From pops of colour at their floral-filled ceremony to sweet handmade details and endless strings of twinkling lights at their al fresco reception, Irish couple Niamh & Ciaran's destination wedding in Italy is the definition of whimsical. After getting engaged in Italy, this adorable couple knew it was the perfect place to host their destination wedding weekend and to share their love of Italy with 60 of their nearest and dearest. Set at the dreamy Casale Doria Pamphilj in Rome and captured wonderfully by Maison Pestea, the full gallery is chockfull of gorgeous details (including darling Limoncello favours!) you don't want to miss.

First things first, let's get to know our lovebirds. Dublin couple Niamh and Ciaran first met at a 21st birthday party back in 2011, and shortly after that bumped into each other in Coppers, and the rest, as they say was history! Niamh tells us more, "It turned out I was the last person in my family to know Ciaran as he was in the same athletics club as my brother and sister and both of our families knew each other from that! At the time we met we were both in DCU doing different courses and we also only lived 10 minutes away from each other."

The very romantic proposal happened on the shores of Lake Garda in December 2019. Niamh fills us in, "After dinner on the Saturday evening we were sitting on a bench by the lake eating gelato, and just as we finished Ciaran got down on one knee. It was around 10pm so there was no one else around which made it really special and intimate. The trip to Italy was quite last minute and as soon as we planned it Ciaran knew it was the perfect place to propose as that was where we went on our first holiday together back in 2012 and we both love it there. So he didn't have much time to organise a ring but he managed to pull it all together and even designed it himself! Italy is a very special place to us both so we're very lucky to have gotten both engaged and married there."

Surrounded by nature set in the picturesque landscapes of the Roman countryside, the couple fell in love with their venue the Casale Doria Pamphilj as it was eveything they imagined their Italian wedding venue to be. The bride tells, "When we decided we wanted to get married in Italy, we had a stereotypical idea of the type of venue we wanted and as soon as we saw pictures of Casale Doria Pamphilj it was exactly what we had imagined. Because we got engaged just before COVID, we booked Casale Doria Pamphilj without seeing it real life so as well as the aesthetic, the helpfulness of all of the staff we dealt with by email also helped make it an easy decision. Also, the location, the beautiful grounds and buildings and the fact all our guests could stay onsite for the few days ticked all of the boxes we wanted. We didn't even consider anywhere else or look any further as soon as we found Casale Doria."

She adds, "I am a perfectionist and everything about Casale Doria was perfect. The first time we got to see the venue was in December 2021, so only 8 months before the wedding, and it was even more magical in real life than in pictures. Everything about Casale Doria was just perfect - the location, rooms, decor, swimming pool, gardens, staff and food. We loved having the place to ourselves for 3 days and it really felt like home. The gelato cart just after the ceremony was also a big hit! We are still dreaming about the food and our guests are still talking about how incredible all the food was."

When it came to planning the look and feel for their celebration, Niamh says, "We wanted our wedding to feel very rustic, botanical and Italian. When we first saw our wedding venue it was so traditionally Italian that we used the venue itself for inspiration and tied in the rustic and botanical theme. The venue itself is so beautiful that we didn't need to do too much extra decorating, but we wanted to include things like a flower arch at the ceremony, wooden place names for our guests and some wooden signs. We didn't want it to be too formal and traditional. We really wanted everyone to feel relaxed and to really enjoy the day, so to achieve that we included things like garden games and had a more casual dress code for guests. We also accidently chose a bit of a pink theme - the wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, our mams dresses and the flowers were all pink or blush, which wasn't planned but worked out really well!"

And their main priorities? The bride tells us, "We wanted our wedding to be relaxed, fun and a little bit different. As we had guests travelling from all over the world we wanted to be able to spend time with everyone and for everyone to be comfortable and relaxed. When we decided to have our wedding in Italy our main priorities were good food, a beautiful space for our outdoor ceremony and reception, a 3 day event, an open bar for guests and for everyone to be able to stay onsite for a couple of days. We also wanted it to be near an airport to make things as easy as possible for our guests. Another priority was a venue that would give us some assistance with suppliers and the legalities of getting married in Italy which Casale were so helpful with. Also, we really wanted a beautiful floral arch!"

