Irish bride Keighley and her Londoner groom Jamie, live in the UK, but came home to Ireland for their gorgeous real wedding at Clonabreany House. Equal parts glamorous and laid-back (just *wait* until you see Keighley’s breath-taking dress!), we adore how this fun couple prioritised having a cracking celebration with their family and friends. That meant a firm focus on the food, the music, and making their ceremony as inclusive as possible, and thankfully Weddings by Jason was there to capture all the details.

Keighley tells us how she and Jamie originally met through work, “Jamie works in shop-fitting and I was at the time, responsible for opening new stores with the fashion retailer I work for, we were working on the same project in Brixton, London and on the first day on site Jamie made me a cracking cup of tea and we just hit it off.”

Very into this glamorous snakeskin shoe situation!

The couple got to know one another over the course of the project and eventually went out for drinks together after work, “The following day I was flying to Australia for work for two months and really thought that nothing more would come of it,” recalls Keighley. “However we kept in touch while I was away and on my arrival back to Heathrow, low and behold there was Jamie in the arrivals hall with a bunch of flowers and a welcome home Keighley sign! And the rest as they say is history.” Anyone else think this sounds like something straight out of a rom-com?

Jamie popped the question on New Year’s Eve 2017, though Keighley says that wasn’t really the plan, “We’d come home to Drogheda to spend New Year’s with my family, unbeknownst to me Jamie had been carrying the ring around in his pocket for days. We’d just had family dinner in my mum’s house and I went upstairs to get changed as we were going down to my local to ring in the new year with my friends,” she explains. “Jamie followed me upstairs and there, in my childhood bedroom got down on one knee, I actually have no idea what he said because I was so shocked I just kept laughing! It worked out perfectly though as we were able to tell all my family there and then and later that evening celebrate with my friends. It was hands down the best New Year's I’ve ever had.”

Keighley had seen her incredible dress on designer Eliza Jane Howell’s Instagram page and knew it was the one! “I knew Frilly Frocks in Drogheda stocked that designer so straight away got in touch with them to see if they could help. While the dress itself wasn’t one they stocked, they organised to have the sample sent over as part of a trunk show for me to try on! They encouraged me to try a few other just to make sure I was certain but it was definitely the one!”

I was already obsessed with the glamorous beading on Keighley's dress, and that was before I clocked this spectacular ostrich feather overskirt - she's ready for the Oscars!

Keighley wasn't the only one bringing the glam, just check out her fabulous mum and gorgeous bridesmaids in navy sequins - what a beautiful bunch!

“Laid back, rustic, glamour,” is how the couple describe the feel of their wedding, “We wanted our guests to be very involved and so set the tone with the ceremony that was warm, informal and inclusive. For the day overall, we wanted to have a relaxed vibe with a touch of luxury and a serious emphasis on family, friends, fabulous food and lots and lots of fun.”

The ceremony was a clear high point of the day for these two, “Not many of our guests has attended a humanist ceremony before and everyone has commented on how personal and inclusive it was. Our celebrant Philip was amazing and helped guide us in creating a ceremony that was reflective of us both as individuals and as a couple. We met with Philip three times over the course of a year which meant he had gotten to know us a bit and was able to reflect this in the ceremony. We spent a lot of time choosing readings that were meaningful to us both. We also tried to include everyone in our ceremony with a ring warming ceremony to begin and hand fastening before we said our ‘I Dos’. My mum and Jamie’s dad actually did the hand fastening while Jamie’s step-mum read a beautiful reading. We had a remembrance table with photos of our loved ones who couldn’t be with us on the day, particularly Jamie’s mum and my grandparents.”

With food and music as top priorities, this pair were never going to go far wrong in their wedding plans! “We both love our food and love nothing more than a great meal with family or friends, so from the offset we knew that food would play a big part in our day. Music also plays a big part in our lives so we wanted to make sure the music on the day was meaningful, reflective of us as a couple and certain to have everyone on the dance floor. But most importantly we wanted the day to be fun, we wanted people to enjoy themselves, let their hair down and celebrate with us!”

Clonabreany House was only the second venue the couple visited on their search, “From the minute we stepped out of the car we were blown away. Not another building could be seen for miles so it gave it an exclusive feel. The house itself has a very glamorous feeling without being overly formal so we knew it would suit the laid-back atmosphere we wanted to capture.”

There was one special detail that sold the venue for Jamie, “The black London cab parked out front, which they use to bring the bridal party to the ceremony room,” explains Keighley, "While we may of been getting married in my homeland it was the perfect nod to Jamie’s London roots.”

Immediately after they left their visit, they cancelled the other venue viewings booked Clonabreany straight away, "The team in Clonabreany are unbelievable, our coordinator Paulina took care of everything on the day so all we had to do was sit back and relax and enjoy our day! We honestly can’t thank the team in Clonabreany House enough, all our guests were so well looked after and blown away by the incredible service on the day.”

Keighley knew she wanted Weddings by Jason to photograph the the day as soon as she and Jamie got engaged, “I’ve known Jason for many years and have seen his talent as a photographer grow, I love his documentary style photography. He has such a relaxed and chilled energy while being incredibly passionate about what he does! He captured beautiful moments that we’d missed on the day while never being intrusive. We are so happy with the timeless images he captured and have a beautiful memento of the day thanks to him.”

We absolutely love the advice these newlyweds have to impart on other couples, “Honestly the best advice would be to relax and enjoy the day! The energy you bring to the day as the bride and groom will be reflected in your guests! Trust your suppliers, let them take care of business while you have fun! If the bride and groom are on the dance floor, so will everyone else! Planning can be overwhelming as there are so many suppliers etc, out there so take it one task at a time, we’d literally spend a week or two researching one thing then once we’d booked it move on to the next! Oh and try to take a few minutes to yourselves, pop off after dinner and have a couple of minutes of alone time.

The best man went above and beyond with a special surprise for the couple, “Our best man Shaun put together a slide show of photos from mine and Jamie’s childhood, right up to the day! Some of them were rather hilarious and definitely gave our guests a good laugh! Particularly a photo of Jamie in a Tottenham kit despite claiming to be a life long Arsenal fan.”

The couple had a minimoon in Ireland straight after the wedding, “We went to Killarney for a few days after the wedding and stayed at The Lake Hotel! It was gorgeous peaceful and perfect for a few days R&R after the whirlwind few days of the wedding itself! The staff were amazing and made us feel so special despite being one of a few newlywed couples there, no doubt they were all made to feel the same way! In February we travelled to Cape Town before heading to Nungwi on the Northern tip of Zanzibar!”

Thanks so much to Keighley and Jamie for sharing your day with us and to Weddings by Jason for capturing all the love! Visit the gallery below for a closer look at all the details.