Art Nouveau Irish Mansion Wedding

The second my eyes ran across the words “Irish mansion wedding,” I knew I was in for a treat. Add to that the fact that some of Ireland’s most talented vendors participated in the day (Paula O’Hara, Alise Taggart, and The Informal Florist, just to name a few), and my giddiness was out the roof! Andy and Dermot’s wedding did not disappoint, with a reception that we’re sure to come back to time and time again for inspiration.

From the event stylist, Alise Taggart: Andy is originally from South Africa and is the editor of the very cool Huck Magazine, Dermot is from Ireland and works as a civil servant in London where they reside. When they initially started planning, they took into account how they wanted their wedding day to ‘feel’ – they wanted their day to be grounded in their Irish Catholic and South African Jewish roots, bringing together their families and closest friends for an intimate, rustic and welcoming day, but with a hint of art nouveau thrown in.

Bellinter House is a Palladian style Georgian mansion dating back to the 18th century set in the Irish countryside. Andy & Dermot decided to have their ceremony on the front lawn of the house under the ancient Weeping Beech Tree. On their way to the ceremony site, the guests filled handmade paper cones with natural confetti for tossing afterwards and we had mini San Pellegrino’s to keep them cool while they waited. The drinks reception was held in the main floor of the house where we had a photo booth set up and named the parlour after their beloved cat, “Pip”. For the dinner reception we used long tables instead of round with billowing tablecloths, hand dyed soft grey runners and tones of burgundies, scarlet and lavender intertwined with loads of candles. This really added to the intimate family style dinner that Andy and Dermot had envisioned.

Claire Ryan of the Informal Florist really created the most beautiful loose wildflower arrangements, walls of vines interlaced with fairy lights and a foraged branch hanging from the ceiling above the head table. The favours were my favourite as they were so meaningful. Andy had small ceramic bowls imprinted with a lace pattern taken from a piece of her Grandmother’s wedding dress made by a local artist in Capetown. We set a piece of Sally Williams nougat on top and tied them with a little note using velvet ribbon. After dinner, the tables were moved outside onto the patio to allow for dancing under strung globe lights in the reception room and the guests headed upstairs to the parlour for a beautiful cake spread by WildFlour Bakery and tumblers of Amarula and Jamison, another nod to their cultures. It was a gorgeous day had by all and documented perfectly by Paula O’Hara and Catch Cinematography.