With the magnificent Bantry House, in Co. Cork serving as the setting of their storybook special day, our real wedding couple Noss and Viliyan's magnificent waterside celebration is nothing short of spectacular. Using the historic estate's opulent interiors and breathtaking grounds as the backdrop for their elegant affair, the level of attention to detail put into every aspect of this wedding is evident throughout. Captured by photographer Pedro Souza, check out Noss and Viliyan's incredibly sophisticated day below.

Let's get to know the happy couple! Viliyan who is from Bulgaria and Irish born Noss, first met in March 2015 in Cologne, Germany: "Viliyan was 15 minutes late. This part of the story is true, but whether it was in a chance encounter buying tomatoes in a supermarket or a planned date at Cologne cathedral – it depends on who you ask! What is for sure is that we got on famously and the rest is history. We have been inseparable ever since."

Fast forward to the Düsseldorf-based pair's sweet proposal story, Viliyan proposed to Noss in November 2019 while the two were on a trip to Canada: "Our friend diverted the car en route home to spontaneously bring us to the perfect spot in front of an icy waterfall in New Brunswick. I didn’t suspect a thing and was surprised to turn around after taking photos to find Viliyan on one knee. I didn’t hesitate to say yes and almost four years later we found ourselves in Bantry House, surrounded by our nearest and dearest, getting married!"

In terms of their phenomenal groomswear style, the two bought their tuxedos together in Düsseldorf: "We wanted matching looks, not identical however, so the difference is in the detail". The grooms both chose Eton shirts, with Noss opting for a jacquard shirt with an intricate pattern, and Viliyan for a plain dress shirt with Ferragamo cufflinks. To complete their looks they wore Hugo Boss bow ties in silk and black velvet alongside penny loafers from Roberto & Sons Vienna and monk straps from Berwick 1707.

From the outset, it was very important to the couple that their wedding was authentic and reflected their personalities and tastes: "We were also very conscious that most of our guests would be travelling a great distance to celebrate with us (mostly from Germany, Bulgaria, the US and Canada). We realised we were organising a destination wedding and needed to offer entertainment over three days; pre-drinks and live music in Ma Murphy’s Pub on Friday, the wedding and reception at Bantry House on Saturday and a walk along Sheep’s Head with coffee and wedding cake on Sunday."

Holding their picture-perfect ceremony in the The Blue Dining Room at Bantry House, Noss and Viliyan's elegant celebration was a combination of the two's Irish and Bulgarian heritages. "Our celebrant was fantastic and her words on love and marriage were very well chosen. She spoke of the fact that the people of Ireland had voted in a historical referendum to allow same sex marriages and had made a conscious decision in 2015 for love."

"We passed our wedding bands through the room before the vows to make the ceremony more inclusive and interactive. Our guests found the “wishing on the wedding rings” very moving."

"Our mothers both lit candles during the ceremony, this was a very special moment and symbolised the uniting of our two families. We used these candles to light our own candle of unity. Our matrons of honour (both are married) read readings during the ceremony." With Noss’ brother Vadim reading an Irish blessing, Viliyan’s sister Antoniya conducted a traditional Celtic hand-fasting ceremony together with their solemniser. "The ceremony was beautifully choreographed and concluded with our 80 guests ringing bells as we walked down the aisle, hand-in-hand."

Noss and Viliyan had this advice for other couples: "Choose your vendors wisely; we were so incredibly lucky and happy with the people who made our special day so fantastic: Your photographer will be with you for the whole day, your celebrant will define the mood of the day and the catering needs to be plentiful and to taste great - and it really was, thanks to the Maritime Hotel in Bantry, who set up shop in Bantry House for the day. We are especially happy with our choice of photographer, Pedro Souza, who did a fantastic job capturing all the many elements we spent so much time and effort creating and organising. We made sure to take photos with each of our guests and included these photos with our thank you cards, this way we made sure that we left nobody out!"

The impressive surrounds of their chosen venue, Bantry House, inspired the couple's timeless and sophisticated wedding aesthetic: "Our order of service was inspired by the beautiful ceiling decoration in the blue dining room, our menus borrowed the red wallpaper pattern from the library. Our wedding had a haute bohemian look, using dahlias, and used many understated antique elements, allowing the elegant and richly decorated interiors of Bantry House to shine. Our wedding cake picked up on the rich colours we chose for our table stationery."

How sublime are the couple's wonderfully decorated tablescapes? "The décor included Regency-inspired florals in the ceremony room to a whimsical and rich display of dahlias in crystal bud vases, bronze candlesticks and French candelabras during dinner. The florals were the work of the grooms together with Noss’ mother Patricia. Noss designed the stationery and menus himself. The grooms sourced the vases and candlesticks in antique and flea markets in Germany, Ireland, Belgium and France."

"We did our own flowers, sourcing beautiful dahlias from Bumblebee Flower Farm in West Cork. Mags created beautiful bouquets for our matrons of honour, using locally sourced flowers."

Adding to the personalised touches of their day: "Our buttonholes were handmade in Bulgaria, sourced by Viliyan’s mother Ekaterina: tartan ribbon with white flowers. We had buttonholes and corsages made for all guests as we wanted to include everyone in our wedding party.

In an extra poignant addition to their wonderful reception in The Library space, the speeches made the day all that more special and personal to the couple: "The speeches at dinner, especially the speeches by the fathers of the grooms, Vadim and Valentin, brought the room to tears. It was a pertinent and sentimental moment that showed how much our families were invested in our marriage and was a very emotional moment on our special day."

Their gorgeous evening reception went on to include a trio of fresh fruit-adorned wedding cakes and a first dance to Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. The first dance was followed by a traditional Bulgarian 'Horo', where all dancers form a long line, for which the groom Viliyan and his Bulgarian friends changed into Bulgarian traditional dress. "Our international guests made a good stab at dancing an Irish reel, taught to them the evening before by Celtic band Rubicon in Ma Murphy’s pub, it was a lot of fun and there was a lot of laughter!"

To celebrate their special day, the couple have their sights on a well-deserved honeymoon: "We are heading to a desert retreat in Namibia and to Cape Town in South Africa. We had a mini moon in Powerscourt Hotel after the wedding to recover and recoup after all the attention - this was a really great decision, based on advice we were given ourselves, highly recommended!"

Congratulations Noss and Viliyan! A very special thank you to the couple and to Pedro Souza Photography for sharing this magnificent wedding with One Fab Day. There are also plenty more amazing photos from their special day to check out in the gallery below!

Are you tying the knot during sunshine season? Check out the rest of our Summer Real Weddings for lots of inspiration!