Maeve & Aidan are secondary school sweethearts from Dublin, who planned their gorgeous Clonwilliam House wedding from their adopted home in New York. Using 'rustic glamour' as the guiding phrase for their day, the couple created just that, with elegant style (Maeve's dress is just beautiful!), romantic decor, and lots of fun DIY touches (Tayto sandwich kits - yes please!). The talented Chris Copeland shared these beautiful pictures of their real wedding, and make sure you read this pair's proposal story too - let's just say Aidan is one smooth sailor!
Maeve & Aidan met in fourth year in secondary school, “We’re highschool sweethearts as the Americans would say. Our friendship developed over MSN messenger, which led to texting on our mom’s Nokias (it was that long ago that we didn’t have our own phones) and finally some chatting on the phone."
It wasn't until over a year later, when the 'will they, won't they' finally came to a head, as Maeve explains, "The summer before 6th year, U2 played a sold-out gig in Slane Castle and Aidan secretly gave me one of his tickets. We went with separate groups of friends and managed not to cross paths the whole day (a mobile phone would have come in handy back then)! The gig was in such demand that U2 put on a second date the following weekend. With a lot of our friends at the concert, a bunch of us headed to Temple Bar, that night the long courtship finally culminated in our first kiss on September 1, 2001. The rest is history!”
While Maeve and her sisters were getting ready upstairs in the bridal suite, “the men” endeavoured in a little clay pigeon shooting right in front of Clonwilliam House. They could hear the laughing and shouting from inside the house, being so close but also keeping our distance created a real sense of suspense and excitement. Our fathers and Maeve’s little brother (who is only 12) also got stuck in, it was so lovely to hear them having so much fun together.” explained Aidan.
Aidan tells us that he and Maeve decided to have a 'first look' before the ceremony, “Since it was raining we had to do it inside but we couldn’t think of a better setting than the entrance hall in Clonwilliam. The dress was a huge deal for Maeve and she searched Manhattan high and low for “the one”. We really enjoyed having the “reveal” with just the two of us. It’s so hard to find time to have personal moments together on the day so it was so nice to get one in before things kicked off. It also relieved a lot of the pressure for the ceremony and we were really able to be present.”
Aidan tells us about the proposal - and all of the planning that went into it! “Maeve had been obsessed with a particular (antique and extremely rare) ring for some time, which was for sale in Dublin, but was unfortunately sold before I could get his hands on it. After months of searching for a comparable ring (quite literally ALL over the US, UK and Ireland), the decision was made that a similar ring would have to be created from scratch, with an antique diamond (also quite tricky to come by!). As such, Maeve had been involved with the recreation of this ring, and the imminent proposal was fairly well telegraphed. I also wanted to have ‘the ring’ to propose with… maybe a little old fashioned.”
Aidan was a man with a plan, he still wanted to surprise Maeve with the proposal, “In order to maintain some level of mystery around the proposal, I had to create quite a complicated charade, involving jewellers, sailors and some close friends who would all have to collaborate to create the element of surprise the day of the proposal.” So far, so intriguing!
Aidan tells us about his plan, “When we moved to New York, we lived in the West Village and had spent a lot of time running and enjoying ourselves on Manhattan’s West Side by the Hudson – the best place to take in stunning New York sunsets. The idea was to charter a sailboat and propose in New York harbour, with Lady Liberty and the cityscape as a backdrop, having sailed down the Hudson river. That way, once she’d (hopefully!) said yes, we’d be able to sail back up the Hudson, with my stunning wife to be and a beautiful sunset. But how to get Maeve out on a boat without her being suspicious?” says Aidan.
Maeve tells us about how she was conned, “Aidan concocted quite a fiction (including a creatively deceptive email) about being invited out on a Hudson boat cruise with another couple, who liked sailing and were in on the scheme. They also had a family member visiting, so the story was that it would just be the five of us on the boat.”
Aidan picks up the story, “To convince Maeve this was not likely a ruse, I had already had the jewellers extend the ‘delivery date’ of the ring to a few weeks later and conspired with the crew of the boat to play along with the story too. When we arrived at the dock, a few dummy cancellation texts arrived to say that the others could not join us, but that we should go ahead and enjoy the boat, as cancellations this late would not be refunded. The crew quickly set sail and before we knew it, we were sailing down the Hudson, drinking wine and enjoying enough food for five people.”
