We are so excited to finally be entering spring! What better way to usher in the season of renewal than with Victoria and Marc’s stunning wedding at Ballyfin! Frog Prince was on hand to create a feast of flowers including this stunning cake display – gorgeous cake also created by the incomparable Cupcakes & Counting. Please read on for the details! Photography by Kat Mervyn.

    

           

   

   

             

       

   

   

 

       

   

   

Ballyfin: the perfect location

Victoria is from Northern Ireland and Marc is from South Africa. When it came time to decide on a wedding location and venue, Victoria took inspiration from her father. “Ballyfin is one of my Dads favourite hotels down south so he wanted us to check it out as a potential option! We came down to visit it and our decision was pretty much made there and then! We loved absolutely everything about it, the house itself was absolutely stunning, we were blown away by it’s luxury and charm, not to mention the surrounding acres of beautiful Irish countryside – it is so idyllic & romantic,” recalls Victoria. Add in exclusive use hire for the entire weekend and it was the perfect choice for their wedding celebrations with close friends and family.

The Details

The flowers were always one of the main focuses while planning their wedding, and it was imperative they would be the star of the show. Victoria’s favorite flower is the peony, which although not in season during this August wedding, Frog Prince managed to pull off sourcing enough to create a gorgeous display. The color palette featured bright pink, blush, blue and white. “Our ceremony was like flower heaven…people were talking about our flowers weeks after our wedding. It was honestly incredible…a real life fairytale!” Taking advantage of the gorgeous sunny day, cocktail hour was served outdoors and featured classic pimms & champagne. “With the sun beating down on us we could have been in the south of France – the atmosphere was just dreamy!”

To add a pop of personalization, each table name featured a location that helped tell Victoria and Marc’s love story: how they met, first date, first home, their dog, etc. A nod to Marc’s South African heritage featured South African red wine (of course!) and music.

The Favorite Parts

“It’s so hard to give just one favourite moment, honestly there were so many that we’ll cherish forever! From getting ready with all my girls that morning, to walking up the isle with my Dad and seeing Marc up at the front waiting for me. I thought I was going to be so nervous but it’s true what everyone says – you don’t see the crowd of people watching you, you just see him, everyone else just blurs into the background. Walking up the isle with my Dad was such a special moment, one that you think about your whole life to then take the hands of your soon to be husband… it was just one of those moments that you dream about for so long and it’s finally happening!

Then of course celebrating the rest of the day with my husband and all of our friends and family was truly unforgettable! As Marc’s family is from South Africa a lot had travelled far to be with us that day and some of his family had never met my family so it was just amazing having everyone together. This is part of the reason why we decided to have such a big wedding, my thoughts were – ‘when are we ever going to have both of our families in the same place again’? The day was just so full of love.”

A Piece of Advice

Try to start planning as soon as you can as this will make the whole process a lot easier and less of a stress! This will also ensure you get all your favourite suppliers – you’d be surprised at how fast photographers/makeup artists get booked up!

Lists are so important – these will keep you right!

Try not to stress about who’s in the wedding party – bridesmaids/groomsmen/bestmen – you can’t please everyone! You have to make these decisions for yourselves. Everyone will just be happy to be there whether they are a guest or part of the bridal party!

And lastly, just try to enjoy the process! It’s hard to keep everyone happy- whether it’s family or friends, people will sometimes try to get involved or tell you how they’d do things but at the end of the day this is your special day and all everyone really wants is for you both to have the best day possible!

 

Great advice and truly, Victoria you made the most stunning bride! Wonderful details and blessed by a gorgeous sunny day truly makes this wedding one for the books!