Sunny wedding waves to Siobhan

It's a spectacularly sunny August 8th and one of 'my' brides, Siobhan, is getting married today! I wish herself and Eoin a brilliant day.

 

These pretty hairpins are dotted through Siobhan's hair as I type. After much chatting and sketching, I designed individual pins to go with her Denise Assas gown. The feature of the dress are hand-beaded cap sleeves. Did you know that I have a bit of a sleeve obsession?

Flicking through my V&A book 'Tiaras; A History of Splendour', reminded me of why I love to design jewels for the head. These ladies look like they regularly dress up for dinner. I've a friend who dresses like this on a daily basis! Caroline owns Dirty Fabulous with her sister Kathy. Every day is an 'Opera Day' for her. If you like bejewelled vintage dresses, handbags and headpieces, this is the store for you.

So, how will you wear your wedding accessories again? Here's my advice; make sure you take them out and wear them lots. Vintage style jewels are gorgeous with all sorts of outfits. I recently heard a lovely story from Elaine; she has now loaned her Rangoli comb to three of her close friends for their weddings. That makes me feel so happy! I suppose the other option is to throw a tiara dinner party and invite the girls around?

Image credits:
Taken from Tiaras - A history of splendour by Geoffrey C. Munn

Rangoli bride Claire marries Brooks

One day, Claire came to visit my studio and showed me photos of a delicious hairstyle that Marie Hickey had created for her wedding! Just that week, I had been designing a new crochet headpiece and it was as if it had been made for Claire. As soon as we tried it on, we all (Claire, her Mum and me) knew that this was the headpiece for her!

I often talk about how my designs are influenced by hairstyles and I'm lucky to have met some amazing stylists that I recommend to my clients. Marie and I have worked together with a few clients recently which has been great fun. I hope we'll meet in person soon Marie!

Claire's hairstyle has all the elements I love; it's natural, asymmetric and elegantly simple. I think it complements her dress beautifully. Below you can see Marie weaving the three crochet strands into the side plait.

Hairstylist Marie Hickey working her magic

I'm so delighted that Claire is here to tell us about her amazing day; I've been dying to hear all about it. And even more excited when I heard that the Mastersons duo were photographing the day.

"Planning a wedding from abroad is never easy. I moved to Canada with my Canadian husband over three years ago, but we always knew that we both wanted to get married in Ireland, where we met and fell in love.  Brooks and I decided to get married at Mount Juliet, Kilkenny. The hotel and its surroundings were absolutely perfect. Also, half of our guests were coming from Canada and we knew that Mount Juliet would be able to accommodate all of us. Everyone was wowed by the venue and the level of professionalism of the staff."

"The first time I met with Aisling was a week before the wedding. In hindsight I left it a bit late. Luckily it all worked out and I think that is largely because of Aisling’s commitment to her work.

I knew I wanted to wear my hair down for the wedding. I wanted something pretty simple but I also wanted something that was individual to me. After meeting with my hairdresser Marie Hickey she suggested adding a hairwire. We found Rangoli and I was immediately taken with Aisling's work.

My mother and I arranged to meet with Aisling at her shop and we were both in awe of the beautiful range of jewellery she creates. Not only that, Aisling has a very calming and patient presence. She listened carefully to what I was looking for and helped me find something that would suit me." 

 Marie weaves my 'Cascade' headpiece into the side plait.

"There were many beautiful pieces available in her shop. However once she showed me an intricate piece she was working on and I knew it was perfect! It was subtle yet elegant. Aisling insisted on creating a new hairwire for me and she worked hard that week to make sure that it was flawlessly finished and arrived in time for my wedding day. I also bought a beautiful bracelet she created. Marie, my hairdresser, was blown away by Aisling’s work and Marie worked her magic to make sure that she did the hairpiece justice."

"The wedding day itself was one of the happiest days of my life. It went by so quickly! Before I knew it we were married.