Aidan knew he'd I knew I’d gotten away with the caper, when Maeve turned around a few minutes in and exclaimed how it would have been a great opportunity to propose… little did she know!
"It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time, with the drinks flowing – eventually the crew suggested they would drop the sails and that we enjoy the view of the harbour up the front of the boat. The ring had been stashed in a camera bag and I took it out and headed up to the front of the boat, leaving the crew members to take some photos of us enjoying the view. Maeve said she suspected something when we got to the bow of the boat and I gave her a weird hug (I guess the nerves and the awkward bobbing of the boat).
When I dropped down on one knee and produced the ring – instead of answering with a simple, yes or no (god forbid!)… she answered – “is that it, is that the real ring? But how did you get it” – she then went on to try and make sure if didn’t fall into the water… before finally steadying herself and saying ‘Yes’! Mission accomplished and we had the most enjoyable trip home, watching the sun go down, floating back up the river.” says Aidan. Ahh! We love it when a plan comes together!
Maeve says she and Aidan went for a sort of 'rustic glamour' feel for their day, “The whole day was just magical! We both appreciate design and a polished aesthetic but in the end of the day we are both laid back and love a warm welcoming atmosphere. The juxtaposition of chandeliers and stables in Clonwilliam summed this up perfectly! The day was highly anticipated since we’ve been together for so long and you could feel this energy on the day. It was a reunion of sorts for many of our school friends that hadn’t seen each other for years and everyone had so much fun!”
Maeve tells us about one of her highlights on the day, “When I arrived at the church she was greeted by my niece Aifric. She looked so beautiful in her little flower girl ensemble and they shared the most wonderful embrace at the door. It’s one of my fondest memories of the day and made her feel like a real-life princess! Our photographer Chris captured it so beautifully.”
The ceremony itself was another high point for the bride and groom, “Aidan’s best man’s brother, Jeremy who also lives in NYC, provided amazing singing during the ceremony. I have a bit of an Adele obsession and Jeremy’s version of 'When We Were Young' brought lots of happy tears and was an amazing backdrop to my procession up the aisle. We were married by Aidan’s cousin, Father Tom Hayes, and he performed such a wonderful ceremony. One of his most ingenious suggestions was to continue our walk up the aisle to the altar to light the candles, and to then come back down the other side. Everyone said that my dress was sparkling the whole time. With Jeremy continuing to sing Adele for the duration, it made for a wonderful entrance!” gushes Maeve.
With big families, the couple needed to find the right venue for their long guestlist, “My dad is from a family of 14 children and Aidan’s mom is one of eight! We both grew up in Dublin but our families primarily come from and still live close to Kerry and Derry. It was really important for us to include as many family and friends as possible, so size and location of the venue were key. The venue needed to be large enough to accommodate the guest list but we also wanted something intimate that we could put our own stamp on.” Maeve explained.
Guests were wined and dined from the moment they arrived at Clonwilliam House, “Maeve is always starving when she gets to a wedding reception so we also wanted to borrow from the American “cocktail hour” concept and have lots of food when the guests arrived at the venue. Flexibility regarding the catering was also a top priority.” says Aidan.
It was also important to have a venue where the couple at their guests could celebrate into the night, "We love a good party and we are usually some of the last standing! We figured our own wedding would be no exception. We decided to skip a day two event and put all our energy into the one day, so we wanted somewhere we could keep the party going into the wee hours.”
Planning their wedding from New York, the couple crammed their venue visits on a short trip home, "We did a huge amount of internet research in advance (thanks OFD) but still felt a bit like Goldilocks when we went to visit the venues. The last venue we saw was Clonwilliam, as we ascended the drive we could tell it was something special. We had enlisted the help of Maeve’s little sister Aimee that day and we practically had to escort her off the property! She is only 15 but decided that Clonwilliam is where she is going to get married and didn’t mind if we did too! She wanted us to book it so much she offered to lend us all her savings!" said Aidan. Too cute!
