22-04-2025
Fionnuala Jay on finding her vintage wedding dress for €300
Over the Easter weekend, TV presenter, podcaster and sustainable fashion influencer Fionnuala Jones shared photographs from her recent wedding to long-term partner, Cian Roche.
The Cork woman will have a family and friend-filled ceremony in her home county in the coming weeks, but the legalities were completed in Dublin's city hall, followed by a celebratory drink in Grogans.
The sustainably-minded influencer is known for sharing eco-friendly tips with her 67k Instagram following, encouraging fans to shop their wardrobes and revamp what they already have as much as possible.
Holding herself to account, even when it came to her wedding day, she sourced a vintage 1980s gown online for just €300 - without ever trying it on.
Sitting on a bus from Brisbane to Sydney following a week of solo travel in Australia, the podcaster used the time difference to her advantage by scrolling through the latest drops from international vintage accounts on Instagram, including Mill Street Vintage.
"The issue with vintage is that it runs small," she explains, recounting the story to her 34k TikTok followers. "It's so hard to find a traditional size 12, we'll say. The dress goes up and, lo and behold, it is my size. It's actually a little too big based on the measurements, and it's €300."
Originally, Jones planned on altering the dress to become shorter, removing the statement frill, but with the help of professionals at AL Bridal Couture in Dundrum, she managed to cinch the gown into fit her to perfection - frill and all.
Seamstress Audra managed to work around the delicate silk crepe material, fully encrusted with shimmery beads, rhinestones and pearls, to complete Jones's dream wedding dress, even creating a veil to match.
The incredible dress was paired with second-hand shoes from Depop, wedding rings from Dublin's Delphi Antiques, and flowers that were picked up from The Garden in Powerscourt that morning by the groom.
Determined to enjoy the day as much as possible, the beauty guru says she stuck with her tried and tested artists as much as possible.
When it came to her incredible pearl nail art - a design she had saved since 2017 - she popped down to Grace at Nail Art Club in Kildare the day before the ceremony.
Hair stylist Ciara Burke delivered soft curls, while Fionnuala banked on make-up artist Oksana Schelling to bring bridal glam ("we did no trial because I knew she would slay on the day").
With another wedding ceremony around the corner, Fionnuala hopes to celebrate her nuptials in a way that doesn't lead to excessive waste, particularly when it comes to her hen party.
"My hens are on strict instruction that the hen needs to be at least semi-sustainable," she told RTÉ Lifestyle. "I feel they [hen parties] can create such waste, so I'm trying to get people to keep that in mind when they're planning.