The couple made sure their ceremony was not only personal to them, but included their loved ones as well. Niamh tells, "We only have one grandparent left between us. My (Niamh) granny. When we booked our wedding we had hoped that she would be able to travel to Italy for it, but unfortunately she wasn't able to. We obviously wanted to include her in our day so we did a hand fasting ceremony and used one of her scarves for it."

"Another personal element we included was a sand ceremony. We had 2 glass jars of sand from places special to us, one from Gormanston beach which is near where we live, and one from the beach near our venue in Rome. During the ceremony Niamh's mam and Ciaran's dad poured both together. We wrote the whole ceremony ourselves, and chose all the music and readings. The legal part of the ceremony was only about 10 mins (it was done in Italian by a town hall official with a translator) and we then did our own personal ceremony straight after. Our ceremony was performed by Niamh's brother and Ciaran's brother. They both did a great job and it is definitely something that was a highlight of the day for us as it was so personalised and special. So many of our guests loved the personal element and said it was very different compared to any other wedding ceremony they had seen."

The couple also chose readings from 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coehlo and 'He Never Leaves the Seat Up' by Pam Ayres. "They were both very different but we loved both of them", Niamh reminisces.

Niamh and Ciaran had a string quartet preform some of their favourite songs during the ceremony which included 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri which played during Niamh's entrance and 'Wildest Dreams' by Taylor Swift which played during the recessional.

Let's take a moment for that gown! Niamh choose a dreamy embroidered Riki Dalal creation with detachable tulle sleeves which she sourced at Tamem Micheal in Dublin. She completed her bridal look with pearl handmade shoes by Ling Chan, statement pearl earrings, and her 'something old', an antique ring that originally belonged to her granny who has passed away.

Niamh's best gals looked oh-so-pretty in pink with mis-matched dresses from Folkster, while Ciaran and the guys looked dapper in a crisp white shirt, pink slacks and braces combo from Moss Bros.

The couple added lots of thoughtful details throughout the day that they DIY'd themselves including wedding welcome bags for their guests, personalised glass gifts for their parents, groomsmen and bridesmaids, mini bottles of Limoncello wedding favours, as well as the wooden signage, and all of the wedding stationery. Niamh adds, "We really wanted to include some unusual and personalised elements in our day so did a lot of DIY. We also did a polaroid photo booth and had disposable cameras spread around the venue. We also included some elements that our guests really appreciated like welcome bags with water, paracetamol and fans, floats for the pool, open bars on all 3 evenings and a welcome guide which included info on transport and local things to do in the area."

So, after putting together such an inspiring destination wedding celebration, we asked the couple if they have any advice for others still planning theirs? And they have lots! Niamh says, "Don't stress, start the planning early and do it gradually together. We spent so much times worrying about some small details which definitely wasn't necessary. We did the majority of the planning together which was really special and enjoyable so would definitely recommend that - we chose everything together from our videographer to the flowers. We'd also recommend including some personal elements like sand or hand fasting ceremonies or having a family member or friend perform your ceremony, if possible as our brothers doing our ceremony was a real highlight of the day for us. "

"We also did a really detailed wedding website so all of our guests had lots of relevant info. We felt this was really important given it was abroad. Anyone who is considering a wedding abroad we would say to absolutely go for it. It was the best decision we made and we were so happy that we went for it! We sent our invites out about 8 months in advance so flights were relatively cheap if they booked at that time. We worked out that 3 nights at our venue and flights ended up being the same price if not cheaper than staying 2 nights at most wedding venues in Ireland - this was important as we didn't want it to be too expensive for our guests. Peggy, our photographer, was incredible both on the day and in the lead up to the wedding. We actually checked Peggys availability and chose a date based on her availability and Casale Doria's availability to ensure it matched up."

For their first dance, the newlyweds took to the floor to Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts which was sang by Ciaran's uncle and aunt who are both musicians.

After the celebrations the couple stayed on in Italy for a minimoon and explored the Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast regions which they highly recommended, "We loved it there and would absolutely recommend Italy in general as a honeymoon destination", says Niamh. Later, in April 2023, they jetted off on a luxury honeymoon to the Maldives.

A huge thank you to Niamh and Ciaran, and to their photographer Maison Pestea for sharing this wonderful destination wedding in Italy!