Warm winter tones of Marsala and dusty pink infused this rainy day at Springfort Hall with an extra sparkle of romance. The bride looked breath-taking in a glamorous vintage style bird cage veil which complimented her elegant upstyle…
Sarah and Sid planned two weddings abroad – both completely unique in their own right and absolutely picture perfect. After meeting at work in Australia where they both live, they played on the same mixed indoor soccer team. Sarah had to seriously brush up on her footie knowledge to get chatting with Sid who is a die-hard Manchester United fan (despite the 11 hour time difference).
Their wonderfully whimsical wedding at Springfort Hall near Sarah’s hometown of Mallow on 12th of December 2015, was the complete opposite to their traditional Hindu ceremony three weeks earlier in Sid’s native Kolkata, India. They were blessed with having their closest family members witness both magical days.
Of course, Sid’s love of sport was a huge element of their wedding. He creatively designed their invitations to resemble a match ticket with crests to signify each family name.
Sid had plucked up the courage to ask Sarah’s father for her hand in marriage during his first visit home to Ireland in 2014. A romantic proposal en route back to Australia involving a Tiffany ring in Paris, sparked the beginning of a new chapter in their love story.
Of course, organising a wedding at home from abroad comes with a few minor hiccups. But thanks to their fabulous suppliers and help from family, the process ran smoothly. Sarah sourced her bridesmaid gowns from Dessy which supplies dresses to boutiques in both Ireland and Australia.
“A few weeks before the wedding we packed everything into a suitcase and sent it by courier home to Ireland.The headpiece I wore on the wedding day was from Vintage Pearl Bridal in Galway, designed by Emmy McCormick. I had actually bought another one in Australia but it went missing a week before the wedding amid all the travelling (good thing we shipped the dress and suits home separately)! My sister saved the day and managed to get a beautiful replacement using a photo I had taken of the original one. In the end I think the one I wore was actually better than the original!”
“We also took a few private dance lessons in Melbourne leading up to the wedding and the instructor helped us to choreograph a dance to our chosen song – Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. I think the reason it was so special for us was the hours we spent practicing it in the weeks before the wedding. Having planned everything from Australia, we really had to wait until we got home to do a lot of the final arrangements. Having the dance lessons made us feel more excited and involved in the build up!”
“When we got engaged and set a tentative date, we knew we wouldn’t really be able to fit in another trip back to Ireland before the wedding. As we were planning the wedding from overseas, it felt natural to go with a venue which we were already familiar with. Springfort Hall was the first venue I thought of as I had been there many times for family dinners and Christmas parties. We were lucky to have such an amazing venue close to home.”
“One of the things I miss the most about home is Christmas. While we celebrate Christmas in Australia, it’s just not the same! I miss the sparkly lights and cosy fires. Springfort Hall is a beautiful country house hotel, and it’s even more beautiful at Christmas! The things we loved the most were the front room with the huge Christmas tree and roaring fire, the amazing food and how the function room looked when it was all set up with its sparkling lights and candelabras. Springfort Hall brought our Christmassy wedding vision to life! The staff were very accommodating and patient. They helped put our nerves at ease in the busy week before the wedding.”
“We are absolutely delighted that we chose Sean Jefferies to photograph our wedding. He was a pleasure to work with and he is really enthusiastic about his work, so you really feel that you are in good hands. As we booked everything from Australia, we didn’t meet Sean until the week of our wedding when we travelled home to get married. Sean instantly put us at ease and we were sure that we had made the right choice. We went through the logistics of the day which helped us feel more relaxed about it all. Sean was also keen to hear any particular requests/ideas that we had to ensure that we got the best from our photographs. He also suggested a few things which we wouldn’t have thought about like coming up with a Plan B in case of a rainy day (which turned out to be a very wise move). We had mentioned to Sean that we wanted to do a “first look” and it’s thanks to Sean that it was such a success and one of the highlights of our day. He found a beautiful venue for the shot and the photo speaks for itself, we loved it!”
A huge thank you to Sarah and Sid for sharing their wedding day with us and to Sean Jefferies Photography for allowing us the pleasure of publishing these stunning images. You can see more of his work at www.seanjefferiesphotography.com
Wedding Supplier Credits:
- Photographer – Sean Jefferies Photography
- Venue – Springfort Hall Hotel
- First Look Venue: Townhouse Interiors, Doneraile. Special thanks to Myra Ryall who allowed use of the building as a location for the couple’s first look and for supplying bubbly.
- Wedding Cake – Deirdre Kelleher. Contact: Deirdre-K@hotmail.com
- Wedding Car – Bianconi Wedding Cars
- Celebrant – Bill Chase
- Flowers – Park West Flowers
- Make Up – Michelle Sherlock. Contact: 086 4087205
- Hair – Audrey Cashman, Upstyle Junkie
- Wedding Band – The Bentley Boys
- Bridal Accessories – Vintage Pearl Bridal
- Bridesmaid Dress – Diamond Bridal
- Music – Delta String Quartet
