Gráinne and Cathal decided to host their big day in style at the beautiful Borgo di Tragliata, in Italy. But let me stop you before you start thinking that this delicious destination wedding is Italian through and through...because there's an Irish twist.

For a start can we just take a moment to appreciate Gráinne's handmade crochet cotton-thread dress which was designed and stitched 42 years ago by her grandmother and has been worn by three aunts and her sister to date. How about that for a truly loved wedding dress!

And then there's the wedding ceremony itself complete with Father Kevin, a friend of Cathal's family performing the role of celebrant and Irish wedding singer and long-time friend of Gráinne's - Sinead Egan.

For me this big day is the perfect fusion of Italian charm and Irish sentimentality... oh and the rose bouquets are pretty darn epic too!

PIN THE GALLERY

Gráinne The Bride: We like to travel! In November 2013, shortly after returning home from a year abroad in New Zealand, Australia and S.E. Asia, we got engaged in Paris. A fairytale wedding abroad was always our dream, so on a beautiful, sunny day on the 30th May 2014, we were married in the picturesque Borgo di Tragliata just outside of Rome.

The venue was initially discovered whilst browsing through the Weddings Online website and following a short visit to the site in January 2014, we were convinced it would be perfect for our summer wedding. The church, reception areas, restaurants, accommodation, swimming pools, games rooms, and football pitches are all on-site in this farmhouse villa in the Roman countryside which proved to be ideal for both young and old.

Although an Italian location, the wedding ceremony itself had very much an Irish flavour with Fr Kevin, a friend of Cathal's family, as the celebrant and Sinead Egan, a long-time friend of mine, as the wedding singer. Highlights of the ceremony were Fr Kevin and Sinead's duet of 'The Prayer' and Laura's reflection recital of E.E. Cummings' 'i carry your heart with me'.

The multilingual wedding planner and a staff member of the Borgo, Cristina Masini, was absolutely brilliant in her advice, organisation, attention to detail, and general support to the bridal party, thus enabling a realisation of my vision for the day.

My dress was a handmade crochet cotton-thread piece and was designed and stitched 42 years ago by my grandmother. It's a family heirloom of sorts having been worn by my three aunts and my sister previously. The backless underslip was tailored by Jennifer Hughes, a dressmaker based in Cootehill, Co. Cavan. The crocheted headpiece, designed to match, was made by my aunt and my cousin's wife. The shoes were from Nine West and the pearl drop earrings were bought in H. Samuel.

The bridesmaids' dresses and shoes were sourced from Debenhams and High Style, Virginia, Co. Cavan. The flowergirls' dresses and shoes were bought online at Vert Baudet and from Amazon.

The make-up and hairdressing for the bridal party was performed by Louise Faulkner, an Irish lady living and working in Rome.

The florist, Donatella Lupi, videographer, Gianni Fantauzzi, and musician/singer, Micky Martin were chosen from the venue's list of recommendations. Gianni worked tirelessly with the guests to produce his first marryoke video to the tune of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Micky proved to be a huge hit providing both the reception music and the late night entertainment

We love photography so the choice of photographer was particularly important to us. After many hours of online research, we discovered Mark Pacura 's website through a recommendation. Instantly hooked by the quality and style of his portfolio, Mark had to be hired. The results speak for themselves but we were similarly impressed by his professional, unobtrusive, courteous and friendly manner.

Photography by Mark Pacura
Venue Borgo di Tragliata, Italy | Hair & Make-up Louise Faulkner | Musician Mickey Martin | Videographer Gianni Fantauzzi | Bridesmaid dresses Debenhams | Flower girl outfit Vert Baudet.

Vote RMW as Best Wedding Blog 2014

We are so pleased to be shortlisted for Best Wedding Blog in the Perfect Wedding Awards 2014! Please click the link below and vote for us! It literally only takes 10 seconds...