A Colourful Lovefest! Allayne & Shem's Vibrant Celebration at The Millhouse

'A beautiful colour and culture clash!'

Allayne & Shem's truly unique and creative wedding was a vibrant celebration of love, colour, and all things 80s and 90s! Held at The Millhouse in Co. Meath, these lovebirds were determined to break free from convention and create an unforgettable party. They wanted to treat their guests to a day full of fun & love, with lots of gorgeous colours and Caribbean flair, so chose colour-pop florals, sweet pastel tones, and disco balls, as well as a retro dance machine to create their perfect day!  Get ready to step into their epic colourful celebration captured perfectly by Gareth at Lima Conlon Photography.

Portrait in background classic old painting
Blue heels and blue fan for bride
Hair veil detail and clip
Womans back of legs blue and white dress
Bride smiles as she looks at herself in the mirror reflection
Bride gets her makeup done red lipstick MUA
Smiling laughing bride puts on her earrings
Smiling bride shoes off blue fan

Shem is originally from Buckinghamshire in the UK and Allayne is from Dublin. The pair met on a dating app that Shem apparently hated. Allayne matched and contacted her and Shem asked if she liked her by mistake! From there, chats turned into dates, and dates turned into a proposal!

Bride looks at her reflection in mirror as she gets ready
Bride shows off pink cufflink detail close up and gold watch
Bride places on gold necklace under her collar
Brides close up of gold chain necklace under her shirt collar
Bride puts on funky colourful brogue shoes

Shem proposed in The Phoenix Park to a very stunned Allayne who Shem says, "didn’t say anything for ages." Shem panicked thinking she had misjudged the entire thing, but Shem laughs, "it was just Allayne being surprised and forgetting how to use words. We then got stuck in a giant traffic jam for an hour trying to leave the park because a marathon was on at the time. Total romance!"

Mother kisses daughter bride on the cheek
Bride walks through the courtyard makes her way to ceremony

One of their key considerations when planning the day was that they "wanted to be represented in the most authentic way."

Bride stands in front of fountain smiling
Bride walking towards wedding ceremony
Bride makes her way to bride and surprises her nervous bride awaits
Brides are shocked to see each other smiling laughing in love
Two brides kiss
Brides hug on bridge overlooking lake in background

Another big thing for Allayne & Shem was to not get sucked into tradition or what they ‘should’ do for their day. The pair wanted to make the day all about them and their story. The goal was to entirely do it on their own terms, to have fun and to make sure their guests did too!

Brides feet shoe details blue heels and funky colourful brogues
Brides on the bride face each other and look at each other
Brides hold hands on bridge lake in background

The pair opted to do a first look before their ceremony. A sweet new wedding tradition we love to help curb any nerves before the big moment.

Chalk portrait detail flowers surrounded it welcome to our wedding
Orange yellow sunflowers/flowers on table

Love this 'No Sides, Just Good Vibes' ceremony seating signage!

Wide shot of seating area for guests ceremony and alter in view
Wide shot of seating area for guests ceremony
Alter setting with disco ball colourful
Chalk writing detail booklet book on chairs for guests

And the perfect venue to gather their 80 nearest and dearest for their spring celebration? The wonderful exclusive hire venue The Millhouse in Slane who the speak very fondly of. When asked what made it “the one”, they say,  "the fact that it was awesome, but mostly because they spoke to us without assumptions and stereotypes. They recognised us as two women rather than assigning us heteronormative bride and groom personas like other venues did."

Candles lit on table and flowers/floral setting
Woman wearing floral dress reads the pamphlet
Son and daughter holding up little bags smile
Ava name on bad and gold shoe detail

When asked what inspired their colourful wedding aesthetic the pair say, "we wanted colour and disco balls! It had to be bold and bright (and a little ridiculous!)."

Bride and her father she holds a large colourful balloon
Father of the bride awaits his daughter
Daughter bride exits room
Father gives daughter bride a kiss on the cheek
Bride and her father make their way to the ceremony

"The decor was super important and that’s why we got H&G involved who styled the entire day from initial consultation, and lookbook to epic execution. We just wanted to have a fun party celebrating with our nearest and dearest."

Little flower girl daughter walks down the aisle
Bride and her father smile at each other reflected by disco lights
Little boy son walking down the aisle with speaker
Bride walks down the aisle family members smiling

The pair aptly describe the look and feel of their day as "a beautiful colour and culture clash!" which embraced Allayne's love of all things vintage and unique Japanese details, and Shem's love of loud colours and her Caribbean roots. This, combined with their shared love for 80s and 90s pop culture and bright colours, the pair found their inspiration in the energetic and nostalgic vibes of the eras.

Brides stand at alter and light candles
Bride looks at her bride as they sit during ceremony
Colourful brogue shoes for bride and blue heels
Celebrant smiling at two brides at alter
Bride reads vows to bride disco ball in background
Bride reads vows out loud

The ceremony space, held in the dramatic Old Mill and dressed with a bespoke vintage Japanese fabric backdrop, disco balls, pineapples and colourful flowers, was an undeniably personal affair.