Aisling I want to thank you for your hard work. You are very talented! All of my friends and family commented on the hairwire that you created for me. Thanks for helping to make our day so special!"

Claire, just looking at these photos makes me smile. Your headpiece must have been designed with your name on it before I met you. I'm so glad you enjoyed your experience. Thanks for all your kind words; I really appreciate them. Wishing you both a cozy first married Christmas x

Credits:
Hair styled by Marie Hickey - Bridal Hair by Marie
Photography by We are the Mastersons
Venue: Mount Juliet, Kilkenny

Rangoli bride Ciara

Ciara, I'll always remember the afternoon you visited my studio with your Mum and sister. I think we laughed for an hour and a half. It was clear that you were not going to stress over your wedding planning. And your sister was so helpful with her advice "You can't look fat in a headpiece"! You really had to be there to fully appreciate Niamh's nugget of wisdom :-)

Do you know what one of the best parts of my job is? It's opening an email or envelope and getting to see how everything turned out on the day. Your kind words are the best reward ever. Here's Ciara to tell us about her wedding to Kevin. Doesn't she look gorgeous?

"Aisling, I just wanted to thank you so much for your beautiful creations that made me feel like a princess the day of the wedding.  I feel like there may have been divine intervention that I Googled Rangoli two years ago. So many of my friends and family were blown away by the hair wire and the earrings and an ex-boyfriend of mine that was at the wedding remarked on the hair wire several times saying how beautiful it was, so even men appreciate your talent! Thanks again for making my day so special and for a fantastic time in your studio in January."

"I think we had the only sunny day in Kerry after weeks of torrential rain so we were so lucky that we could go to the beach after the windmill and then up to the Connor Pass on the way to Dingle.  The photographer Riona is a genius and loves to take different types of pictures, so she convinced me to climb a very high rock across a little stream and sit right in front of a waterfall.  Riona always insists on brides and bridesmaids wearing flip flops for photographs so it made the climbing a bit easier!!

It really was one of the best days of my life and its all the simple little things such as being able to have my my own little touches and our own personality put into the wedding.  I think maybe some couples alienate themselves from their own wedding by getting too stressed out, but Kevin and I really enjoyed all the planning and I can honestly say we made sure we had a sense of humour about the whole thing."

Thank you Ciara - I hope we'll meet again some day for another dose of giggles!

Ciara wore my Rangoli Brooch hairwire and matching pearl and rhinestone drop earrings. Her beautiful flowers were by Best of Buds and photos from Riona MacMonagle.

Photo credits: 
Photographer:Riona MacMonagle
Flowers by Best of Buds

Remembering grandparents

Weddings are all about stories and I get to hear some brilliant ones! Our wedding memories are wrapped up in images. There's the ones in our head that are as vivid as the day they happened. And then we have treasured photographs which capture a moment in time. Photos allow us to remember emotions which is what makes them so special.

Recently, lots of you have been showing me photos of your Grandparents weddings. I thought it was time to put our favourite relatives on the stage and hear some stories about their wonderful wedding days! The series is all about the romance, the style and the personalities.

Sarah was married recently and I remember her telling me that she was going to have framed pictures of her parents and grandparents at her wedding. She was lucky to have great photos from both sets of grandparents, so this is the first of two features!

Here's Sarah to tell us about her Grandparents, Rosaleen and Patrick O' Loughlin who were married in Killany church in County Louth on the 12th of June 1956!

 

Rosaleen and Patrick O' Loughlin are married on 12th June 1956

"My nanny Rosaleen O' Loughlin was quite ahead of her time (for Ireland) in a white tea length wedding dress. She brought her wedding cake and dress back from London and according to my Mam was the "height of fashion with a slight London accent", that Mam picked up as a young child.

