You won’t be able to stop smiling when you see today’s real wedding. Surrounded by 120 of their family and friends, Erica and Michael wed in a dreamy DIY wedding at the fabulous alternative wedding venue Mount Druid in Co. Westmeath. Featuring a colourful palette and silver playing a starring role, the aesthetic married disco vibes with a gentle hint of 90s and 00s nostalgia.

It was a fun and relaxed day with their family and friends at the heart of their celebration. Planned and styled by the bride, their loved ones helped bring their dream day to life making it a deeply personal and utterly joyous occasion. With Katie Kav behind the camera capturing every cherished moment, their summer wedding included a show-stopping bridal look, bright floral displays designed by the bride and bridal party, festival-style church ceremony decor, a fabulous flower wedding cake, and even lollipop diamond rings! Let’s go…

Erica is from Baldoyle and Michael is from Sutton in Dublin and they live in Clonakilty, Cork. They first met through friends at the Oxegen music festival 14 years ago. While they would often see each other at parties or on nights out at their local haunt Tomangos in Portmarnock in Dublin but it wasn’t until about four years later that they started dating. Michael popped the question on Inchydonny beach on a sunny day with a beautiful promise ring by Bea Bongiasca that was “four sizes too big” Erica tells us. It was a complete surprise!

The couple held their ceremony in the Tin Chapel which was elevated to joyful heights with a colourful ceremony display. It was a family effort as Erica’s father built the arch for the alter which was dressed with colourful streamers and her sister created beautiful paper flowers. The display also included fluffy pampas grass and they ran clusters of silver tinsel along the aisle using reused coffee jars. Disco balls dialled up the joyous vibes and brought plenty of sparkle. They also borrowed bubble machines and a display ring from a friend who had them from her wedding!

They wanted their wedding to be fun, colourful and relaxed and it was so important to them that they be surrounded by friends and family throughout. “We loved having people we knew and loved involved in our wedding it made it all the more personal and comfortable for us on the day.” Colour, disco balls, DIY touches, and their friends and Family being included were all priorities, a great band with a set list that was true to them too – not just one serving up the standard wedding tunes!

How adorable are these pictures of Michael getting ready on with their daughter Harlow who had just celebrated her first birthday two days before.

Erica’s ideal wedding was a very casual BBQ in a garden while Michael wanted a celebration that was more formal, Mount Druid offered the perfect mix of both. They found their dream venue after seeing an article on alternative wedding venues on One Fab Day.

Their ceremony was officiated by their friend Micheál Jordan while their friend Fiach Moriarty performed the ceremony music who was accompanied by Erica’s best friend and one of the chief bridesmaids Aoife McGahon.

Their ceremony readings included If You Live to be a 100 from Winnie the Pooh and they had songs such as Grow and We Go which they only discovered through their friend Fiach the week before the wedding. The newlyweds made their grand exit with their daughter to The Cure’s Friday I’m in Love.

Erica’s breathtaking wedding day look was created by Irish alternative bridal designer Mizz Rio which comprised of a corset, wide-leg trousers and a coat with statement sleeves. She accessorised with sparkling pink heels by Call it Spring, oversized floral earrings by Lovisa and a pastel pink birdcage veil. The perfect finishing touch was her grandmother’s locket that she was given on her wedding day which had a picture of her grandparents on their special day. How stunningly sentimental!

When it came to curating her wedding day look she tried on dresses at Bridal Boutique in Baldoyle, Dublin, to get dress and overall style inspiration. She perused  Pinterest aplenty and when she was recommended Mizz Rio by her friend and One Fab Day she knew she’d found her dream designer.

Michael’s dapper three-piece suit was from Protocol Dublin which he accessorised with elegant brown leather brogues by Mezlan from Shoe Suite and a floral print tie which complemented his brightly-hued buttonhole perfectly.

Magically mix and matched! The bridesmaids dressed in a seratonin-boosting palette of brights wearing gowns from ASOS, Club L London and Azazie.

Erica’s radiant makeup look was created by Aoife Callaghan Makeup while her half up and half down hair style with gentle textured waves was courtesy of Dani Pattison Hair.

The talented bride created by the chic and fun stationery drawing inspiration from Pinterest. The flowers, which were supplied by Wholesale Flowers, were arranged by Erica with the help of her bridal besties. Erica’s friend Naoise Jo was their videographer.

Erica has always loved colour and silver and that is what drove their aesthetic. “It was very much the bride’s personal style with a hint of nostalgia from the 90’s/00’s, we even had diamond ring lollipops.”

“For the reception room we kept it fun and simple as Mount Druid has it decorated so we’ll already it doesn’t need much. We placed paper runners on the tables and had crayons dotted around to encourage friends and family to draw and write messages for us to add to our guest book,” they explain. Such a fabulous idea, and a great conversation starter too.

Their sweet treats were made by members of Erica’s family with their tiered wedding cake which was adorned with mega bright blooms and sweet cake pops as wedding favours.

When asked for their top wedding planning tip they say, “Try be more organised than us… wouldn’t be hard. It all just works out or doesn’t matter on the day. For us every little detail was a bonus, the venue was perfect as is and the people we loved were there so anything else we got done was just the cherry on top.”

They adored the atmosphere of the wedding venue in the lush Westmeath countryside. “It wasn’t a hotel, we didn’t like the idea of white tablecloths everywhere. It was already such a vibe. It felt relaxed and full of character from the moment we saw it.” They also loved that it could be exclusively theirs for the whole wedding weekend.

As if we couldn’t love Erica’s bridal look more. How chic was her bolero?

They kept their first dance fun and relaxed with You & Me by The Wannadies as their song.

A huge congratulations and thank you to Erica and Michael for sharing their breathtaking black-tie wedding with One Fab Day and to Katie Kav for the utterly fabulous photos. You can see even more from their city wedding in the gallery below.

Check out more Irish Real Weddings to get inspired