Chic White & Greenery Marquee Wedding with Chilled Vibes

Oh the style! We have a really lovely story in store courtesy of Sasha and Neil’s Ivory Pavilion wedding today. They were married in Northern Ireland on the 29^th June 2019 with a beautiful marquee wedding reception. I really love their approach to wedding planning, which was to enjoy the whole process. They kept their experience stress free and simple, sounds good to me!

Their resulting wedding day was utterly chic, think greenery flower arrangements, elegant stationery and buttercream cakes. There was simply gorgeous attire all round (Sasha and Neil looked just stunning), striking signs and a very special confetti moment. All in all it was a really chilled and fun celebration of their love.

I cannot thank Iain Irwin Photography enough for sharing these really splendid shots, just wonderful!

The Proposal

I (Sasha), was going on a family holiday with my parents and brother. We were spending a few days in Annecy in France, before going on to visit family friends in Switzerland. I arrived on the Saturday with my parents and my brother flew out the next day to join us. Neil had told me he was going to Austria for a week on a ski camp. Little did I know but he flew out on Saturday at the same time as my brother. I was having a coffee with my mum and he “phoned me from Austria”, then I saw his face his reflection as he walked up to meet us. We then went for a walk and he asked me to marry him on one of the bridges. He had been planning it with my parents for a few months, I couldn’t believe they had pulled it off as I’m a difficult person to surprise – I ask a lot of questions!

We then enjoyed the rest of the day with my family – it was fab.

The Vision

The most important thing for us was to have all the people we loved there. We wanted a relaxed day that was enjoyable and fun – we didn’t want anything too fussy/uptight.

The Planning Process

Neither Neil or I are overly organised, so my mum was good at keeping us on our toes and making sure things got sorted. I was very aware that other couples can let the planning process become to stressful so that it taints the experience – I was keen to not let that happen. All of our suppliers were very helpful and meant the whole process went smoothly and was very easy.

The Venue

When looking a venues I didn’t want the “posh hotel” look, I was always drawn to marques and barns etc. We wanted somewhere that could accommodate all of our guests, and somewhere with nearby accommodation as a lot of our guests would be travelling. When we visited the Ivory Pavillion we loved it – the old house accompanied by the walled garden, with a marquee that was so tasteful and had plenty of space for all our guests! The staff were so friendly, helpful and flexible both in the run up and on the day.

Beauty

Olivia Muldoon did all the hair – I wanted something elegant but quite soft and relaxed. Stacey Kilpatrick did all the make-up, keeping it very natural. My auntie Marbeth painted all the bridesmaids’ nails. My mum and I got our nails done in Coca-Bella (the beauty salon in our village).

Your Outfits & Accessories

My dress was by Tara Lauren and I bought it from The White Gallery. This was actually the first shop I went to, while I fell in love with the dress initially I visited a couple of other shops and then went back and bought it a week later.

The kilts were hired from MacGregor and Macduff in Glasgow – it was the first one Neil liked as soon as he went to the shop.

The Readings & Music

Our readings were read by Neil’s sister Laura and Sasha’s cousin Jeff.

Two of Neil’s housemates Ore and Tom, along with three friends from home Mel, Matt and Dale played the songs in the church. Neil’s friend Jonny played keyboard and sang for the signing of the register.

The Flowers

The flowers were all provided by Charlene (Elizabeth Rose) who worked in our local garden centre. She transformed the church beautifully and provided lots of things we could transport to the venue. I’m not very knowledgeable about flowers but she took my vague preferences for lots of foliage and pastel colours and created something beautiful.

Your Photographer

I’ve followed Iain’s Instagram from when he started photography, and loved seeing all his beautiful images as his business grew. When it came to our wedding day day, he kept the whole thing so relaxed and natural and worked so well with us as neither of us are very comfortable in front of the camera! We were so pleased with the final images, all our family and friends loved the images too and we couldn’t be happier with the the final result.

Your Filmmaker

Our film was made by Urban Fox Films – I was quite undecided about having a film – however we were totally blown away by the results. They captured the day perfectly.

The Details & Décor

Freckles and Fern who did our stationery provided a welcome sign and seating plan for us, they were then beautifully added to by Charlene. For the table centrepieces we wanted things to be tasteful but low key. My Auntie Marbeth is great with all things crafty so she collected jam jars for us and decorated them for us. We titled the tables with years and had a photo of each of us taken in that year on each respective table – some were more flattering than others!

Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids were three of my cousins – Jenny, Zoe and Anna, as well as two close friends from home – Jourdan and Amy. The bridesmaid dresses were from Show Me My Mumu – I loved how elegant and yet relaxed their dresses were. We chose a pastel blue to compliment the tartan, I gave the girls the options of a few dress styles – but they all liked the same one!

We were a little unconventional and had female ushers – my six best friends and housemates from university – Daisy, Polly, Lauren, Beth, Miranda and Hannah.

Groomsmen

Neil’s brother Euan was his best man, and his groomsmen were Ross and Dougie (two friends), as well as Sasha’s brother Zac. The kilts were also hired from MacGregor and Macduff.

The Cake

The cake was made by Louise – I think cake tasting was Neil’s favourite part of the whole experience. We wanted something modern with various flavours for our guests to try – narrowing it down was very difficult.

The Honeymoon

Neil is a teacher and unfortunately had to go straight back to work (although he managed to negotiate the Monday off), so we delayed things for a few weeks. We only had a five day window between the end of his term and me starting my new job, so we made the most of it and headed to Majorca for a few days of sunshine.

Memorable Moments

Sasha: I just enjoyed the day from start to finish, was just such a joy to have all the people we cared about in one room. One minor hiccup was the power cut we had in our house that morning due to lightning, however after a nervy half hour working out a plan B thankfully it was sorted and all was well.

Neil: For me as soppy as it is, it was watching Sasha walk down the aisle. Another memorable moment was Sasha’s speech. I knew she was very nervous about it, and had told me she was only going to say a couple of thank yous. So I was wonderfully surprised and incredibly proud of a hilarious speech (even if it was at my expense!).

Advice For Other Couples

We were determined to try and enjoy the whole process, we didn’t want to get stressed and end up ruining the whole experience. My mum is very organised, and pushed us to get the main things booked well in advance, which definitely helped the whole process run more smoothly!

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Well wasn’t that all just so joyful and gorgeous?!

Sasha and Neil thank you so very much for sharing your very special wedding story here today xo Lou