Finding the wedding dress of your dreams is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to completing your bridal style. There are so many other fun wedding-related events you can plan looks for. From the engagement party and hen do to the civil ceremony and the rehearsal dinner, the day two and the honeymoon - weddings can be multi-event affairs, and we get tonnes of emails asking for advice about what to wear. Building a capsule of outfits that allows you to express your personal style and feel not only confident but absolutely fabulous will make the celebrations all the more unforgettable. 

To inspire your style choices, we ask stylish brides to share their sartorial secrets as part of our My Wedding Wardrobe series. We are so excited to shine a spotlight on the incredible bridal style of real bride Alison White; what she wore, how she wore it and where she sourced it. Let's go...

Bride Bio

Name: Alison White (Aherne Hurley)
Profession: Associate Director in Private Banking
From: Originally Clonakilty, West Cork. Currently Dublin.
Wedding Date: 15.08.2026
Wedding Venue: Tankardstown House, Co Meath
Honeymoon: We are planning to go to New York at the end of October, and then onto Barbados for some sun.

Let’s get to know our bride… Alison and her love Joe knew of each other from a distance for many years.

"We finally got together when I was 17, he was 18 on a night out in Clonakilty. One of the infamous Super Sundays in the Emmet Hotel. I remember dancing with him by chance and realising there was a spark. Later I saw him across the road while I was waiting for my burger and chips. I casually strolled over and asked if he would be so kind as to walk me home... Despite me living in town, a five-minute walk down the road. I knew it was a bit ridiculous to ask him, given how close I lived, but clearly he liked me too because he did so without hesitation, and here we are today."

The couple got engaged in France when they flew over for the Rugby World Cup in October 2023.

"We never made it to a game as we arrived after the quarter final we were knocked out at. We spent some time in Cannes and Monaco before returning to Paris to round out the trip. It was the most perfect day wandering around Saint Germain, shopping, having lunch in Cafe de Flore and enjoying some bubbles. I remember saying to Joe that it was the best day ever, and I didn’t even know what was to come. I had requested that we go to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up before dinner. We got there, saw it in all its glory and when I turned around Joe was on bended knee with the most beautiful ring in hand. It was perfect, exactly my dream ring and fit like a glove. He had taken a ring I always wear and measured where it stopped on his finger to figure it out.

"I was a mess instantly when I heard of all the little details leading up to the moment. I had gone to France a week before Joe to join my dad, and while I was away he had gone to visit my mom with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to ask her for her blessing as well. The fact that he had visited Appleby’s for my ring multiple times as well without me knowing... I never usually miss a trick so I was completely blown away by everything behind the scenes. We then went to Gigi for dinner and The Crazy Horse after - would highly recommend both. I was wearing a black dress belonging to my bridesmaid and best friend Alice, which was so special as well. It was all so perfect."

Alison loves all things fashion. From ASOS to Vestiaire Collective, she scrolls online stores as if they are the daily newspaper and she is always on Pinterest saving new finds. Her mum always had an eye for unique style and she used to dress her up in corduroy dungarees and pinafores with patterned tights when she was younger. It's a joke in her family that she used to get so annoyed by the outfits when she just wanted to wear what everyone else was wearing. It was in fact her introduction to personal style and she is very grateful to her mum for it.

She takes a lot of style inspiration from the Scandinavian and European girls on Instagram and she tries to keep her style classic but unique while adding a fun texture, print or pop of colour where she can.

"I think my personal style can fit into a few different genres so I wanted to make sure that came through in everything I wore for my wedding. I knew I wanted a classic wedding dress with a modern twist, so I wanted to make sure I had fun as well with some of the other pieces. As we were engaged for just under three years, there was a lot of inspo out there and I had so much time to think about what to wear for each event. Sometimes it was overwhelming with the amount of choice out there, but I definitely did have that moment for each outfit of knowing instantly it was the one. I had so much fun with all of it and tried to make every little event a bit of an occasion."

They had their green book appointment at the end of March and they celebrated after with dinner and drinks in Comet & Row Wines. The stylish bride planned her look around the white fur gilet that she had bought in the Zara Christmas sale. It was the perfect occasion to debut it! She styled it with white jeans from Zara, a Topshop sheer funnel neck top and white ALAÏA mesh pumps.

Alison came across her floral shorts from Selezza London during her many hours of scrolling online. She purchased them without an outfit in mind and ultimately thought they could be super fun to wear for the hen party. She pictured herself wearing them with a white blouse or crop T-shirt but her fiancé had a different plan.

He had a personalised tank top made for her and it stole the show. It was inspired by the top that Emma Canning, who is the wife of Scottish rugby player Finn Russell, had worn for her hen.

"We are obsessed with rugby in my house so I remember showing Joe her T-shirt saying, 'If lost please return to Finn Russell'. Obviously the rugby link caught his attention because he presented me with my own, 'If lost please return to Joey White', the week of my hen! It was a COS tank top that he got embroidered somewhere on Henry Street - perfect to go with my shorts."

She completed the look with heart-shaped sunnies and a pair of never-worn Aquazzura heels that she found on Vestiaire Collective - they were a brilliant bridal buy!

The house they were staying at had a pool and her loved ones gave her 'Bride' togs while she got caps for everyone. She wore a white cap which said 'Wife of the Party' while theirs were pink with 'The Party' on them. What a fab idea.

She fell in love with this Aje piece after she saw it on the runway and she stalked their website to see when it was going to be released.

"Again it was the case of not knowing exactly what I wanted for my hen, but I instantly falling in love with the dress. It was finally released in April and I was still obsessed so I knew I really loved it. Luckily again, my best friend and bridesmaid Evie had a cousin coming over to Ireland from Australia around that time so she kindly popped it in her suitcase for me."