My Nanny and Grandad met in London and ended up living in the same building near Notting Hill. Grandad always says their song was "Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me, twice on the pipe." As this was apparently something they could do! When things got bad they decided to make their life back in Ireland. Nanny had originally gone to England to train as a nurse but quickly realised it wasn't for her. Grandad was a carpenter working in London at the time. So, nanny persuaded Grandad to become a member of the Garda Síochána as it was a good pensionable steady job. (but a big pay cut for him at the time!)

And so it happened that Nanny O' Loughlin was working in Lyons tea shop in England while my Grandad trained as a Garda in Ireland for two years. Love letters went back and forth during this time and I'd love to find them. My Mam says they're in the attic. Anyway, my favourite part of the story has to be when my Grandad met my nanny off the train. Nanny saw that my Grandad had his hair in a tight crew cut for the guards. Her first words to him after after a year of these beautiful love letters were...

"I don't like your hair"

... and my Grandad, a normally easy tempered man, retorted,

"You don't look so hot yourself!"

Despite the fiery start, a trait my mother attributes to my beautiful Nanny often (and that runs in our family!) I have never heard of a couple as in love as my Nanny and Grandad O' Loughlin. If you bump into my Grandad playing his mouth organ in Grace's pub in Rathmines and get chatting to him, you can be guaranteed that at some point in the conversation he will begin to tell you all about my lovely Nanny and how much he still misses her. My Nanny O'Loughlin passed away 21 years ago this August and her memory is still fresh in all our heads."

Post wedding smiles outside the church!

What an amazing love story Sarah - thanks for sharing it with us. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for your Grandad if I'm ever in Grace's Pub in Rathmines. I'm sure he has great stories to tell.


This is the first in a series about Grandparents weddings - do you have any photos that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear from you.

a thousand words - Brosnan Photographic

Great photographs tell a story by capturing a moment in time. In this series, I am asking some of my favourite wedding photographers to describe one of their cherished photographs. My inspiration is the book Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers On Their Art. This book features a number of iconic photographers who share some personal reflections about one of their photographs. Although I don't yet own a copy of the book, the idea captured my imagination and is the inspiration for a new series of guest blog posts with photographers.


This month, we're back in Ireland, chatting with Christina Brosnan. Christina is originally from Chicago but now lives in Ireland with her Irish husband. I love her feminine style and eye for beautiful details. I was excited to see Christina's chosen image. The suspense was worth the wait - what a spontaneous moment!

{Click image for a larger version}

"I chose this image of one of my recent couples because it's a very organic moment. Often my best images happen when a couple is very relaxed in front of the camera. When I told Eimear and Cathal to go in for a kiss, Eimear grabbed Cathal without realising they were hidden behind the bouquet. But it created for a perfect little moment and a great photo. I feel as if they're having a sneaky little kiss. The way they're leaning shows they weren't afraid to really go for it!

I approach every wedding with the same technique. I keep a couple interacting to help produce those natural moments. I prefer to see movement than stiff posed statues. For me the time I spend with a couple is my favourite part of the wedding day. My style is more about capturing the intimacy between a couple than putting them against a pretty landscape. All you need is a little bit of good daylight and a fabulous couple and you can create magic!"

Thanks for chatting with us Christina and adding another dimension to this treasured image - For all existing and new fans, check out Christina's portfolio on her blog and website.

This photographer interview is part of a series which you can read in full. Come on; tell me about the photographer you have chosen or admire!

Rangoli bride Aisling marries Ian

This year I designed accessories for two amazing sisters; Aisling and Kellie, who were both married within a couple of months of each other. (Keep an eye out for Kellie's feature coming soon). Girls, all I can say is that you were both a pleasure to design for and work with and I'm so glad you both had brilliant days!

I designed a crochet headpiece and bracelet for Aisling to complement her Claire Pettibone 'Willow' gown. I used peach and ivory pearls to pick up on the unusual embroidery detail on the dress. Here's Aisling to tell us about how she planned her magical day.

