Lynne & Louis’ wedding was centered around the historic side of their home city of Dublin and Lynne’s princess cut emerald engagement ring which Louis travelled all the way to Colombia in order to source the stone and design a truly unique ring for his bride-to-be.

Where did you meet?

We met on a cold and snowy evening on the 21st of December 2010 in Residence, St Stephens Green, Dublin… at a Christmas party!

How did he pop the question?

Barley Cove, in beautiful, wild, West Cork is my favorite place in Ireland because we spent a lot of my childhood summers there. He proposed at the end of Brow Head, Ireland’s most Southerly point. It’s a narrow sliver of land stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean with a sheer drop on to the sea on three sides. The weather could not have been more perfect. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day with 360 views of Barley Cove beach and Fastnet Rock out at sea, the waves crashing 200 meters below and the seagulls wheeling above. Believe it or not, it was a complete surprise. We had a pint of Murphys and ham and cheese toasties in Sully’s the local pub afterwards to celebrate.

Tell us about the ring.

Without me, or anyone else knowing, he disappeared to Colombia for a long weekend to source a stone and design a unique ring. After extensive investigations he found a thoroughly unique princess-cut emerald, and had it made into a ring in Cartegena. Funnily enough, I have always loved emeralds after watching the 1984 movie “Romancing the Stone” and some of the mad scrapes my (now) husband gets me in to reminds me of Michael Douglas!!

What did you do for your hen party

I had two hens! The first was with friends where we live, and the second at home with family and close friends. The first was a magical Disney themed bachelorette organized by party queens Rebecca Kearsley and Christina Ward. They came up with cupcakes, Disney themed cocktails and food, a Disney quiz, Disney music, and there was even a Disney baby!! I dressed up as Queen Elsa from Frozen and we had a wide variety of Pocohontoses, Ariel, Belles, Minnie Mouse and a very scary Cruella De Ville. It was such a fun day.
For my second hen, we had a lovely relaxing evening at my favourite restaurant The Three Q’s, Greystones, Ireland followed by cocktails in No Name Bar, Dublin. This was organized by exceptionally talented bridesmaid Deirdre Lomasney and included hen gift bags and hen cupcakes by Antoinettes bakery. It was wonderful!

Who helped with all the planning for the big day?

My bridesmaids – my sister Rachael, childhood friend Deirdre and cousin Kathryn were really fantastic and I couldn’t have done it without them. Deirdre helped me with almost everything, including looking at venues with a beady eye and reporting back! My sister is the queen of weddings, and my cousin Kathryn helped make some cupcake signs and took care of organizing confetti on the day. On the day my bridesmaids were working hard running around like mad things while I relaxed – they were just fantastic and helped make the day so memorable!

Where did you get married?

The ceremony was in Churchtown Quaker Meeting House, followed by reception at The Shelbourne Hotel, St Stephens Green, Dublin.

How did you decide on the style and look of your wedding?

It was a very easy decision. We wanted a Dublin city wedding which is home for us, and at a venue that we would forever be able to walk by and pop in for a drink. The Shelbourne Hotel is the “grand old lady of Dublin” located right on Stephens Green right in the city centre. It is a beautiful, historic Renaissance hotel and was perfect for the day. Coincidentally, we met across the road from the Shelbourne and ended up having our first date in the bar there – bringing it all back home!

Tell us about your dress

I knew that I wanted a very classic look, and something that would stand the test of time. I love lace and a buttoned back and knew that I wanted a train and veil from the beginning. Strapless or princess style does not suit me, so I knew to stay away from that. I found my dress at Alessa’s bridal Miami. It was the third dress I tried on! It is by an Australian Designer Sophia Tolli. I knew it was the dress once I had it on, so I cancelled the other appointments and went for Prosecco with my friend Yvonne!

How did you decide on hair and makeup?

I really wanted to feel like myself with my hair down and a classic makeup look, so it was a very easy decision. My makeup artist was Clare Hogan and my hairdresser was Claire Barry – both were fantastic on the day and I would highly recommend them.

Did you have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

I did. For my something old and borrowed I had my mum’s parasol from her wedding, and a pair of earrings from my sister in law. My something new was a Helen Fitzpatrick bracelet that my dad gave me, and my something blue was a blue garter from my sister!

Where did you hear about Willow & Pearl?

I was searching online for wrap dresses in emerald green and couldn’t find anything that looked nice. My sister came across the web-site, and so I emailed, sampled the colour and it was perfect! I knew that I wanted emerald green to match the colour of the ring, and all of my bridesmaids were in agreement that a wrap dress would be the most flattering. It was very easy to order and my questions were answered immediately; I felt confident ordering online without seeing the dresses.

How did the bridesmaids wear their dresses?

I left it to them to decide. Two wore the dress tied the same way over their shoulders and one wore it rolled up like straps. It worked really well as everyone felt very comfortable! The dresses looked fantastic and the emerald colour really was very beautiful.

Do you think your bridesmaids will wear them again?

Yes definitely, my sister already has!

What was it like getting ready on the morning of your wedding day? How did you feel?

I felt great! I got up early and did yoga. I was staying in a beautiful suite in the hotel and we ordered room service breakfast. My bridesmaids were brilliant in that I didn’t really have too much to worry about. You have to trust your vendors and everyone around you and just go with the flow.

What flowers did you have?

I had mixed greens with white veronica, white roses, white bouvardia , white lisianthus, white hydrangea , and white ranunculus. I sourced a local florist Donna Ryan and was really happy with all of the flowers. She is very talented and personal and I left the dining room flowers entirely to her! She provided bows and some simple flowers for the church as well. A good tip is to go for flowers in season as they look fantastic.

Did you throw your bouquet?

No completely forgot!!

What was your first dance?

We wanted to keep it fun and went for “Do You Love Me” by The Countours. It is the song that Johnny and Penny dance to in Dirty Dancing when Baby walks in and says to Johnny “Er, I carried a watermelon!!”.

We had a live singer knocking out 50s swing and jazz classics during the drinks reception and for dancing. It was wonderful having Sinatra and Buble music in the background.

What was the best part of your day?

The ceremony – it was very personal.

What is your favourite photo from the day?

An action shot that my friend Yvonne caught when I was getting out of the car! Being Ireland, it had just started raining, I’m getting out of a 1930s Bentley and my new husband is rushing over trying to cover me with an umbrella or something!

What advice would you give to brides to be?

Just go with the flow and don’t feel pressured to be anything other than yourself. There are things that will not go to plan, but it won’t matter at the end of the day. Just enjoy being married – that is the best part.