The couple made things official with a legal ceremony with their immediate family the week before the big wedding. It was so special as they tied the knot in Cork where they are from with their dear friends as their celebrant. The bride wowed in a contemporary co-ord boasting fab fringe detailing.

"This was dress number three I had bought for this occasion. I wanted something different to the suit vibe people tend to go for at civil weddings. I very nearly wore the Aje ruffle dress until I came across a two piece by Ulla Johnson - it was more casual and beachy, and a heavy knit material so not exactly right for the occasion. It did however give me the inspiration for what I did want. I then reverse image searched it and found this on Innovare Denim which I had never heard of. I read a few reviews which were hit and miss so I was unsure what would arrive, or if it even would. It ended up arriving in three days and I loved it instantly. I do try to stay away from super fast fashion, but made an exception in this case and I am glad I did. I loved it so much."

The bride accessorised with earrings from CROÍA Jewellery which are the same ones she bought for her bridesmaids for the wedding. She adores her Magda Butrym heels and while they were about a half size too small they were the last pair in stock so she powered through on the day. She also wore Chanel sunglasses which were perfectly suited for both wedding days.

Joe drew inspiration from Callum Turner's civil ceremony look and he was effortlessly dapper wearing a suit from Hunter Treacy on Merrion Square in Dublin.

The night before the wedding they enjoyed an intimate dinner with their families and bridal party at College Hill House in Slane and they were joined by wider family and friends later for drinks that evening to kick off the celebrations.

The bride wanted to wear something fun and while she loved the idea of a feathered bridal dress she felt it would give of a winter vibe. When she spotted a raffia fringe Aje dress online she knew it was the perfect summery take on the trend.

"It was out of stock on the EU Aje website but in stock on the Australian website. I knew that my mother-in-law’s brother was coming over from Australia to the UK in the following few weeks so I asked him if at all possible could he bring it over for me and he very kindly agreed. My mother-in-law was then in the UK and brought it the final stretch over to Ireland. It seemed like a lot of movement for a dress at the time, but I am so glad we all made it work because it is one of my favourite dresses ever. I paired it with vintage never-worn blue floral Manolo Blahniks from Vestiaire Collective and gold floral earrings I found in a vintage jewellery shop in Amsterdam in June."

For as long as as she can remember, Alison was always obsessed with the idea of her wedding day. Fun fact: she has been curating her Pinterest board since she was about 14! The wedding dress of her dreams was elegantly classic, she was utterly breathtaking.

"One of my favourite movies growing up was The Parent Trap, and the song from the wedding photoshoot scene was my favourite song - so I always knew I wanted the full skirt, princess type dress. One of the very first dresses I tried on was the Lucky dress by Kyha, which made me fall in love with the drop waist. From then I knew that was the style I wanted. I spent from April to July nearly pulling the trigger on the Kyha dress but then came across the Charlotte dress by Jenny Yoo. It is very similar but a little shorter of a drop waist and more ruching on the bodice which suited my body shape a little better."

The glowing bride wore the Lotta ruched tulle heels by Jimmy Choo for their Tankardstown House celebration with trio climber earrings from Australian brand By Lucia and her 'something blue' was a necklace from Loulerie. The sweetest finishing touch came courtesy of her husband who gifted her a beautiful tennis bracelet from Diamonds Factory on the morning of the wedding which drew all the compliments!

The groom embraced Gatsby flair with his elegant tux from Louis Copeland & Sons while the bridesmaids wore black scoop neck dresses from Maison Armory.

She wanted a glitzy dress to dance the night away in which still suited the black-tie dress code. She dazzled in a champagne rhinestone maxi dress by Self-Portrait adorned with delicate lace.

"This was actually the last dress I bought. I think I saw it on the Instagram page Little White Looks and swiped up straight away. I showed my mom and it was an instant yes. I love the pictures of us coming down the stairs - I changed right after our first dance so we were ready to party!"

The celebrations continued the next day with a BBQ at Tankardstown House with epic entertainment from Conor Clinch and DJ & Sax which firmly shook off the hangovers. Alison concluded her wedding style on a magical ethereal note wearing the 3D floral Deia gown by Anna Kara with gold leaf and pearl earrings by luxury Irish bridal accessories designer Lori Muldoon that her mum gifted her.

"This dress a bit of a fluke find. I was wedding dress shopping in The Suite and when picking out dresses to try on I came across it. I remember Tara from The Suite remarking that it was completely different to all the others I picked out - they were all full skirt wedding dresses - but I just knew I wanted to try it on. The second I tried it on we all knew I NEEDED to have it. It was a wedding dress with a longer trail and I knew it wouldn’t be my actual wedding dress but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. We were going to check with the designer to see if we could get it made into a midi or mini - but thought better of it as we would then lose all the gorgeous flower details. Tara emailed me the week after to say it was going into sample sale if I wanted it and I bought it straight away. I didn’t have my main wedding dress or anything else but I was obsessed. We got it hemmed a little and it was perfect.

"It’s probably the most special piece in my wardrobe. People have messaged me already to ask if they can buy it but I am keeping it forever and hopefully will make it into christening gowns for our future children if we are lucky enough to have them."

"Take your time searching through inspiration that feels authentic to your own style & have fun with it. There are some amazing pieces on Vestiaire Collective that can be found for a fraction of the original price."

A very special thank you to our sensational bride Alison. You can see even more pictures in the gallery below.

Check out the other instalments of our My Wedding Wardrobe series including Designer Jennifer Wrynne's Elegant LWDs & Zuhair Murad Gown and Jessie Willis's 3D Florals & Princess Diana–Inspired Ceremony Look.