perfect and personal.

Entertainment

In my work we put on some events, and Ellie had played at an event. As soon as I heard her, I knew I wanted her to play at our reception! She was so lovely to work with and we had lots of amazing comments about her. I would highly recommend her to anyone. Our band were definitely one of the highlights of the wedding! They’re repertoire matched our taste in music exactly and they were great to work with. Such a brilliant band, and again, would highly recommend them! Our DJ from Back Alley Beats was fabulous too. Tailoring the whole playlist to what we wanted, and very easy to work with.

Food

For the small lunch we gave our guests a choice of 3 options for each course. The food was delicious and everyone had greetings to say about the food and service. We then had a big hog roast with lots of different sales for the guests at around 6pm, which was lovely. We both love cheese, so for our ‘cake’ we decided to have 5 tiers of cheese from local deli Sawers. We had a brie, cheddar, blue, smoked cheddar and goats cheese. They also provided lots of cured meats, dips, and antipasto foods, which we served around 10.30pm.

Photographer

Our photographers captured our day perfectly! Having 2 photographers was great as we knew there would be so many moments captured! Honey and the Moon were so professional and easy to work with, and were meticulous in ensuring we got what we wanted from the day. All the photos really tell a story of how the day went ­and we didn’t want to spend lots of time off by ourselves taking photos, and missing the craic!!!

Advice

Do exactly what YOU want!!! We know we may have offended some people, but we both knew exactly what we wanted and it was our day, so we just went with that! Everyone says this, but really take in every moment, and make sure you take 15 minutes with just the 2 of you because you'll hardly see each other the whole day! Don’t be annoyed when things don’t go exactly to plan, there may be some small things that only you will notice, so don’t let any of that get to you!
Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Dress Designer: Jesús Peiró | Bridal Boutique: Forever Bridal | Makeup: SAK Designs | Hair: Pro Hair by Catherine | Bridal Shoes: Zara | Venue: Ballyscullion Park | Florist: The Flower Room Belfast | Catering: Arbutus | Cake: Sawers Belfast | Entertainment: Ellie McCreanor | Back Alley Beats | Bridesmaid Dresses: Mango | Grooms Suit: Next

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