Bl�ith�n O� Reilly Murphy of Distinctive Weddings and author of Tying the Knot without the Rope Burns, shows you how to have your celebrity style wedding without the celebrity style budget.
Thumbing through well worn copies of Hello and Ok! I look back over some of the most anticipated celebrity weddings of the past few years. With an average budget of €1.5 million, money is really no object for the privileged few, it gets me thinking - do you really need to spend all that money to have a truly spectacular wedding day? Could you do it for a fraction of the cost - a mere 1% of a celebrity budget? In reality €15,000 might just about get you a celebrity wedding dress but a ‘celebrity style’ wedding should be achievable!
Imagining that Brad Pitt has just popped the question and I say yes, I think about the many options his sizeable bank balance would give me and try and translate them to my €15,000 target. So where do I start? Behind every lavish celebrity wedding is a multi-talented wedding planner, no celebrity style wedding would be complete without one! Meeting with a wedding planner on a consultation basis will help set your budget in motion to plan your perfect celebrity style day! Contracting their services for ‘On the Day Co-ordination’ will allow you to sit back, relax and enjoy your day in true celebrity style! Having consulted with my planner, I’ve gained greatly from their vast knowledge of all things wedding and they’ve pointed me in the direction of some key celebrity wedding trends, which include;
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend! Swarovki Crystals are appearing EVERYWHERE from dresses to bouquets, cakes to personalized gifts, and even adoring the heels of the brides shoes!
Puppy Love! No wedding is complete without the whole family! Celebs are taking this one step further and including the family pet! You’re not really married (apparently) unless Spot or Rover has walked down the aisle alongside you ‘rings in mouth’.
Second time’s a charm! Not content with marrying their beloved only once, celebs’ are now doing it twice. Small intimate ceremonies for a select few followed by a second round blessing and major party, are all the rage now among our rich and famous!
With my mind racing full of celebrity trends and fashions, I turn my attention to choosing a venue for our big celebrity style day. Celebrities choose extravagant and extraordinary venues to host their million dollar affairs - so ours should be equally as lavish and extraordinary! What springs to mind is the most ambitious maritime heritage project undertaken in Ireland - The Jeanie Johnston. This beautifully restored sailing ship will act as the perfect backdrop to our intimate reception for 100 of our nearest and dearest. The Jeanie offers a whole host of options from the top deck to the hull and even a dockside marquee so entertaining, feasting and dancing the night away will not be a problem!
While my venue is magnificent, no self respecting celebrity would leave it at just a breathtaking setting and so now I go in search of some awe-inspiring dďż˝cor to compliment my scenery. For me the soft warm glow of candle light and the intimate twinkling of fairy lights create a romantic stage that would melt the coolest of hearts. And so I aim to deck out the Jeanie Johnston in hurricane vases, mirrors, hundreds of tea lights and put twinkling fairy lights along the bow, up the gang plank and along the top deck. Coupling these with rose petals and mini crystals will add to the look and give me that extra bling. Having previously married in the registrar’s office, and eagerly anticipating the Captain’s ‘blessing’, I concentrate my floral budget on large Urns to greet my guests at the bottom of the gang plank and pew end style arrangements for the ships masts. Bouquets for my bridesmaid and me, button holes for the gents and a gorgeous long arrangement for the top table will complete my florist’s duty.
Picturing these gorgeous images, I quickly realise that I am going to need someone to capture the day for me so that I can continue to relive it - and so I turn my attention to finding a videographer and photographer. My guest list isn’t exactly going to secure me any magazine deals with Hello but I wonder can my meagre budget stretch to a movie star quality camera man and paparazzi style photographer? A little research on WeddingsOnline.ie and I find two great options within my budget! While I fantasise about posing for my wedding shots in the bedroom mirror it hits me that I have yet to choose a wedding dress! How remiss of me! Unfortunately I don’t have Vera Wang on speed dial but Designer Brides are definitely the next best thing! I’ll float down the aisle in a Jenny Packman inspired Betsy & Adam dress while wearing (previously loved) Stuart Weitzmen Sparkling Swarovski Crystal Shoes. Wearing an electric blue A line, V neck Taffeta Dress from Saks, my gorgeous maids will compliment the Cappuccino suits of my Groom-to-be and his best man - my wedding party is complete!
All these decisions have made me peckish and my mind wanders to the wedding breakfast! A sumptuous buffet style banquet served with copious amounts of wine and Prosecco will surely make any celebrity proud? And while my budget won’t exactly stretch to an all night open bar, with the opportunity to dance the night away under the stars and being party to a truly spectacular celebrity style day, my guests will surely forgive me. A quick top up and I wait for the calculator to flash with my total spend….. €15,883.71. A slight overspend on my initial target - but it wouldn’t be a true celebrity style wedding unless I went over budget!
Contact Bl�ith�n O’ Reilly Murphy to get your celebrity wedding started!Distinctive Weddings Phone: 01 870 9150
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