Winter Solstice Full Moon – A Wild Atlantic Wedding – Maeve & Shane

” Our wedding was totally us” .

We didn’t stop laughing all day. We danced, we laughed, we cried! Hotel Doolin and Grace Events created the perfect environment – we wanted it to be full of Winter Solstice magic – it was the shortest day of the year and the longest night! We enjoyed every minute of it. You could definitely tell it was a full moon too!

We loved the eco-barn idea at Hotel Doolin, though when we booked our wedding it was still just an idea! The concept really took our fancy – we liked that it was sustainable and unusual, and it was in our favourite place – County Clare!

Our wedding had to be fun and it had to reflect us and our personalities. We wanted everyone to have full bellies and sore feet from dancing. It was important to us that our wedding was unusual, good craic, totally us, but enjoyable for all. Everything we wore needed to be in keeping with our own style, and it was important to us that we made and created items such as the invitations, the table numbers, the flowers and the little details that make a wedding so personal. We wanted the wedding to feel like a midnight forest – a party under the stars filled with magic on the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is traditionally the start of the Celtic Calendar, used to mark the end of winter and the return of the sun and longer days – we wanted it to mark the start of our lives together. It’s traditionally celebrated with loved ones, feasting and fires, and that’s exactly what we had!

 

Our photographers Olga and Alex from Mrsredhead photography were so wonderful. Olga made everyone feel at ease and was so much fun to work with. There were only natural shots, and she really captured the essence of the day in Doolin! It was wild!

We were so happy with the experience on the day and with the photographs afterwards – we couldn’t recommend Mrs Redhead Photography enough!! We felt totally at ease and enjoyed every moment of it!

Our videographer, Alec was amazing too, we barely knew he was there with the videocamera, everything was so natural.

 

 

 

 

 

We know each other all our lives really.

Rachel, Shane’s sister was my best friend growing up, although Shane and I never really hung out until we were adults! When Rachel and I were living together with two other friends and Shane moved to Cork, we all spent a lot of time together. Shane would call up for dinner or games or chilling out in a onesie hungover. We finally got to know one another, and got to like each other. We played a lot of Words with Friends! One day, Shane joked to Rachel that he was going to ask me out as I was recently single. She said go for it, not thinking that he actually would!! On our first date, to the Cornstore in Cork, Shane was uncharacteristically nervous, unlike his usual confident self! We shared a huge Chateaubriand steak – a good sign, as I don’t usually share food!! We laughed all night, had a ball, and that was the beginning!

How did the proposal go, if there was one?

The build up to the proposal is a good story! Shane is an extremely good handyman so is always in demand with my parents. They asked Shane to come up one day to build a fake fire hydrant as my Mum Katherine needed one for an upcoming musical she was involved in. Shane was happily building away when my dad Brendan started asking him his intentions. Surrounded by styrofoam, Shane explained that he actually had a ring put away but wanted to have it in his hand before asking for my parents’ blessing. To his surprise and delight, my dad told him that they had always kept my granny Bridget’s ring for me and if he would like it, it was his with their blessing. They already considered him part of the family. Shane was absolutely delighted, and after seeing the ring and shaking hands with Brendan, he was promptly asked to go into the garage and saw off the legs off an old suitcase.

We got engaged on the beach in Doonbeg – Doughmore beach. We went in search of the swans that swim there where the fresh water meets the sea. We walked along the beach to where some surfers were. I was taking photos, and when I turned around, there was Shane on one knee, holding my granny’s ring. There were a lot of tears and plenty of champagne!!

 

 

 

Could you sum up your wedding in a couple of sentences – how would you describe the look and feel of the day, the vibe?

Our wedding was totally us. We didn’t stop laughing all day. We danced, we laughed, we cried! Hotel Doolin and Grace Events created the perfect environment – we wanted it to be full of Winter Solstice magic – it was the shortest day of the year and the longest night! We enjoyed every minute of it. You could definitely tell it was a full moon too!

What was important to you about your wedding – what were your priorities from the very beginning?

Our wedding had to be fun and it had to reflect us and our personalities. We wanted everyone to have full bellies and sore feet from dancing. It was important to us that our wedding was unusual, good craic, totally us, but enjoyable for all. Everything we wore needed to be in keeping with our own style, and it was important to us that we made and created items such as the invitations, the table numbers, the flowers and the little details that make a wedding so personal. We wanted the wedding to feel like a midnight forest – a party under the stars filled with magic on the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is traditionally the start of the Celtic Calendar, used to mark the end of winter and the return of the sun and longer days – we wanted it to mark the start of our lives together. It’s traditionally celebrated with loved ones, feasting and fires, and that’s exactly what we had!

