It took us no time at all to fall in love with today's real wedding, an effortlessly chic and hopelessly romantic celebration of love and family at Dunbrody House, planned all the way from the the other side of the globe. Juliet (Jet) and Michael (Mikey), an Irish couple living in Melbourne, Australia, wanted an intimate wedding at home, which meant planning the whole thing from 10,000 miles away! They took a huge leap of faith in organising the whole wedding from abroad but with the couple's great planning skills and lots of help from family and friends, it paid off enormously as you'll see in these heart-stopping images by Kevin Kheffache Photography.

Bride Jet originally hails from Wexford and Groom Mikey from Kilkenny, and the pair are currently based in Melbourne Australia. We asked how this lovely couple met, “Although we met originally at Meitheal Leadership camp in Sept 2004 we really didn’t pay much attention to each other then, it was on Stephen’s Night when we were in 6th year in school when we first got together,” Jet tells us.

Mikey proposed while on what Jet thought was going to be a camping weekend away! ”Mikey and I planned a weekend away camping over a long weekend in Melbourne. I packed up the car to the brim with everything we needed for camping from washing up liquid, to fold up table and chairs – and made Mikey help me do it, him knowing all along we weren’t going camping at all.”, Jet remembers.

“We first went to do our favourite hike in Melbourne. When we got to the lookout, pretended to take a photo of me looking at the view, when I turned around he was down on one knee! It was very difficult to scale back down the mountain shaking and crying! We went straight to a spa for a weekend away. All I had packed was camping gear so he had really thoughtfully packed a second bag for me with a beautiful new dress and shoes for me to wear to dinner that weekend.” Sounds like a perfect proposal!

We are head over heels in love with Jet’s Katie Yeung wedding dress, which she found at an Australian boutique. Comprising a fitted, geometric gown and tulle overlay, it's a straight-up showstopper! She paired it with a romantic veil and pretty bag, which were her something borrowed.

Her bridesmaids also looked incredible in their mis-matched dusty pink styles which paired together perfectly. “My bridesmaid both bought their own dresses, one from Harvey Nicolas in London, and the other bought hers in Berlin – we put them together for the first time on the morning of the wedding!”

Once Jet & Mikey sat down for their initial wedding-planning chat, it became clear that they had the same priorities for the day, “family and friends, great food and drinks and a great band.” Jet also adds, “We always wanted the ceremony to be intimate and personal to us.”

The couple tell us that they fell in love with Dunbrody Country House Hotel as it ticked all the right boxes for them. “It had a homey feel, was intimate and just for us, the food was amazing and we knew our guests would be looked after.”

Reminiscing, the couple tells us that the big day was perfect with, “sun splitting the trees, surrounded by our nearest and dearest, and after what was an absolutely whirlwind, it was a very calm and happy vibe.”

The pair had an enviable wedding planning team behind them made up of some incredibly talented family and friends! Mikey’s Mum Kitty and Jet’s Mum Noreen created their beautiful cake, music was by their pal Cian, hair was by Jet’s friend Katie, and their stationery and signage was by another talented friend, Cait. Mikey’s brother Richie also stayed up the whole night before the wedding making 10 loaves of sourdough bread, including rye, walnut, raisin, to pair with cheese from Sheridans Cheese for midnight munchies!

Jet was happy to share some post-wedding advice for us to pass onto engaged couples (especially those planning an Irish wedding from abroad!). “Don’t fly home from Australia one week beforehand!”. She also adds, “if there are things on your to do list you haven’t completed 2 days before the wedding, scratch them off because you’ll never have this chance again so soak it and everyone around you in those days.”

For their honeymoon, the couple had planned a honeymoon to New Zealand which was cancelled due to Covid, so instead they went on a mini-moon road trip in Ireland. “We did have the most beautiful trip to Clonakilty and on to the Europe Hotel whilst at home, Jet says. “Which I highly recommend for some rest and relaxation, and incredibly comfy beds!”

These guys seemed to have an absolute ball on their big day! At this point, we have to say thanks so much to Jet and Mikey for sharing their wedding with us, and to Kevin & Annie from Kevin Kheffache Photography for providing the gorgeous imagery. You'll find more photographs from their day in the gallery below.