A Whimsical Woodland Wedding with a Statement Dress to Match

Some weddings just feel like magic and we knew from the moment our bride stepped into Marie Me that hers would be one of them.

***Images provided by the very talented Dale Photography - www.dalephotography.com ***

Meet our gorgeous real bride Stephanie, a project manager by day and, as it turns out, an exceptional wedding planner by night. Together with her now-husband Kieron (a Credit Risk Analyst with a knack for spreadsheets), the two formed a dream duo for planning their big day. She brought the vision, he brought the formulas and their forest wedding in Northern Ireland was nothing short of unforgettable.

We always love hearing our brides’ love stories, and this one gave us everything: a disaster of a first date (tyre blowout, wallet lost, confusion in the bar), a year of long-distance visits, and the sweetest at-home proposal featuring 100 candles, rose petals, and one flustered (and exhausted) bride-to-be returning from a delayed business trip. Romance and real life in perfect harmony.

From the very beginning, this bride knew her wedding wouldn’t be traditional. With a whimsical woodland theme, an outdoor ceremony (yes, in Northern Ireland -bold and brilliant!), and the vibe of a relaxed music festival, she planned every detail to reflect their personalities. Think: pizza vans, burger trucks, ice cream carts, and no formal seating. A day full of fun, laughter, and love, completely and unapologetically them.

And then came the dress.

The moment she spotted the Saylor gown by All Who Wander, she just knew. Statement sleeves? Check. Unique colour? Check. Bold, romantic, and non-traditional? Check, check, check. She found out we were the only stockist in Northern Ireland and took it as fate — especially since her sister had also found her dream dress at Marie Me 10 years ago. How special is that?

She absolutely shone on the day, radiating happiness, confidence, and woodland whimsy in her Saylor gown. One of our favourite highlights from her story? The quiet moments after the ceremony, just the two of them, and a peaceful boat ride to soak it all in. It’s a beautiful reminder that amidst all the chaos of planning, those little pauses are what stay with you.

And of course, we couldn’t not mention her top tip: cut your cake early! Serve it as an afternoon tea treat instead of waiting till the evening — and avoid being left with enough cake to feed an army (though to be fair, she didn’t mind the leftovers one bit).

To our beautiful bride — thank you for trusting us to be part of your love story. Your wedding was as vibrant, spirited, and heartfelt as you are, and we’re so honoured to have helped you find a dress that was just as bold and beautiful.

Want to hear more from the bride herself? Read on for her full Q&A — from planning tips and proposal stories to ceremony giggles and her top wedding advice?

Tell us a little about yourselves :

I work as a project manager and Kieron works are a Credit Risk Analyst for a bank, so I put my project
management skills to good use with wedding planning and Kieron made spreadsheets.
We met online on a dating app, while I was in my last week in Derby, with Kieron living in the next city over
in Nottingham (great timing). We had a year long distance and taking alternate months to go visit each
other. Our first date was an absolute disaster, with Kieron popping his car tyre, thinking I’d left him in a bar
(I just went to the bathroom because he was taking so long) and then he left his wallet in the taxi!
The proposal was so lovely, I was travelling with work, and in typical business travel fashion, my flight was
delayed and almost made me miss my connecting flight. I was last on the plane and feeling all flustered. I
got home to the smell of smoke and being told not to look downstairs (who doesn’t love that?). When I
walked into the kitchen I was greeted by 100 candles in the shape of a heart, rose petals and pictures of us
and Kieron turning to me to get down on one knee. It was just perfect, until I ruined it by saying I’m so
sorry, this is lovely but I need to go to bed lol!

Tell us about your wedding:

The day after we got engaged was wedding planning time, I essentially had the whole thing planned out
within 2 weeks. My theme was going to be whimsical woodland and I knew I wanted to get married
outside, in a forest setting, which I know is crazy for Northern Ireland. I wanted the day to be super casual,
as close to a music festival as possible, so no sit down meal, we had food trucks serving pizza, burgers,
chicken goujons and falafels. We also had an ice cream cart because who doesn’t love some mauds?
I wanted as much as possible to be non-traditional, while trying to keep some traditional elements in for
Kieron who didn’t even know you could deviate from the standard traditional wedding.

How much did you LOVE your wedding dress? Tell us about your Marie Me shopping experience:

My dress was perfect! I knew I wanted statement sleeves, which I definitely got, as well as a statement
rest of the dress! I also knew I wanted a coloured dress, something a bit different. I saw the Saylor gown
by All Who Wander online and knew it was the one before I even saw it in person. I found that Marie Me
was the only stockist in Northern Ireland, which was like fate because 10 years ago my sister got her
wedding dress from Marie Me also!

Eilish was amazing, so accommodating and just the most warm person I think I’ve ever met! She made us
all feel right at home and treated us like we have been lifelong friends. And I am still so impressed she
could look at my sister and after 10 years remembered which wedding dress when went in for!

Memorable moment? What was the highlight of your day?:

My memorable moment was me messing up during the ceremony, as the celebrant said “Repeat after me”
my brain decided to go off and think how bad/funny would it be if I wasn’t paying attention and missed
everything she said… while doing exactly that.
The highlight was getting all glammed up, which I never do, getting to wear the most beautiful dress and
getting to spend the day with my favourite people. I loved the quiet moments I had with Kieron, straight
after the ceremony and when we got to go out on the boat for photos, it was so lovely having those quiet
moments to just enjoy together.

Your top tip / word of advice for other couples planning their wedding day?:

Cut your cake early and have it as an afternoon tea rather than after your evening meal - more people will
eat it and you won’t be going home with 3/4 of a cake, like we did - though no complaints, the cake was
delicious and fed me for lunch for weeks!