This gorgeous barn wedding on a country estate in Northern Ireland is everything cosy that I love about autumn.
Boho wedding lovers and planners rejoice, because this one is for you: a tasselled wedding dress of dreams, and flowers filled with texture and seasonal beauty. Meet our couple, architect Éimear, and Ryan, who is an IT manager. They were married on the 11 October 2019 in a restored nineteenth century barn on the idyllic, family-run Larchfield Estate, Lisburn, Northern Ireland.
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Éimear and her bridesmaids all wore fresh flowers in their hair, and the bride’s style was by her brother’s girlfriend, who runs a salon together with her family – Cuttin’ It. Éimear’s make-up was by Tippy Logronio, whose artistry it’s lovely to welcome back to Love My Dress – I love her choice of statement red lipstick.
“I bought my necklace and earrings from a little shop called Branch on the Park in Victoria Park Village in London. They have beautiful handmade jewellery.”
The bridesmaids wore simple and elegant forest green slip dresses from COS, shoes from & Other Stories, and soft blue wraps around their shoulders [sadly no details provided about these].
To choose her wedding dress, Éimear visited The White Gallery in Belfast, where she discovered her incredible Rue de Seine gown, with its low keyhole back, flowing draped sleeves, and row upon row of tassels.
“Rachel, The White Gallery owner was so helpful. They have so many beautiful dresses, and I had no idea what I wanted, but she helped me find the perfect dress. Her seamstress was also brilliant. She altered it to fit like a glove.”
“I chose the dress for the tassels mainly! I loved how relaxed and flowy it was, and I also loved the elements of nature in the pattern.”
Éimear wore gold sandals by Sandro, and her usual perfume of Wood Sage and Sea Salt by Joe Malone.
“We chose Larchfield Estate because it had the laid back, rustic vibe we were after, and it allowed us to add as much of ourselves into it as possible. We were able to add our own décor, and choose our own caterers, etc.”
“The staff were so friendly and welcoming that it sold it to us straightaway. It’s actually the only venue we viewed. We both have quite laid back styles, and we didn’t want anything too structured. We were inspired by nature, seasonal foods and foliage.”
I love the mixed prints and textures worn by groom Ryan – a navy blue suit with a houndstooth waistcoat and pale grey tie from Belfast based Red Groomswear.
“Ryan wore rose gold cufflinks and a tie pin, which were made by my aunty, Mary Murphy Jewellery Design, who is a very talented goldsmith.”
The bridal party bouquets were spectacular, with beautiful texture in the dramatic pampas grasses, ferns and other greenery, and autumnal colour in the flowers, including delicate waxflower stems and huge roses.
“Our florist was Flowers by Mee. I had seen lots of beautiful bouquets and backdrops on her Instagram, she has such a good eye, and her arrangements are incredible! She also worked with my brother who welded a big hexagonal arch to create an amazing backdrop for the ceremony.”
The beautiful bride was accompanied into the ceremony in the arms of her father, along to the sound of ‘Elephant Gun’, by Beirut.
“We originally met at the Gaeltacht (Irish summer school) when we were teenagers, but have been together for the last eight years after bumping into each other after a few years apart in one of our local pubs.”
“We bought our first house together last year in London, and on the first night there, Ryan proposed. We were sitting on the floor at the time because we had no furniture, and drinking champagne out of mugs because we didn’t have glasses!”
Humanist celebrant Jean Barrett Quinn tailored a beautiful, heartfelt ceremony for Éimear and Ryan. They wanted to keep everything light-hearted, and to that end, here’s a choice extract from Ryan’s vows!
Explore lots of more wedding readings here on Love My Dress
“‘I also promise to try and be a good boy and eat my vegetables’. So far he’s stuck to it!”
To choose their wedding bands, the couple went to Alistair Stewart Jewellers in Hatton Garden, where Ryan had also chosen Éimear’s engagement ring.
“We just had one reading, and we chose our favourite Seamus Heaney poem – Storm on the Island. It was read out by two of our best friends. The last line of this poem really resonates with us – there is nothing to be afraid of no matter the challenge.”
There was also a musical interlude during the ceremony, with songs sung by Rachel Toman, who learned three songs (including one in French) at short notice.
“The ceremony was one of our favourite parts of the day, as it was really meaningful and the atmosphere was lovely.”
The post-ceremony photos are some of my favourites from this wonderful collection of images from Lauren at LIT Photography NI, who made brilliant use of the dramatic autumn light, and some lovely spots around the venue, too.
“Lauren had previously taken photos for my friend, and when we saw them we knew she would be perfect for the kind of vibe we were after. The photos were relaxed, fun, and the colours and light were amazing.”
“Nigel Ivy was our videographer, for the same reasons as we chose Lauren. We heard about him through a friend, and loved the relaxed, fun atmosphere in his videos.”
There were signature cocktails (gin martinis and whiskey sours) along with oysters (sadly no details available about this supplier) after the ceremony, and live music from String Ninjas.
“We hired Blue Moon Event Design to add foliage and extra fairy lights to the beams in the main barn, and they also provided a fairy lit backdrop for the ceremony, and extra sofas for the drinks reception.”
“My Mum and Dad made all the glass terrariums for the centrepieces and my aunties and mother of the groom helped to forage for autumnal décor.”
“One of my aunts and cousins carved some pumpkins, and dressed them up as bride and groom pumpkins as a surprise for us!”
French Village Catering served a delicious dinner, as well as providing invaluable on the day coordination, together with the Larchfield Estate team.
Éimear’s talented friend Laura Hagan, AKA Cake Is My Butter Half (!) made three drip cakes decorated with jewel-like autumnal fruits and flowers.
“We have had her cake at many birthdays and other parties down the years, so knew we wouldn’t have to look elsewhere. She made three cakes and opted for seasonal fruits and nuts, such as pear and salted caramel, blackberry and vanilla, and chocolate and hazelnut.”
Éimear and Ryan decided not to have a first dance, and instead everyone took to the dancefloor for a night of live music from band Soul Power, who looked like they went down a storm!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“If family and friends offer to help with the prep, take them up on the offer! It was so nice to have so many people we knew who played some sort of role in our wedding. It also helped take some of the stress out of it for us, too.”
“On the day itself, it’s true what people say, it really does go so fast so make sure not to let nerves get to you, and enjoy every second.”
Éimear and Ryan, congratulations to you, and massive thanks. It all just looked like incredible fun from start to finish. Many thanks to Lauren at LIT Photography for these beautiful images.
Lots of love,
Laura
Laura Callan
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Laura is a freelance writer and content creator who loves telling stories. She has keen eye for photography and art, and lives with her husband, cats, and huge amounts of books.