"I know what I have written is WAY too much information, however I really couldnt begin anywhere else other than the beginning of our story......

"It was back in 2003 that Ian and I both met (at Witness now known as Oxegen), Ian is a Dub and I myself am from Co Down. We spent 5 months inseparable, (when possible) before he had to take off on a pre-arranged trip around the world. It wasn't long though until my sister, friends and I decided to do exactly that. Ian and I met again in Melbourne that following summer where we lived together for 6 months. Ian's dad passed away very unexpectedly and before we knew it we were back in Ireland living apart. But not for long...."

 Aisling's sister Kellie is seen on the left in the picture above

In September 2008, Ian surprised Aisling with a trip to Florence, where he proposed to her! Almost two years later, the couple headed to the Amalfi Coast in search of the perfect wedding venue.

"We did find one but it just happened to be at the top of a mountain....'Ravello'. This place was really beautiful, however a long, long way to take our guests.  After much deliberating we decided to give our homeland a chance."

Lots of research and weekend travelling, (would you believe over 1000km?), finally led Aisling and Ian to Tankardstown House which immediately won them over.

"As soon as we walked through the front doors of this charming place we were sold! It possessed all the old world charm but with a bright and new feel to it. There was an open fire roaring in the hall way and as we made our way through the house we did not know where to look first; there was so much character. This house set the foundation for the theme and style of the day that I had planned in my head for God knows how long! I pictured the day to be enchanting, romantic, poetic and with all that Tankardstown House had to offer again including the grounds this was most definitely the place."

"The next big thing was the dress...  I spent hours (maybe even days ("~) surfing the net using blogs such as Style me Pretty, Lane Dittoe, Wedding Chicks for inspiration. I googled words such as vintage, illuminating, delicate and then I stumbled upon Claire Pettibone. Her dresses were magical. Every dress was made for a fairytale. When I tried on 'Willow' in Myrtle Ivory, Dublin, I was blown away! I didnt want to take it off and so I knew it had to be the one. The style of the day that I had imagined was finally starting to take shape...a mix of vintage flair with a magical feel of a 'A midsummer nights dream'.

The venue was booked, the dress was ordered, we soon found a sweet little chapel, the bridemaids dresses were being sketched. The groom and groomsmens suits were decided upon. Everything was falling in to place. Make-up I would do myself, the only thing that was left in terms of the bridal party was my jewellery.  As a child I always pictured myself wearing a headpiece on my big day, something that would sit delicately on my forehead.  So it was back to the drawing board... Google to some, (my new best friend). It wasn't long though before I came across the very creative and talented Aisling Nelson, Rangoli."

"After visiting Aisling in her delightful studio I soon knew she would create something really special. Aisling did her own bit of research for me in terms of deciding upon the colours and beads that would suit 'Willow'. The headpiece was so perfect I had to ask for Aisling to make me a bracelet also. The attention to detail that went in to both pieces was exceptional. I will treasure both pieces forever and I love that although our big day has been and gone I can still wear my bracelet, look back and remember what a truly magical and wonderful day we had. Thank-you for your amazing input."

"When planning a wedding though,...it doesnt just stop at the wedding party and venue. As I previously stated I soon became addicted to wedding blogs. There was the invites that I handmade myself (that took me way too long,..more than I care to remember), I bought my paper from Daintree in Camden Street Dublin and the same paper I used for my buntons to decorate my sweet treat table. I used it for the table plan and also the guest book."

Wedding invitations made using Daintree paper

"We used sweets that reminded us of when we were lil ones...cola cubes, fish 'n'chips, saucers, shrimps, banana's, raspberry ruffles (my dad's favourite). Ian loves my home baked raspberry and coconut frou frou cupcakes and I happened to find a place in town that most definitely uses the same ingredients, so I knew I had to have some there also. I always loved polaroid pictures so I left one by the guset book for people to leave a little pic with some well wishes. Ian has always loved cigars moreso on special occassions and so he got a humidor and over time time collected a number of quality cigars for those that would enjoy them on the big day.

