“Star Quality”

I first met with Olivia (one of our RealWedding Brides) way back in Autumn 2009, we had a lovely meeting (at my kitchen table) and decided on bouquets and flower types! Then the ideas changed, a few times and we met again in our office in April to finalise all the information! Olivia works as an editor for the Star newspaper and Shane for the Indo – hence the title!

We decided on a posy-style bouquet of mixed purple toned calla lilies with white crystal blush mixed throughout. The bridesmaids carried posies of bright purple “picture perfect” gerberas mixed with deep purple calla lillies and tied with navy satin to match their dresses. Olivia’s bouquet was finished with satin and lace ribbon and her “something blue” an ornate jewelled brooch belonging to her late nana.

Olivia and Shane were married in the picturesque St. Anne’s Church in Boharnabreena on 11th June 2010 and we provided 2 Traditional Pedestal Arrangements either side of the alter, using lots of the gorgeous purple gerberas and purple alium, we also created a unity arrangement into which Olivia’s unity candles were placed amongst the flowers and greenery! We dressed the pew ends with white duchess satin drapes and a posy of gerbera, bear grass and an alium. Outside, Bay trees guarded the entrance!

With thanks to Darren Purcell at Visionary Photography for the use of some of the images here.

Filed under: Church Arrangement,church decoration,pew end decoration,pink gerbera bouquet — Tags: bay trees, bohar, Boharnabreena, bridal bouquet, calla lily, real weddings, realweddings.ie, st. anne's church, visionary photography — Sinead @ 10:29 am on June 30, 2010

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R&R at Barberstown Castle

Sometimes our job has it’s perks, and an overnight stay in Barberstown that involved some wedding research for future RosieDays Brides has to be one of the finest perks there is!

With our 4th wedding anniversary passing uncelebrated and the hubbie’s birthday approaching, I decided a romantic getaway was in order and as I had heard so much good about Barberstown from past and present RosieBrides I decide it was the venue of choice!

Just 25 minutes from us in Kimmage, we arrived to Barberstown about 2pm (following a wedding delivery that morning!) We literally dropped our bags in our (amazing, 4 posted bed) room and legged it to the tea rooms – a bright and sunny lounge area for afternoon tea. Anyone that knows myself and Lorraine knows how much we love our food and hubbie is much the same!! Afternoon tea arrived on a 3 tier cake stand, individual sandwiches of homebaked ham, cucumber and smoked salmon, still warm homebaked crumbly scones and decadent individual desserts – chocolate mousse, mini eclairs…all divine!! We scoffed the lot and sat enjoying the relaxing live piano music in the foyer.

We had booked evening dinner for 8pm and after a relax with books in the lounge, we took a stroll around the fabulous grounds enjoying the sunny afternoon and then got ready for dinner. An amazing power shower with the l’occitane products supplied in the ensuite, (I don’t care what I dont’ get in a new house, it’s having a power shower with a head the size of a dinner plate!) we made our way to the dining room.

We were invited to take a pre-dinner drink in the bar and we sat enjoying a glass of prosecco (me) and a beer (him) in front of a blazing fire and perused the menu. The dinner was, how will I put it – wow!! An amuse Bouche arrived to our table – delicious chicken liver parfait, himself went for rabbit terrine that was delicious, perfectly textured and tasty and I opted for organic smoked salmon with zesty fresh crab salad served with pickled ginger and soy dressing – amazing.

Head Chef Bertrand Malabat, we were told by our friendly waiter, has been at Barberstown for over 10 years, and uses fresh organic, locally produced where possible ingredients with a distinct french influence. He does not disappoint! Our mains arrived with a perfect interval to allow starters to settle and I opted for grilled Halibut with a single Ravioli filled with fresh lobster and smoked haddock with a tomato consome, himself had rack of lamb, my fish was divine and his lamb (from someone who dosen’t like lamb) was fab!!

We managed to squeeze in a dessert each – a rich chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet for himself and a deliciously light fresh berry pavlova with basil sorbet for me. I can’t recall the name of the wine we had, but it was red and extremely good!! After our meal we made our way (rolled) to the cosy bar and enjoyed the truly wonderful live music by Brian Dunning (flute accompanied by piano).

I would happily recommend this venue for a break away or a larger celebration such as a wedding day, with such fine accommodation, dining and amazing function rooms you will not be disappointed!

