Vintage brides and grooms, you sure are in for a treat with today’s real wedding! From the retro theme inspired by the 60s and the bridal & groom party styling inspired by Sharon Tate, Elvis and Priscilla Presley, and even Lana Del Rey, to the decor, the colour palette, the location and the photography edit, it’s all so perfect!
Rocking a flirty mini dress with Chanel tights and a suit inspired by the iconic movie Goodfellas, Catherine and Christopher brought a level of cool like no other to their vintage-inspired wedding at The Mill at Ballydugan in Co. Down.
Their day featured a warm-toned palette of cream, peach, red, yellow and orange which suited the look and feel of their late September wedding perfectly. To tie in with their old-world vibe, Catherine and Christopher chose to have their wedding shot on black and white and film and we’re smitten with these film wedding photography snaps by their talented photographer Megan Doherty. As you’ll see below, the results are nothing short of amazing! We hope their day serves as inspiration for vintage-loving couples to think outside the box and do something uniquely their own.
Today’s couple Catherine and Christopher both hail from Belfast. They met at a house party almost 10 years ago through mutual friends. The bride telling, “we stayed in touch after and things just grew from there!”.
The proposal happened while the pair were on a roadtrip around Ireland. Catherine says, “It was post lockdown and we decided to do a roadtrip around the West of Ireland. We rented out bicycles one morning to go to Killarney National Park and have a picnic. Christopher found a quiet spot for us to sit by the water, he told me he had something to read to me and he took out a handwritten love letter. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee with the most beautiful ring”.
Be still our beating hearts! We’re obsessed with Catherine’s jaw-dropping vintage bridal wardrobe! Her marvelous mini is by Australian bridal brand Bo & Luca which she paired with earrings also by Bo & Luca, ribbon tie heels from Dune and white Chanel tights. “The tights were Chanel, I had seen them before in a Vogue edit and luckily Brown Thomas in Dublin had one pair in stock!”.
She completed her iconic bridal look with a fingertip veil by Blue Meadow and a darling bridal clutch bag custom made by retro clothing and accessories brand Natalie and Alanna.
The bridesmaids wore vermilion red dresses from Coast, paired with heels from ASOS, while groom Christopher and his guys all rocked suits from Freddie Hatchett.
The utterly adorable flower girl dresses were from Monsoon and the page boy outfits were from H&M Kids with ties from Freddie Hatchett to match the wedding party.
When it came to planning their vintage-inspired wedding, the couple had simple, yet important priorities from the very beginning. “We just wanted everything to be romantic and intimate, to bring our closest friends and family together, and just have the craic.” The bride adds, “We weren’t striving for perfection or worried about going over the top. I think the small personal details are what matter. We just wanted everyone to feel relaxed and have a good time, and that’s what we did.”
The pair also knew for sure that a more traditional wedding with a big ol’ guest list was not going to be the one. Instead they prioritized the parts of getting married that sounded the most fun to them: photos, amazing outfits, good music & good food.
Their theme was “romantic, intimate, personal, with elements of the 60s,” says the couple. Bride Catherine adds, “I had always loved vintage wedding looks, and drew inspiration from Sharon Tate, Elvis and Priscilla Presley, and even Lana Del Rey. Films, Pinterest and old photos helped us to bring everything together. We even used The Krays and Goodfellas as inspo for the suits, lol!”.
The pair said ‘I do’ to forever at St. Patricks Chapel, Belfast before setting off to celebrate with 75 of their nearest and dearest at The Mill at Ballydugan, a beautifully restored 18th Century Flour Mill, just outside Downpatrick in Co. Down.
When asked what made their venue “the one”, the bride says, “we had checked out a few places, but once walked into Ballydugan, we just knew that’s where we would get married. It started to feel real”.
Not even the rain could dampen the spirits of this retro-loving pair, “we would do it all over again tomorrow, even with the rain! It was perfectly imperfect.”
Every little detail of their vintage-inspired day was perfection even down to the couple’s choice of transport. The couple tell us, “our wedding car was a White 1965 Ford Mustang which we rented from Starcar hire. We knew the car would set off the 60s vibe in which we had incorporated a lot into the day, from the dress, the suits, the music and photography.”
A round of applause for this vintage style shoe moment!
Having film photography was something Catherine and Christopher really wanted and were delighted when they found Derry film photographer Megan Doherty on Instagram about a year before the wedding. The bride tells us, “I told her our vision and she just got it straight away. We were overjoyed with how she captured everything.”
Helping the couple create their dream wedding look was their florist Petals and Pots who created all the flowers on the day as well as some church and venue styling for the pair. Catherine says, “I spent months on Pinterest looking for ideas and decided to go a soft romantic look – pale coloured roses with autumnal tones, daisies and simple foliage. Our florist also used the same style for our altar arrangement with some candles, and dressed the pews with some matching ribbon and eucalyptus.”
At the reception Petals and Pots decorated the room with lots of white candles, and dressed the table with rose petals and some orange slices creating a romantic and intimate atmosphere.
Not only does our bride have impeccable taste and style, she’s also incredibly talented on the DIY front too! ” I made all the stationery myself – The invitations, place cards, menus, signage. Christopher always jokes his input was tying on some bows!”.
Catherine also created a Goodfellas themed table plan, and had the DJ play some of the songs from the iconic film which is one of her and Christopher’s favourite movies.
As a sweet personal touch, Catherine made individual place cards for each of their guests.
Vintage-inspired wedding cakes like Catherine & Christopher’s are one of the trends we are loving to see! Their retro Lambeth wedding cake was a Lily Pink Bakery creation.
As a sweet “someting old”, Catherine’s late granny’s wedding band was passed down to her which she tells us really special. “Christopher got his ring in Ellisons which is also where he had previously bought my engagement ring. They sorted us out last minute, and were very accommodating.”
For those in the midst of wedding planning, the couple’s advice is: “Just follow your instincts and don’t let what other people do influence you too much. It’s your wedding, so do it your way and enjoy it!”.
For their first dance, the couple chose The Cranberries Linger. “Right after our first dance our DJ played Chuck Berry’s You Never Can Tell. Everyone took to the dancefloor and broke into the moves from that classic Pulp Fiction scene. It really set the tone for what was to be a great night.”
After their vintage-inspired wedding celebration the pair headed off on a multi-trip honeymoon to Mexico and the USA. Catherine says, “we always said we wanted to have a smaller wedding and go big on the honeymoon and that’s exactly what we did. We spent 10 days in Mexico, then we flew to Boston and did a road trip around New England for 10 days. It was always a dream of mine to visit there in October, especially Salem! The honeymoon combined both luxury and adventure, so we had the best of both worlds.”
A very special thank you to Catherine, Christopher and Megan Doherty for sharing such a swoon-worthy vintage-inspired wedding with us!