Two brides disco ball creating reflection guests seated alter candles lit with little boy son
Two brides clap at alter disco ball colourful setting with celebrant they laugh
Two brides clap kiss at alter disco ball colourful setting
Two brides clap and laugh at alter disco ball colourful setting

The ceremony itself was a joyful and tear-filled moment.

Guests clap for the couple just wed two brides exit church

The brides wowed us with their incredible wedding looks. Each one individually perfect for their personalities, and together beautifully complementing one another. We particualy love their matching blue nail polish!

Brides smiling looking at each other
Brides hand in hand walking outside venue

Allayne's fabulous vintage-inspired dress is by Bianco Evento which she sourced at Dirty Fabulous. She completed her bridal look with a sweet lace cape and vintage birdcage veil headpiece which she also picked up at Dirty Fabulous. Her fun 'Something Blue' heels and the matching fan came from Saint Savoy.

Two brides stand on bridge lake in background blue sky
Transport sign two brides hold hands underneath
Two brides smile greenery in backgrounds trees on bridge

Shem's bubblegum pink suit was a bespoke creation by Paul Henry Tailoring which she paired with colourful graffiti-print brogues from Pepe Milan.

Bride and her bridesmaids in yellow dresses
Bride in middle pink suit groomsmen and bride in white dress and bridesmaids
Bride in middle pink suit groomsmen
Two brides groomsmen bridesmaids either side

Their fabulous bridal squad who are rocking the pastel rainbow trend all wore dresses and suits from various shops.

Bride hugs friend bride chatting to bridesmaid
Two brides and father laughing joking exterior
Bride and Father stand in front of red carpet venue in background
Mother in wheelchair and two brides smile
Two brides and son and daughter all walking holding hands

When asked about their favourite part of the wedding, the pair tell us it was both "the speeches, and the weather! We managed to get a glorious sunny day in March which is unheard of in Ireland so we held our speeches outside. It was lovely to see our friends and family chilling and drinking… and laughing so hard!"

Two brides hold hands up in the air
Celebrant speaks into microphone
Two brides seated and laughing
Two brides cheers with glass of champagne

After the sunny speeches, the couple and their guests headed indoors to The Millhouse's light-filled, Pavilion reception room, which was choc-full of colourful decor and personal details.

Orange colourful wedding cake on blue tablecloth table
Video cassettes with writing on them

Allayne & Shem's unique VHS table plan idea featured the couple's favourite nostalgic movies!

Blue tablecloth arrow writing colourful flowers
Blue tablecloth setting interior cutlery
The goomies video cassette
Table setting colourful flowers blue
Neverending Story video cassette

Reflecting on their wedding planning experience, Allayne & Shem have valuable advice for other engaged couples. "Be prepared that not everything will run exactly how you want it to on the day. But understand that most people won’t notice and you’ll still have a great time."

Table blue cloth cutlery forks and knives

As a nod to Shem's Caribbean roots,  Allayne & Shem made their own Jerk seasoning wedding favour treats for their guests, a wedding planning memory they remeber fondly, 'DIY-ing our wedding favours by stinking out our kitchen with Caribbean jerk seasoning, and creating a free labour production line with Allayne’s bridesmaids!'

Table placement for guests and flowers
Miniature disco ball and flowers

Shortly after the celebrations, the couple jetted off on honeymoon for some R&R. They tell us, "we went to the Maldives (it was supposed to be Japan but… Covid) and yes it was amazing! A decadent escape to paradise that you can only justify because it’s your honeymoon."

Orange colourful wedding cake

The couple's fun 80s and 90s-inspired cakey creation, complete with Pac-Man details was by the talened Jenny Gleeson at Sweetie Pie.

Bride enters ballroom guests clap

As the reception kicked off, the couple wanted to ensure a joyful and lively atmosphere. Dancing became a centrepiece of the celebration, with lively music that got everyone moving.

Brides dance on the dancefloor games
Brides dance on the dancefloor games
Brides dance on the dancefloor games

In a complete break from tradition, instead of a first dance, the pair danced it out together to Junior Senior's Move Your Feet on a retro arcade dance machine!

Brides dance on the dancefloor games
Brides dance on the dancefloor games

Between the epic dance machine battles and Dermot Kelly of Velvet DJs keeping the dance floor full all night long, we sure wish we were on Allayne & Shem's guestlist!

Brides pose under fairy lights

A huge thank you to Allayne & Shem for sharing their colourful lovefest with us, and to Gareth at Lima Conlon Photography for providing the beautiful imagery! Hit up the gallery below for even more images from their day.

Recommended Suppliers

Suppliers 

Wedding Dress Designer //
Bianco Evento
|
Bridal Boutique //
Dirty Fabulous
|
Bridal Shoes & Fan //
Saint Savoy
|
Bride Suit //
Paul Henry Tailoring
|
Bride Shoes //
Pepe Milan
|
Flowers, Planning & Styling //
H&G Creations
|
Allayne's Makeup & Hair //
Locks and Lashes
|
Shem's Makeup //
Lynsey Keogh
|
Wedding Rings //
Stonechat Jewellers
|
Music //
Jess Kav
|
Dance Machine Rental //
Entertainment Solutions
|
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