An elegant 18th Century Manor House nestled at the heart of sprawling woods, courtyards, walled gardens and parkland, Tankardstown House was the stunning location of Nina Boyd and Connor McKee's wedding on the 11th of November 2023. Capture by Francis Meaney, this gorgeous winter wedding is absolutely swoon-worthy!
The pair met while they were both studying at Queens University Belfast, years later, in June of 2022, while on holiday in Praiano, Italy the pair got engaged! Connor hired a boat for the day to go to Positano, Capri etc and proposed at sunset on the water. How romantic!
Nina went to Ivy and White, Belfast to find her wedding dress. She spotted and fell in love with a gorgeous Made With Love dress but wasn't crazy about the sheer bodice, thankfully with some help from Kerri from Ivy and White, she was able to get it lined by a recommended seamstress. "She was so helpful and made the process easy." For an extra personal touch, Nina's mum made her veil from 3D flowers that matched the ones on the dress! "My mum hand-sewed each one of them on with blue stitching."
The bridal party was small, with just Nina's sister as her bridesmaid. Because of this, Nina gave full freedom to pick whatever dress her sister thought would suit her, ending up with a peach floor-length gown from ASOS.
The ceremony was beautifully personal, with Nina's cousin Thomas McConaghie performed the ceremony, so he made the couple very relaxed and comfortable. In another wonderfully personal detail, Nina's mum had organised all the flowers for the day which also turned out so beautiful!
In the hunt for the perfect venue, Nina had spotted Tankardstown house on Instagram and decided to go take a look. "When we went we instantly fell in love with it! Both the house itself and the gardens are beautiful." The couple were planning their wedding assuming it was going rain, as it’s Ireland, much to their delight they ended up with a beautifully sunny day!
The couple had the Bentley Boys for their live band and DJ. "I had heard very good reviews from them, and I was surprised they were free! They were great – the dancefloor was full all night."
Regarding the best deciosn the couple had ot say. "The absolute best decision was from Connor, having suggested that we have half an hour for just the two of us during our reception. The whole day was so hectic so having that time together was the perfect way to relax and rally before heading back out to the dancefloor!"
- Gráinne