Marquee Wedding in Ireland
I’ve been so looking forward to sharing Gail and Philip’s intimate marquee wedding that I photographed last summer.
This incredible marquee wedding took place at Gail’s family home in Kildare where she grew up. The weather was certainly on our side and I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes when I arrived at the house that morning and saw all the preparations taking place.
“We wanted there to be a laid back atmosphere where guests (and ourselves) felt they could completely relax and have fun. We only wanted close friends and family to be present in order to keep the day very personal, intimate, and special. We didn’t want there to be any pretentiousness or excess fuss and flounce, nothing rigid or uptight…just delicious food, great music, a beautiful outdoor setting, and the people we love most in the world having a great aul’ time!”
A Secret Garden
Over the thirty-three year span, Gail’s parents had imagined and created a secret garden of refuge and wonder with their own bare hands, hearts, and vision. Gail describes it as “the most beautiful, meaningful setting we could have ever dreamed of and is appropriately symbolic of a life and love shared, nurtured and evolved over decades.”
The attention to detail on the day was just incredible. Each wedding party member played their role in bringing it all together. Gail’s mother Tempy even handpicked the flowers from the garden that morning to make the table centerpieces in the marquee later that evening.
Outdoor Ceremony
After all the wedding preparation that morning it was time for the outdoor ceremony in the garden. The bride’s brother Paul was also the celebrant on the day and the whole ceremony. Needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen! The ceremony even concluded with a Jewish wedding tradition of breaking the glass. Mazal Tov!
Wedding Caterers
Everyone got to relax and be with their friends and family during the drinks reception in the garden before being called into the Marquee for speeches and the mouthwatering buffet-style meal laid on by the good folks at LOVE FOOD, a local catering company who I’d highly recommend not just for a marquee wedding, but for any event. The food was just perfection.
Fields of gold
It had been a perfect Irish summer wedding so far with sunshine all day so during the dinner myself and Emma the wedding videographer from Edithouse could see that we were in for a beautiful sunset later on. We started to scope out some good spots to bring the couple after dinner. Luckily we didn’t have to look far as there was a beautiful field just behind the Marquee that we knew would be perfect for some couples portraits! When we took the guys out after dinner the sun was just exactly where we wanted it. The golden light made for some gorgeous wedding photos.
Festival Wedding
When the sun had set the celebrations continued on at the marquee with live music and dancing. There was another Jewish wedding tradition of the hora where the couple are lifted into the air on chairs while their family and friends dance in circles around them.
As I was leaving that night I felt like I had just been a guest at this Marquee wedding. The campfires were lit and the garden had a real festival feel to it, alive under the night sky with guests enjoying the late-night food and drink until no doubt the wee hours of the morning!
Some great wedding advice from the couple
“Don’t listen to all of the surrounding chatter in the lead-up to your big day. Everyone will have an opinion and some might have issues with certain choices you make, but none of that is relevant. This celebration is truly about what you both want, so try to keep that in mind whenever details or guest expectations start to overwhelm.
You will likely underestimate how stressful the process can be (trust us — no matter how laid back a couple you are, it will become very stressful at points!), so don’t kill yourselves or your joyful excitement with pressure and unnecessary perfection. Stick to the most essential elements of the day and remain flexible on the “small stuff”, because it really won’t matter once your ceremony begins.
Lastly, don’t skimp on the photographer/videographer! The day will fly by in the blink of an eye and you will be forever grateful for those recorded memories. We missed so much of our own wedding (you will, too; it’s unavoidable!), so getting to see it properly as a whole, after the fact, was a magical experience and it made the dream real.”
Gail and Philip, what an amazing Bride & Groom you were. Thank you so much for trusting me to capture your wedding for you and I’ve really loved the trip down memory lane while putting this feature together.
If you are planning a marquee wedding and would like to check my availability please get in touch on my contact page. I’d love to hear from you!
CREDITS
Marquee Wedding Hire – LPM Bohemia
Wedding Catering – Love Food
Planning / Styling – Gail & Tempy Cummins
Celebrant – Paul Cummins
Garden Design & Preparation Ger & Tepmy Cummins
Wedding Videographer – Edithouse
Wedding Menu / Cheese & Charcuterie table – Made For You Catering
Signage and Rustic Crafts – Ruth Doyle, Gail Cummins and wedding party
Ceremony / Reception Music – Carolan String Quartet
Trad Band – Paddy Cummins (of “Skippers Alley”) on banjo and mandolin; Ian Kinsella (of “KC VIK”) on guitar and main vocals; Barry Lyons (of “The Bonny Men”) on fiddle
Makeup – Aoife Wilkins Make Up
Hair – Simon Sweeney Hair Design
Bouquets, buttonholes and confetti – Violet’s Flowers
Wedding Dress – BHLDN
Grooms Suit – Brook’s Brothers
Flower Girls Dresses – JJ’s House
