Creative Director of Hedgeroe Home Rebecca Roe married Fred Roberts at a detail-laden reception in her family home.
Photography: Paula McManus Photography
The Meeting
Fred and I were introduced by two of our best friends in London, he was in the British Army back then and I was just finishing university. Our first official date was in London when Fred asked me to join his regiment’s (The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards) officers’ ball in banqueting house. Having never been to a ball like that before it was a very impressive date. Fred still believes it was me seeing him dressed up in regimental uniform which got him a second date, seemly it worked as it led to another date afterwards. Right from the start we have always found it so easy to be together and the space has allowed us to support one another and still pursue our careers.
The Proposal
We planned an Easter weekend away in West Clare, Fred wanted to see more of the beautiful Irish countryside. We stayed at Moy House, it is in a very romantic setting overlooking the sea. We had our little dog, a Jack Russell called Monkey with us. The day was blustery, but perfect for a walk along the cliffs above Kilkee. When the sun finally began to shine, Fred took his chance to propose, caught totally by surprise I was in shock and made Fred a little nervous with my lack of a response, when I finally replied it was of course a yes! We hurried back to Moy so we could phone our families to tell our news. After the proposal Fred told me the story of the ring which turned out to be an even better story than the proposal. It transpired that Fred, who had designed my engagement ring himself, had flown out to India for a day to pick up the ring which he had begun work on when we were out in India at a friend’s wedding a couple of months before. Leaving work on 6pm on a Tuesday, he flew to India that evening, collected the ring and had a celebratory dinner with friends before getting a return flight back to London to be at his desk in work at 9am on the Thursday morning. Needless to say, all without me knowing.
The Dress
I had been nervous about what to wear, after trying on some dresses, I wasn’t feeling drawn to anything. It was then I decided to stop looking and instead created my own outfit. I wanted to re-wear my outfit after the wedding, so I broke it down into separate pieces. For the church I wore a long coat embroidered with a tree of life pattern, designed by Rohit Bal which I bought in India while I was there designing our new furniture collection. Beneath my coat was a beautiful beaded top which I designed and was also made in India. One of our talented family friends, Sarah Pierce, designed the beautiful long satin skirt for underneath along with a pair of satin trousers. After dinner I removed my coat to reveal my halter neck top and changed into the trousers for dancing into the early hours!
The Venue
It just seemed the natural choice to have the wedding at home. This is located close to my old school Columba’s where the wedding service was held. Fred and I are very design focused and did not find the planning of the wedding daunting. One thing we did have trouble sourcing though was the glassware. We had settled on a botanical theme and while working at a tradeshow in London, found the perfect fern etched glasses champagne coupes and wine glasses. We loved them so much we even decided to get some for our shop, they look great and worked so well on our table setting. We included with this a delicate spider fern weaved into long table runners and placed amongst these a number of silver etched votives and larger green tea light holders with a palm tree motif. I designed, with our florist Mary, a large floral centerpiece which was suspended in the centre of the marquee. This was made up of delphiniums, white wisteria, dahlias, peonies and ferns all in white and green to match our colour scheme. The real trick was all of these were faux flowers, but it looked amazing and people found it hard to believe they were not all real. Interspersed amongst these flowers we placed loads of our delicate starburst lights so once the evening got a little darker this installation still looked incredible. I saved this during the clear up and we will be hanging this in our Carrickmines store. I was keen to see that after all the effort that went into this piece it could be used again. The Entertainment We booked the Hot House Big Band before we even had a date, they are a fabulous jazz band. As soon as we saw them we knew they were going to be a part of our day. They were absolute superstars, they stayed on late and sounded fantastic all night. With so much energy coming from the huge band the dancefloor was never empty.
The Best Decision
Having a second day, there are so many people at a wedding and trying to see everyone in one evening, it is nearly impossible to actually spend quality time with everyone. With our own wedding we knew so many people had come from abroad and so we really wanted to make sure they were all looked after while they were over. Making sure we had a little more entertainment for day two, we found the Brook Singers, an acapella group just two weeks before the wedding. We just knew they would be great craic to entertain our guests on the Sunday. The day turned into such a party with a hog roast BBQ and summer drinks that many guests changed their flights to stay on! The Worst Decision We pushed the timings too tight across the actual wedding day. Initially we had gone for a late start as we wanted guests flying in from abroad to feel they could come on Saturday morning to save on hotels and so on. Therefore, this would give them time to get in and have a good lunch, also crucial, but it just meant any delays were more of an issue. Luckily everyone helping out on the day made it work and we fit everything in.
The Beauty Prep
Not being a make-up wearer normally I knew I had to have professional help on the day! I found a lovely local beauty salon (Temple Salon) who did hair and make-up. I had a test run which was very helpful, we created a look which was natural and reflected the colours in my coat. We picked up the gold thread of my coat in the smoky gold eye shadow. As the wedding was in the late afternoon I wanted a look which would work from day to night. My hair was loosely pinned up for the wedding but done in such a way that I could take it down myself later in the evening. I simply ran my fingers through my hair to reveal loose waves for my down-do later in the night. The Scent Chloe, I have worn this for so long that many of my friends associate the scent with me, so no breaking with tradition on this occasion.
The Bridesmaids
I am extremely lucky that I have so many close friends, it did mean though that I had six bridesmaids. We have all been friends for many years and no matter where we all are in the world we have remained in close contact ever since school. They were all fantastic and from arriving the night before for the rehearsal, through all the preparation and the wedding itself, I had so much fun with them and it really relaxed me, especially on the morning of the wedding when I was in stitches laughing as we all had our hair and make-up done. Rachel my Maid of Honor was brilliant and with Hanne, Izzy, Annie, Celeste and Emma, it was so important for me to have them all be involved in the wedding.