I arranged an overhead projector to be set up in the drawing room of the house and after the dinner we all moved in to watch a slide show of photo's including all the guests with Ian and myself at some stage in our lives creating happy memories.This was just another little feature. Helena (a very special lady that I cared for, for 4 years) said an amazing poem 'Young Lord Lochinvar' by Sir Waltar Scott. This poem is very beautiful and romantic."

"The fabulous photographer who really captured the essence of the day was the one and only Peter Gordan of ExploreLight. Peter who is also a close friend spent some time with us prior to the day in deciding upon what exactly we wanted from our photo's and he really did all that and more!"

 

 Flowers by Sweet Pea Designs

"The flowers were decided upon after two hours with the florist at her kitchen table. Catherine Handley of 'Sweet Pea Designs' spent this time with me trying to grasp an idea of what I had pictured. I wanted the flowers to be delicate and to have a somewhat rustic feel. Catherine did all so tastefully. The chapel was amazing with candles everywhere. 

I also wanted heather featuring somewhere. This was something that reminded me of my childhood. I grew up at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and heather grew everywhere. Catherine went one step ahead and actually sourced the specific heather found in the mountains of Co Down. You can see it a little in the bouquets and the boys buttonholes. The flowergirls were like little fairies with their floral crowns. Catherine also used her glasswear that her father collects for her (ie old ketchup bottles, Chanel perfume bottles) to decorate the main dining room including the fireplace."

"There really was a lot of attention to detail and as I write this it dawns on me how much time and effort really goes in to creating something so special. Would I do it again..absolutely..in a heartbeat!!!"

What a pretty wedding and gorgeous couple - don't you agree? Aisling and Ian, thanks for sharing some of your amazing photos and for taking the time to tell us about all the planning that went into personalising your day. I really appreciate your kind words too.

Rangoli bride features are my favourite part of the blog - check out some more wedding reports or have a look at my Rangoli Brides album or Facebook page for lots more inspiration.

Supplier details
Photographer: Peter Gordan of ExploreLight
Venue: Tankardstown House
Dress: Myrtle Ivory Dublin
Flowers: Catherine Handley of Sweet Pea Designs
Paper for stationery: Daintree
Headpiece and jewellery: Rangoli

a thousand words - Lisa O'Dwyer

Great photographs tell a story by capturing a moment in time. In this series, I am asking some of my favourite wedding photographers to describe one of their cherished photographs. My inspiration is the book Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers On Their Art. This book features a number of iconic photographers who share some personal reflections about one of their photographs. Although I don't yet own a copy of the book, the idea captured my imagination and is the inspiration for a new series of guest blog posts with photographers.

This month, we're chatting with Lisa from Lisa O'Dwyer Photography. Lisa is originally from Pennsylvania, has travelled and lived all around the world and now lives in Ireland with her husband and children. Here is one of her favourite bridal images that she took at a recent wedding.

"The reason I like this photo is because I think it captures the couple's personalities and the relationship they have together perfectly. They are a fun people and I like how the groom is teasing the bride by tickling her and then going to play at chomping down on her cheek. I like how they interact with each other and play together. I can't recreate this pose and lighting for another couple. I feel that this photo is unique to the couple that has been captured.

The sun was low in the sky and so we got the lovely backlit "California" style lighting. I LOVE to get this kind of lighting in portraits. It's simply magical and worth waiting for.

The way I approach creating the couple's portraits is to find some great light and background, then to let them interact naturally with each other while I snap away. If they start to get stiff or awkward at getting their photo taken, I joke around and generally embarrass myself to get a laugh. I find that being a Yank is to my advantage because people like to laugh at my accent and the weird stuff I come up with. I direct them a bit because I find people generally need this for me to get artistic portraits. I've found that when I have had my own picture taken, I've needed the direction too. I want the photographer to have an artistic vision of what they want and to help me get into that vision by giving me some direction.