For more information on Barberstown Castle’s Wedding packages click here

Filed under: Just for Fun — Tags: anniversary, barberstown castle, dining in barberstown, eating out — Sinead @ 2:29 pm on June 15, 2010

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Going Grecian in Marino

A chance meeting with Theresa Kelly of KellyTDesigns (Handmade invites, favours and unity candles) led to the planning and design of Aoife and Gareths’ Wedding in Marino on the 5th June. Theresa, a family friend of Aoifes’ designed the wedding stationery and together with Aoife and Gareth, came up with a Grecian theme for the Big Day. RosieDays were asked to supply the bouquets and decorate the church and we were only too happy to!

When I spoke with Aoife, she had her mind set on something traditional, but a little different, with lots of ivy!! So, with that in mind, I suggested the bridesmaids carry 3 different toned pink roses to compliment the mink grecian style dresses, Aoife requested white roses for her own bouquet so we mixed avalanche and akito roses and gave the bouquet a lush variagated ivy collar with some trailing ivy to reflect the general theme in the decor of the day. The 3 bridesmaids bouquets, one deep pink “Amalia” Rose, one bright pink “Aqua” rose and one pale pink “Barbie” Rose were all finished with ivy collars.

Perhaps the cutest flowergirl ever – Aoife’s Daughter, carried a basket filled with grapes and ivy, and wore an ivy headdress.

St. Vincent De Paul Church in Marino provided the perfect backdrop for the Grecian theme with it’s bright interior and impressive columns reflecting the stands draped with white satin! We hung bunches of grapes and draped natural ivy on the aisle stands, with luxurious white satin drapes on alternate pews.

The Grand Candelabra were filled with lush foliage and grape centrepieces and we added a unity arrangement to show off Theresa’s fab unity candles! Aoife made was a stunning bride and a pleasure to deal with and the Groom didn’t scrub up too bad either!! The weather was absolutely amazing and myself and Lorraine got to take 10 mins outside the sacristy with a cuppa while we waited for the Christenings that were being held that morning to finish! Huge thanks to the wonderful Anne who let us set up the aisle stands and arrangements in the Sacristy while the Christening Ceremonies were being carried out and who fed Lorraine with tea and biscuits during the wedding ceremony.

Filed under: aislestands,avalanche rose,button holes,candelabra,candelabra hire,candelight,Church Arrangement,church decoration,pew end decoration,pink rose bouquet — Tags: aisle stands, flowergirl, grecian themed wedding, headress, ivy, marino church, pink rose bouquets, st. vincent de paul church — Sinead @ 12:18 pm on June 7, 2010

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Classic Red Rose Bouquet

A traditional bouquet choice for Ciara Lynch on 4th June when she was married in St. Kevins in Kinsealy. Ciara organised all the wedding details from Galway and chose classic Red Roses (we used Red Naomi) for her own bouquet with bear grass and pearl detail and white roses for her 2 bridesmaids which we finished with a gysophilia collar.

We also provided 2 Grand Candelabra dressed with Ivy for the alter and pew end decoration of a red rose, ivy and ivory tulle. The weather on the 4th June was absolutely stunning, Lorraine and myself enjoyed a lovely lunch in the sunshine in Siam Thai in Malahide before returning to collect the Candelabra and Bay Trees.

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: kinsealy, malahide, red rose bouquet, siam thai, st. kevins, white bouquet — Sinead @ 10:37 am on June 5, 2010

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Star of the Sea

On 29th May 2010, Aisling and Albert were married in the Star of the Sea Church in Sandymount, followed by a reception in the gorgeous Brooklodge Hotel. It was the final wedding of my crazy weekend, 3 weddings in 2 days with no Lorraine (who was busy enjoying the last day of her holidays in Peurto Rico!)

Aisling and her mum first met with me back in Autumn 2009 and we had our meeting with a cup of tea at my kitchen table! The one request Aisling had was that Lily of the Valley featured in her own bouquet. So, from there we decided on the bridal bouquet of white roses, heavenly scented lily of the valley and delicate mini white calla lillies.

The three bridesmaids carried simple posies of white calla lillies finished with ivory organza and the 3 flowergirls carried posies of white hydrangea and purple freesia.

Aisling and her mum fell in love with the idea of using blue Hydrangea in the church decor, and we designed 4 pedestal arrangements, 2 larger arrangement for the base of the aisle, 2 medium for the Rear alter using hydrangea and delphinium and and an arrangement for the alter into which we placed the unity candles (supplied by Theresa Kelly and now available through RosieDays).