Looking for unique winter wedding inspiration? Well gather ‘round folks, because today were swooning hard as we share Elle & James gorge winter wedding celebration. There’s glamour, candlelight, an alternative pink and red palette and moody and romantic details as far as the eye could see within the warm and welcoming walls of The Cliff at Lyons in the Kildare countryside.
With 120 of their nearest and dearest, these lovebirds celebrated with a stylish winter bash, brought to life by a stellar cast of vendors, including One Fab Day recommended florist The Florist on the Hill who was flower duties and Blacktye wedding band who kept the dancefloor full all night long! Thankfully for us (and you), they had the talented Sebastian of Art Wedding Photography along for the ride to capture all the beautiful moments and memories of their festive The Cliff at Lyons wedding. Scroll on to see more…
Limerick based couple Elle and James’ love story starts back in 2018. Elle fills us in, “We met back in 2018 through my sister and her partner, we disagree on the first time we actually met one another as I think we are both guilty of accidently ignoring each other a few times! We officially met in Amber night club in Limerick and haven’t looked back since.”
The propsal happened while the couple were on a break away for Elle’s 27th birthday. The bride tells, “The proposal happened in July 2022 in the amazing Parknasilla Resort in Kerry where we stayed in the Princess Grace Suite. James had a few failed attempts as he wanted it to be private and because of the heatwave the resort was packed. Following the best day he popped the question in our room overlooking Kenmare Bay.”
Elle wore a dreamy beaded Suzanne Neville gown which featured a tulle bustle detail which she sourced at Kadee Bride in Co. Westmeath.
She completed her look with a veil also from Kadee Bride, patent cream heels by Prada, a bag by Aoife Mullane Designs and Matthew Stevens Diamond Earrings which were a surprise gift from James on the wedding morning. To beat the winter chill she added a cropped bridal jacket coverup with feather trim detail.
Elle’s bridesmaids looked incredible in chic satin halterneck black bridesmaids dresses which the bride sourced on Boohoo. Those gorge bouquets really pop against the dresses!
The ceremony took place at St Finan’s Church in the village of Newcastle, County Dublin where the church was decorated beautifully with the most epic blooms in the couple’s chosen colour palette and tons of candlelight.
Elle walked down the aisle to meet her beloved to Canon in D by Pachbel played by Castle String Quartet. “It makes me tear up just thinking about it, it felt like something from a movie!”.
Once engaged the couple began the venue hunt with the main criteria being a gorgeous venue that was easily accessed by the guests who were travelling from from all over Ireland and beyond. “From the beginning we knew we wanted to have a wedding with as many as our friends and family as possible and that it was as relaxed as possible so that we could really enjoy ourselves. As we had a lot of people travelling and we are from different places in the country we wanted to make sure that it was easy to get to for everyone. I think we achieved this.”
And the perfect venue for their winter celebration? The beautiful The Cliff at Lyons in Co. Kildare.
When asked what made their venue “the one”, Elle says, “I had previously been to The Cliff at Lyons a few times for meals and loved the food, once I brought james there and we got the tour, we knew it was the venue for us. The combination of the amazing food, fabulous atmosphere, stunning visuals, and the privacy of taking it for exclusive use had us sold!”
Can you even with this bouquet by The Florist on the Hill! Wowsers!
Describing their wedding aesthetic, Elle tells us, “we were mostly inspired by the use of candle light where possible and keeping in line with classic romantic aesthetics we found on Pinterest and Instagram, because of the time of year we definitely wanted to keep a festive touch to the day!”
We adore the couple’s use of pink throughout the day, perhaps not a typically wintry colour but it worked so well in the pretty décor and florals used throughout. “The look and theme of the day was quite classic with festive touches here and there. We didn’t want to be overwhelmed with Christmas decor but loved working with textures and lighting to create a really subtle festive theme,” Elle says.
Not only were we blown away by bride Elle’s impeccable style, she also impressed us with her styling and stationery talents too! The bride created all the stationery for the day, as well as the reception styling details. “I bought all the candles and vases from Ikea, the seating chart was a mirror I found in TK Maxx, and the velvet bows were made from velvet ribbon from Søstrene Grene.”
Summing up their day in a few words, the pair say “it was so much fun!” They add, “we both really enjoyed ourselves and got to spend the day with our friends and family which was so important to us. Everything ran so smoothly and we just really had the best time.” Sounds pretty perfect to us!
Looking back, the couple also tell us what made the day really special and personal to them was “the love that our friends and family showed to us, friends and family travelled from all over even as far as Australia and Dubai to share the day with us and it honestly meant so much to us.”
In lieu of a videographer, Elle and James added their own DIY video element to the day. “We both really love watching old home videos so instead of a videographer we got an old fashioned video recorder and it was passed around all day, we have the most amazing wedding video now and it’s so natural and authentic of our family and friends, this was one of the highlights for us as it feels very nostalgic!”.
The couple also hired a wedding Content Creator to capture candid video for the day. “Our Content Creator for the day was Your Story by Elle and I couldn’t recommend her more! So amazing, such a great addition to the day.”
We got some pretty sage knowledge nuggets from the newlyweds too. “Just enjoy it, it goes by so quickly so make sure to live in the moment and also appreciate your time as an engaged couple. We also had special dates on the 9th of every month in the year running up to the wedding which was so fun and really nice way to build excitement would also really recommend doing this.”
The song for their first dance was Everlasting Love by Nat King Cole. The couple were then joined on the floor to the sounds of Blacktye wedding band who ensured the floor was filled all night long with their energetic setlist.
After their The Cliff at Lyons wedding celebrations, the couple jetted off on honeymoon to the Maldives. “We stayed in the Residence Falhumifushi just after the wedding and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, we were still feeling on such a high after the wedding and had the best time!”.
A massive thank you to Elle and James for sharing their special day with One Fab Day and a huge thanks also to Sebastian of Art Wedding Photography for the divine images. See even more pictures of The Cliff at Lyons wedding in the gallery below.
Planning your own winter celebration? Check out more of our Winter Real Weddings! Follow One Fab Day on Instagram for even more inspiration.