Today's real wedding is a great example of the virtue of being true to yourself. Claire & Matt had a simple approach for their beautiful Burtown Gardens Wedding: to formulate a wedding plan that felt unique to them as a couple. They wanted something a bit different, with the focus on great food and fun, getting rid of any traditions that didn't work for them and maximising the personal touches. Their celebration was for 60 guests, so it shows how amazing a smaller wedding can be, without losing any of the atmosphere or fun. It's all about thinking through the day and how to make it as enjoyable as possible for you and your guests. We're delighted to share their unique celebration with lovely imagery by Aidan Beatty.
Claire and Matt are truly a tale of modern love - the couple met on Tinder! Though Claire is quick to add, that they do have a mutual friend, so there was a certain inevitability about their meeting. After that first date, the couple were inseparable and it wasn't long before it became clear that this was the real deal.
But while they were rock solid as a couple, the proposal still came as a complete surprise as Claire explained... "I had just come home from my last day at work, before the Christmas break – still wearing my Christmas jumper, may I add – and Matt had our entire living room decorated with hundreds ofpolaroid photos (hung from bunting) of all our trips and memorable moments from over the years, dozens of candles were lit around the room and a huge heart-shaped poster designed on the wall with the big question, ‘Will you marry me?’ printed on it. As I was trying to take it all in, he got down on one knee, asked the question and we popped the bubbly. It was a huge surprise for me but it was the best proposal I could have ever wished for. It was so lovely celebrating it in our own home, just the two of us and our little dog, before we then shared the news with everyone else (just wish I wasn’t still wearing the knitted Christmas jumper - which got very hot in my moment of shock!)."
Although they're both from Dublin, the couple now live in Wicklow, and when they decided to look for a wedding venue, it turned out their perfect location was just down the road... "I actually came across Burtown in a One Fab Day article, ‘New Wedding Venues in Ireland for 2019’, and fell in love with the rustic barn vibe. When we went to see the venue in person, we knew straight away that we would be getting married there, in the little courtyard. The gardens were just beautiful and we loved the idea of the ‘Farm to Fork’ menu (most of the food and beef on the menu at Burtown House & Gardens is grown/raised on site) for our meal in the rustic barn. It was perfect for us. The venue also has converted stables on-site, which allows the bride to get ready at the venue. So the decision was made, and the perfect stage was set...
The couple were very conscious of wanting to put their own stamp on every element of the day and not being traditional or "the norm" and their choice of wedding outfits is a wonderful representation of their personal style shining through... The wedding dress was found at a little boutique in Naul, Co. Dublin, called Riostyled. It was designed by a Turkish designer and was bought as a once-off by Riostyled, making the dress a one-of-a-kind in Ireland. The dress was originally strapless and needed some other minor alterations, so I had contacted bridal designer Aideen Cross to help make the right alterations to the dress for me.
"Matt was set on wearing a burgundy coloured suit for our wedding and luckily enough, we were able to find the right one at Detail Menswear in Carlow, along with Matt’s shoes, shirt, tie, pocket square and cufflinks. The team there were very helpful in assisting us to put Matt’s outfit together." Together they make such a gorgeous pair, and perfectly in tune with the laidback relaxed and rustic theme of their wedding.
We always knew that we wanted a laid-back, intimate ceremony followed by a party with our nearest and dearest. We had less than 60 people in attendance and opted for no bridesmaids/groomsmen or any other wedding party (which came as a surprise to the many people who had asked us!). We felt that a smaller, more intimate wedding best suited what we wanted and allowed us to enjoy the run up to the big day more and on the day itself. It was basically a no-fuss celebration of us!
The couple chose to make their vows in a humanist ceremony solemnised by Aine O'Connor.
Special decorative touches were an essential part of making Claire and Matt's wedding truly personal, they went to a lot of effort, thinking about look and feel of the day, the flow of the event and how to make it unique for their guests. Claire told us about some of the elements they created... "We tried to make what we could for a more personal and rustic touch. We made our own wooden ‘welcome’ signs, using 3D printed text, and hand-made easels. We also made some outdoor games such as giant-Jenga and cornhole, to keep the children entertained. We left an Instax camera out for our guests to take photos and replace their names (hung on a cork-board that we had made, ‘shake it like a polaroid picture’). It’s lovely having the little polaroid photos of all our guests now and they could take photos away themselves for a keepsake too.
Matt’s sister-in-law, Aoife, is a beekeeper and kindly provided us with fresh honey, which we potted and personalised using stickers from our wedding stationery. Our guests loved that the pure honey was from Dunlavin, which is by us.
And then there were the Alpacas! We had two Alpacas come and join in on our celebrations! AlpacaJoe from K2 Alpacas was very helpful in organising these furry-guests, which were a huge surprise for our guests and loved by everyone of all ages. They came shortly after the ceremony and even came dressed up for the occasion!
We had coloured smoke bombs (in pink, so it was in keeping with our wedding theme) and confetti cannons for our first dance. Well, half-way through our first dance; we had a slow song start off and then we had Macklemore’s ‘Can’t hold us’ kick in half-way through, to kick off the party in style along with the confetti cannons.
So having been through it, what do these two think couples planning their weddings should do, especially at the present moment? Claire gave us some very clear advice... "Don’t listen to anyone else’s opinion – it’s your big day. It’s a celebration of your love for each other and your new life as a married couple, so plan your day around what makes you two happy and everything else will fall into place! "