The fact that lots of other couples living abroad had held their weddings in Clonwilliam was reassurance for Maeve & Aidan, “Miriam (the owner of Clonwilliam) was also a huge factor, she had worked with a lot of couples who live abroad and was happy to help us plan the day. She also has such fab style and even provides a lot of the décor so that is also a big help. Miriam is amazing at what she does, she thinks of everything and really made us feel so special. We couldn’t have done it without her. The deal was sealed when Miriam described Clonwilliam as a “rustic glamour” feel– the exact phrase that Maeve had thought she coined for her wedding theme!”
Maeve's bridesmaids wore beautiful muted mix and match dresses.
Despite all the rain, he couple didn't let it dampen their spirits, "Another memory captured which we actually forgot about was the bus load of Indian tourists that piled into the church when most people had left. We took a lot of selfies with them and they were all so sweet and congratulated and wished us well, it was so unexpected! It was such a wet start to the day, one of Maeve’s cousin’s predicted Umbrella by Rihanna for the first dance.” says Aidan.
How incredibly beautiful is the reception space? It's like a wonderland!
Because the couple fed their guests at the cocktail hour, they left out the starter from the main meal, “Naomi’s Kitchen which provides the catering for Clonwilliam was also happy to incorporate an “abundance of canapes” in place of a starter for the reception. Everything started falling into place and we knew it was “the one”.” Maeve tells us.
Aidan tells us about Maeve's many wedding DIY projects, “Maeve is one for the details and it was so nice to be surrounded by her crafting skills on the day. She made the arrow that was on one of our wedding cakes and herself and her friend in New York made the tissue paper flowers that went behind the stage, they even had battery tealights in them that flickered! She also made Tayto sandwich kits for the guests to take-away at the end of the night. Together we made these little wedding scorecards that double up as everyone’s place name. We loved reading these when we got back to New York after the wedding, some people wrote the funniest things! A lot of people seem to think we will have lots of redhead babies! Another person’s highlight was touching Maeve’s polka dot veil!
We asked Aidan and Maeve what advice they'd give to other couples, and here's what they had to say, “We’d say don’t be scared to do something a little different but at the same time talk to your family and listen to their suggestions. We got a lot of great advice from our families while planning the wedding. Our photographer also advised against phones during the ceremony and it did make a huge difference being able to make eye contact with people as we walked up and down the aisle. It also made for some better photographs to remember the day by as you can see everyone’s faces not their phones!”
Some of these masks are scary enough to reuse for Halloween, eh?!
Maeve does have one regret from the day, “We didn’t get a videographer but would advise to get a friend to film the ceremony and the speeches. This is something we meant to do but forgot! It all goes by so fast we would have loved to have had these videos to relive some of the memories.”
The couple had a mini-moon straight after their wedding, “We went straight to the Amalfi coast after the wedding and had a fantastic few days. We really put our feet up and just chilled. We stayed in Positano and Capri which are both gorgeous and well worth the visit. We are still planning a longer trip and thinking of going to Uruguay this November.”
Huge thanks to Chris Copeland for sharing these amazing images with us! Aidan and Maeve, we're so glad you shared your gorgeous wedding with us, wishing you all the best in your lives back in New York!
The Wedding Details
- Ceremony: The Church of St. Mary and St. Patrick, Avoca, Co Wicklow
- Photographer: Chris Copeland
- Wedding Dress: Suzanne Neville
- Bridesmaids dresses: Jenny Yoo & TK Maxx
- Shoes: Kate Spade
- Flowers: Les Fleurs
- Groom’s suit: Armani & Hackett
- Groomsmen's suits: The Formal Suite
- Accessories: Earrings - C.M. Weldon / Bracelet - Rhinestones
- Cake: Gift Cakes (arrow made by the bride)
- Cheese and Charcuterie Boards: Sheridan’s Cheesemongers
- Tayto Sandwich Kits: Made by the bride
- Stationery: Minted.com
- Make Up & Hair: Kate Rose Crean & Michelle O’Halloran
- Wedding Bands: Neil Conway Jewellers
- Ceremony Music: Jeremy Crothers
- Reception Band: The Bentley Boys
