Anastasia + Laura by Chris Copeland - Together Journal

We wanted the feeling of a fun garden party celebrating all the best things we love about Ireland.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We are much like the poem we chose for our wedding ceremony, Polar Opposites by @beautaplin.

I don’t think you would pair us together unless you really knew us. We are both Irish but based in London – Laura works as a lawyer and Anastasia is a production buyer. We adore travel and adventure and are ruled by our two little dogs Walter and Chico who were a part of the wedding day, of course!Our friends would say we share a passion for breakfasts in bed, fresh country air, that sound of a cocktail shaker when perched beside each other at a hotel bar. Seeing a riveting play. An open fire surrounded by family and friends. Podcasts shared whilst road tripping. Snuggling our dogs. Cooking a Sunday roast. Discovering a quaint pub in a quiet place. Dancing in the kitchen. Building a life together.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

So… We share a mutual best friend, Jane, with whom Anastasia had gone to school, and Laura had shared a college job. We had met over the years, and if you told us then we would be married, we would have said you were stark raving mad. It is so funny to look at the photos of us at parties then. I had no clue what the future had in store. We even shared dating advice for all the men we thought we would date in London. That’s where things happened: London. We had both recently moved over, and we were reintroduced at a party. We just couldn’t deny the spark between us. We tried many times to stop talking, as dating one’s best friend’s other best friend could prove rather tricky.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

We viewed a dream cottage in West Cork on a whim. We both looked at each other and Anastasia says she could see our shared future and how beautiful that looked.

“That’s when I knew.” – Anastasia

The next day Anastasia proposed and we put an offer on the cottage.

Laura said she knew for somewhat longer- a trip to Morocco they took together some years back – it was then she started to compile the photo album she would use to propose to Anastasia.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

Anastasia first asked Laura about the trip mentioned above to West Cork, Ireland. We had a magic day filled with cycling on a small island and a swim at a beach, all to ourselves. Later, she took a quiet walk in a secluded bay and asked Laura about it. Anastasia had put the ring in a beautiful red shell box wrapped in a red ribbon. We were sitting on a rock by the sea, and the moment couldn’t have been more perfect.

“The shell is often used to symbolise a journey .”said Anastasia to at first a very confused Laura. Nervously shaking, she asked Laura, “Will you take this next journey with me?”

All I knew, said Anastasia, was that I wanted a pub nearby where I was planning on asking her. I was either going to celebrate or drown my sorrows according to the answer.” Well didn’t we celebrate with a Beamish Stout after!

Beautiful Red Cockle Shell Ring Box by @waterdragonhoarduk

Laura then asked Anastasia 4 months later in an Irish Landmark, The Shelbourne Hotel . It was Christmas Eve and very intimate and special moment.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

I think we both shared a very similar vision. We wanted the feeling of a fun garden party celebrating all the best things we love about Ireland. Guinness, Whiskey, Irish Music, and Traditions remixed with craic.

We got engaged and married within a year, and none of that would have been possible without our legend of a planner, Kate of @loveandgatherings.

Every time we saved or shared a photo of a wedding we liked, we realised it was her work. Kate embodies the laidback chic of what we were going for. Anastasia probably relished the smaller details of the design of our weekend as she works within the creative side of things for TV productions. Kate instantly understood and shared the same vibe, so it was easy to trust her, and she was so fun to work with. Even styling Anastasia’s requested Irish tradition of Child of Prague statues around the venue to the delight of the guests. The traditional statue almost became a mascot of the weekend.

We chose the lovely Ballybeg House because it has the most wonderful Shebeen, which translates to a secret pub. The weather in Ireland is unpredictable, so having a pub onsite took the pressure off for cocktail hour, as who doesn’t love a speakeasy? Thankfully, we were blessed with the sunniest weekend of the summer, but we had two nights of dancing jigs in that magic pub.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

We had all our music booked before anything else. We had GREAT bands, seven in total! Everything from traditional Irish, Cuban, and Big Brass to Mariachi. We were happy to splurge on music as it reflected what we wanted and what we were about; our families love music, too. Before we even got engaged, we would play songs in the car and say we needed this for our wedding. We think splurge on what makes you as a couple happy. If you are laughing and brimming with happiness on your wedding day, everything else follows. Don’t splurge on trying to impress anyone, but splurge on something that brings you both joy.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

I think we were both very relaxed brides. Anastasia did have to wait over an hour in her dress and heels in her room before the ceremony, drinking glasses of champagne as Laura and our two friends Sybil and Jane ran around the cottage. She was getting ready like a headless chicken looking for a steamer.

Anastasia just had to keep drinking bubbles as she heard shrieks and the girls trying to blow dry creases out of Laura’s dress. The moral of the story is: Don’t forget your steamer, but remember that the same dress will be covered in Guinness a few hours later.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

We think both our looks are pretty classic. It was fun not knowing what the other bride was going to wear. Anastasia wanted to have a veil that reflected her Catholic upbringing. It was special that the venue had a ceremony space that felt almost sacred.

Being surrounded by our nearest and dearest in such an intimate space with all those flowers and candles was surreal. We were so blessed that Laura’s brother-in-law just happened to be a celebrant while working for Guinness. Having someone who knew us and our relationship from the beginning was so special. We swept down the aisle after the ceremony, all our guests ringing bells to the tune of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ (Irish Trad Style), and it was a very spiritual feeling. Same-sex couples can create their own traditions and reinterpret old ones.