For the photographs I create, I want them to look artistically composed, but natural, with a couple who feels beautiful and looks like they're having fun and enjoying this moment in their lives. Time passes by so quickly and it's so important to document our lives with artistic photography that is natural and emotive. I think it's the exact opposite of studio-based photography which is contrived, artificially lighted, and stylised."

This is a beautiful image Lisa. Thanks for telling us more about how you interact with your subjects too - Now I want to see a video of you in action!

Make sure to check out Lisa's website and blog to see her varied portfolio and read about the other featured photographers in the series.

a thousand words - We are the Mastersons

Great photographs tell a story by capturing a moment in time. In this series, I am asking some of my favourite wedding photographers to describe one of their cherished photographs. My inspiration is the book Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers On Their Art. This book features a number of iconic photographers who share some personal reflections about one of their photographs. Although I don't yet own a copy of the book, the idea captured my imagination and is the inspiration for a new series of guest blog posts with photographers.

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Brian and Trish from We are the Mastersons with a beautiful image that they have chosen to speak about -

"Having to choose a favourite image from our photographs has turned out to be a lot more awkward than we had expected. It feels like we have a huge family of children, and suddenly we have to pick out which one is our favourite. The system we’ve used is completely random and thoroughly unfair, and by tomorrow we will probably have changed our decision. But for today, here it is.

Each year we get the chance to work with great couples and we’ve been incredibly lucky to shoot weddings for graphic designers, artists, other photographers, or for people who just love photography as much as we do. Working with visual people and having them trust us has given us the freedom to develop our own style. In the last couple of years I think that you can look at an image and know that it's one of ours. So much of our work happens before the wedding day in just talking to people, asking questions and listening. Listening is the most important thing that we do. The more that we listen, the more we know and understand a couple, what they like and what makes them laugh, and the better the images of the day will be.

Somebody once mentioned how our photographs reminded them of the classic cinema of the early 70's and I think that's true, not just in the colours but the way that they feel. With our photography, we try to make images that are both strong enough to stand on their own, but that will also work alongside the other shots from the day. It’s like watching a classic film and trying to select twenty individual frames that tell the story. Because at its best, that’s what wedding photography is – it’s storytelling. When you start studying photography, you concentrate on making each image the best that it can be. And then with experience, you begin to stand back and see not just individual images, but how each one fits into the day as a whole.

Being a photographer at a wedding is like having a film played out in front of you. And as with films, there is a pace and a rhythm to a wedding day that we try to capture in our photographs. That’s why we love designing the albums as we get to the chance to recreate the rhythm of the wedding in the way that we lay out the photos – moments of quiet followed by moments of excitement.

It’s surprising where you get inspiration from. We tend not to look at too many wedding blogs and I think that has helped us to find our own style. We get influenced by what we see. Watching the wide open spaces of the films of Terrence Malick, or the tightly cropped individuality of Wes Anderson; or feeling the stillness of a Wim Wenders photograph and in the paintings of Edward Hopper. It all has an impact on what we do.

I think that is why we chose this photograph as our favourite. Time on a wedding day moves pretty fast. It’s filled with the hustle and bustle of meeting friends and sharing stories; hours of laughter and minutes of tears; and if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you’ll miss it. When I look back on the photographs of a wedding, I’m drawn to the shots that capture the ‘space between’ – those moments of complete stillness for the couple, where they don’t need to go anywhere or do anything. They just have to be. Raymond Carver described it as “the difficulty of being simple” and that’s what our photographs try to achieve – when the bridal party and the speeches and the flowers fade into the background and all that’s left is two people, side by side, in love.

Those are the moments that make any relationship special and that’s why I love this photograph."

Brian and Trish are an Irish husband and wife photography duo. Be sure to check out the 'We are the Mastersons' website and blog - their images speak for themselves.