What made your venue “the one”?

We loved the eco-barn idea at Hotel Doolin, though when we booked our wedding it was still just an idea! The concept really took our fancy – we liked that it was sustainable and unusual, and it was in our favourite place – County Clare!

What made the day really special and personal to you?

We included a lot of personal things – our friend Avril did the make up; our friends Wil, Patrick and Ashling provided the music at the ceremony; every one of our bridesmaids and groomsmen had an important role to play. Our mums lit unity candles, and our dads made speeches. Shane’s nephew Logan was our ring bearer.

Clara from Coastal Ceremonies made our ceremony incredibly beautiful and individual to us. She spent a long time getting to know us and personalising our ceremony, and was also funny, a pleasure to have involved!

Our photographers Olga and Alex were so wonderful. Olga made everyone feel at ease and was so much fun to work with. There were only natural shots, and she really captured the essence of the day in Doolin! It was wild!

The music provided by our band and DJ made sure that everyone was on the dance floor all night!

One thing that was really important to us was the braid used in the hand-fasting ceremony. The colour black, white and gold represented our three wonderful dogs, past and present, who we love very much.

Each speech given was so unique to the speaker and so personal to ourselves, there were lots of laughs and a few tears.

 

 

 

 

What advice would you give to other couples planning their day?

Do it your own way and for you! Pick what’s important to you and prioritise that, it’s your day. And it flies, enjoy it! Take some time for just the two of you. Don’t drink all the free prosecco. Avoid Riverdance at the end of the night – don’t fall and break both your wrists – especially if you are the groom.

Where did you go/are you planning on going on honeymoon? Would you recommend it?

We spent a few days in Venice for New Years after Christmas at home. It was a little awkward with two arms in two casts, but at least we weren’t going skiing! We watched fireworks on the private roof terrace of our hotel room – it was beautiful. We are planning our main honeymoon for June – Japan! We are so excited.

If you have any children or pets that feature a lot in your wedding images feel free to let us know who they are if you don’t mind them being mentioned if we use their photo.

 

● Photographer: Mrs Redhead Photography

Second shooter : Aleksanra Skibniewska

● Videographer: Luminaire Weddings

Celebrant : coastal ceremonies

● Wedding Dresses/Suits: Dress – Monsoon, Cape – amazon.co.uk, Suit – Marc Darcy from Suit Distributors

● Bridesmaids dresses/Groomsmen suits/Wedding party outfits: Dresses – Fever London, with shrugs from amazon.co.uk, suits – Marc Darcy from Suit Distributors

● Shoes: Irregular Choice

● Accessories: Jewellery – borrowed from bride and groom’s mothers, hair accessories from Crown and Glory.

● Flowers and boutonnieres: Paper flowers made from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (etsy), arranged into bouquets for bridesmaids by Maeve, and arranged into the bride’s gold ball bag (Asos) by Maeve

● Cake: Hotel Doolin

● Cars: Our own! – Fiat 500 Anniversario

● Wedding Favours: N/A

● Stationery: All handmade made by Maeve – (https://www.etsy.com/ie/shop/ClearEyeCreations – products coming soon/taking custom orders!) Two for Joy (two magpies) was part of our theme as there are two magpies living in a tree by our house – I handmade the invitations using multiple layers of handcut stencils. These images were then used for the menus and ceremony booklets. The table cards were all hand drawn (pencil, pen and watercolours) by Maeve, featuring animals such as our two dogs and wildlife from the area surrounding our home.

● Makeup: Avril O’Connell

● Hair: Hair by Laura, Miltown Malbay

● Wedding Rings: Diana O’Mahony Jewellers and Victoria’s Antiques (engagement ring a family heirloom)

● Ceremony/Reception Music: Our friends, Ashling Flynn, Wil Organ and Patrick Kirwan

● Band/DJ: Tongue in Chic and DJ Dan Savage

● Planning/Styling: Grace Events

● Rentals/Decor: Grace Events

● Anything else… The Lime – When we started going out an evil lime once wedged itself under the brake pedal in Maeve’s car, after that it became a feature in our lives, appearing out of nowhere… Maybe it is responsible for Shane’s broken wrists

 

 

 

 

Winter Solstice Full Moon Wild Atlantic Wedding

 

 

Winter Solstice Full Moon Wild Atlantic Wedding