We are so excited to finally share this absolutely STUNNING castle wedding with you! Sarah and Brenden were so much fun to plan with and had lots of incredible ideas to work in.  Waterford Castle served as venue for this Games of Thrones inspired wedding. Our design and style team helped conceptualize a moody (but seasonal) color palette featuring gorgeous regal merlot, gold, and emerald green.  Lots of incredible details here including custom menus with place card details, custom table number banners featuring Houses of the series, and gorgeous florals in our color palette prepared by the expertly talented Bella Botanica. Although plans for a garden wedding were thwarted due to rain, the sky did reward with a breathtaking sunset for some spectacular photos. There to capture the day, the always stunning Awake & Dreaming Photography. Please enjoy, and  make sure to scroll down for all the incredible details and slideshow!

“You’re mine. Mine, as I’m yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we’ll live.” – Ygritte

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

From The Sunshine State to Castle Sunset

Sarah and Brenden met at a department summer picnic that their work (DreamWorks Animation) was hosting at a local Los Angeles park.  “We were playing an ice breaker game (two truths and a lie), and he totally called out my lie in front of everyone (my lie was that I spoke German, which I don’t and he does!). We then continued the games and had our own personal water gun fight,” recalls Sarah.  Brenden proposed at the same Los Angeles park where they met. “After the proposal, our friends and family jumped out of the surrounding bushes and surprised me with an engagement party in the park. It was a complete surprise!”

Having a destination wedding was an early decision for this adventure and travel loving couple. Brenden’s heritage is Irish and Sarah’s is British, together with their mutual love for the TV show Game of Thrones, having a castle wedding was an easy choice. Waterford Castle stood out and checked their boxes, making the perfect location for their destination wedding.

The Details

Game of Thrones would play a large part when working to conceptualize an overall theme and vibe for the day. We didn’t want to create a caricature of the show; we wanted the romantic, fairytale, epic story feel from the show rather than a Comic Con version. Sarah and Brenden were instantly drawn to a moodier palette to help achieve the vibe for the day. Rich merlot played front runner in our color palette, accented with pops of regal ruby, and softer tones of dusty pink, blush, and rose quartz to invoke the season but more importantly, giving merlot a real platform to shine. We focused the greens on emerald green, mixing in pops of seasonal summer tones to help create dimension. A soft charcoal grey served nobly as our neutral — a perfect balance to the other tones — while classic antique gold perfectly elevated the design to formal while adding warmth throughout the design spaces of the day. Pops of thistle blue added a pop of unexpected and really worked well in the setting and with the overall color scheme.

The flowers really told the story of the day — Bella Botanica expertly crafted the blooms and rich emerald foliage with movement and expression, instantly transforming the spaces to a romantic castle.

We played with Game of Thrones a lot on the stationary. The menus were a fantastic touch: serving double duty as menu with place card in form of burgundy ribbon fixed with custom gold seal. The table numbers were a triumph: custom banner holders held paper banners each featuring a House of the show with sketch design of each house’s respective sigil. A custom guest book and seating chart featuring a map of Westeros drew in the theme again.

The ceremony took place indoors as unfortunately pouring rain nixed the original garden location. But the intimate space in the heart of the castle felt like the right fit in the end for the overall theme. The traditional style ceremony included lots of personalization like written vows, Irish handfasting, and the best man sang an acapela rendition of “Danny Boy”, to commemorate family who have sadly passed and could not be there on the wedding day. Family is very important to Sarah and Brenden, so we included beautiful framed photos on display throughout the day so they’d be there in spirit.

We are obsessed with Sarah and Brenden’s look.  Sarah shown as a true queen in her Hayley Paige gown while Brenden played every part the handsome noble groom in his Barutti suit. Every piece was beautifully accessorized with thoughtfulness and personalization, including the Game of Thrones cufflinks for the gents and Irish knot necklaces for the ladies. Elegant and refined and a perfect compliment to this castle setting in personal look, decor, and concept!

Wedding Dress Designer: Hayley Paige  ·  Shoes: Badgley Mischka  ·  Bride’s Jewelry: Randall Scott Fine Jewelry  ·  Engagement Ring: Randall Scott Fine Jewelry  ·  Groom’s Suit: Barutti  ·  Bridesmaids Dresses: Dessy  ·  Groomsmen Attire: The Black Tux  ·  Stationary: Moochie Creative AND Heidi Davidson Design  ·  Special Details: Groomsmen all had Game Of Thrones Cufflinks that matched the groom’s cufflinks. Bridesmaids all had Irish knot necklaces.

Favorite Moments

“Our vows during the ceremony – they were personal and meant a lot to us both! Our first look photo shoot before the ceremony! And the speeches… and the first dance!”

A Piece of Advice

“Enjoy yourself! It is true what they say, the wedding day goes by so quickly, so enjoy every part of the planning process and the wedding day. Because you blink and it is over! Destination weddings are the absolute best – you get to travel with all of your closet friends and family to a different country and experience an entirely different culture. It is like a vacation and wedding rolled into one!”

 

Sarah & Brenden — we wish you both a life together full of adventures all over the world. It was an absolute and distinct pleasure to be a part of your day. Your attention to detail and style is impeccable and your energy is a driving force — no doubt your future is as bright as the sun that kissed you both on your wedding day.  Continued blessings to you and your family!