From the bride making her own wedding dress to having their children stand next to them as they exchanged their vows, Eavan & Barry's real wedding was a unique family-filled affair full of the sweetest personal touches. For this happy couple, nothing could be sweeter than taking such an important step together with all their children around them, so they planned a heartfelt and handmade, sensory-friendly wedding ensuring their little boy Mikey could soak up all the festivities without sensory overload. Their day took place at Camus Farm, a glorious rustic location on the grounds of a family-run organic farm with a 200-year-old history which was the perfect spot to bring their wedding dreams to life. Their relaxed, festival-style, family-focused wedding complete with an outdoor ceremony and glamping captured by Sarah Kate Photography will have you wishing you were invited! Get ready to fall in love with this gorgeous family on their special day.
Lovers of music, Bride Eavan is an alternative rock songwriter and groom Barry is a sound engineer, the pair first met when they both returned to college to study music as mature students at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa. They ended up playing in a band together, fell head over heels for each other and the rest, as they say, is history!
We need to take a moment to discuss the bride's incredible wedding dress. Eavan not only designed, but also hand-knit her wedding dress in pieces over the space of 3 months and lovingly stitched it all together to ensure it was ready for her big day. What a talent!
If you love her personal, hand-knit wedding dress as much as we do, check out her Instagram account @handknit_wedding_dress where the bride-to-be documented the entire design process. Once completed, she paired her precious creation with a silk underdress designed and made by Carolyn O’Sullivan from Not Another White Dress.
The end result was a gorgeous ethereal dress featuring bell sleeves and a rainbow-effect skirt with delicate beaded embellishment. "The dress was the starting point I hand knitted my own dress, and the colours of that were a starting point for everything else. We wanted it to feel casual and festive. It really came together in an eclectic unplanned way. My bridesmaids are both artists and they were a massive help with making all the choices. The florist did bouquets and a boutonniere - they were fab and really tied the whole look together beautifully!"
The bride's Uncle Jim drove Eavan to the wedding in his retro VW bus. "He and his wife Siobhan put so much work into decorating it and adding lovely personal touches! They had gorgeous decorations inside and out."
When it came to planning their day, Eavan and Barry tell us that "family was the biggest priority." They add, "we have two children, one of whom is autistic, so it was really important that the day was relaxed and fun, and as low pressure as possible. We wanted everyone to feel welcome and relaxed."
What an adorable entourage! Their mini bridal party consisted of their son Mikey, their daughter Heather and Barry’s niece Alice, as well as VIP pooch Lynn.
"Our dog Lynn is super special - she is an autism assistance dog for our son Mikey. We were matched with her by the charity Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland. We would not have gotten married at all if it wasn’t for Lynn. Having her join our family gave us the safety and confidence to be able to go out and do more things as a family, which eventually led to us feeling confident enough to finally book our wedding."
"Lynn was such an important part of our wedding preparation and the day itself. Before we had Lynn there were many places we couldn’t access. She gave us the safety, freedom, and confidence to start doing lots of things together as a family. That gave us the confidence to then go ahead and book our wedding at long last! AADI provide fully trained and legally certified autism assistance dogs to autistic children and their families. It costs 22,000 euro to train each dog and they are provided free of charge and with excellent ongoing support. We love Lynn so much and she was definitely a big hit with everyone on the day of the wedding!"
100 of Eavan and Barry's nearest and dearest gathered to watch the pair say 'I do' in a gorgeous outdoor ceremony.
The couple had their friend Graham play P.S. You Rock My World by Eels during the ceremony, a part of their day they fondly remember.
"Relaxed and natural, with a splash of colourful festival vibes" was the overall vibe that the couple wanted on the day and boy, did they nail it! Eavan also says their day consisted of "eating great food, surrounded by family and friends in a really beautiful chilled out venue in the summer sunshine, and later dancing to a mix of trad and gypsy jazz." Sounds perfect!
When it came to choosing the perfect venue for their relaxed, rustic celebration, the couple immediately knew Camus Farm would be the spot. Eavan knew the venue and owner Deborah, who she had met at a songwriting workshop back in 2009. The bride tells us more, "that workshop gave me the push I needed to go study music as a mature student. That’s where Barry and I met! I have attended a few art and craft workshops at Camus Farm since then over the years."
"We fell in love with Camus Farm when we visited and knew right away that it was the right choice. It’s so beautiful! There are gorgeous old stone buildings, a ceremonial circle with dramatic views of the surrounding countryside and ocean, and a world class restaurant. More than anything else though it’s the people that make it so special. The owners Deborah and Vic and their team of staff, are so warm and dedicated - you can tell they put their heart and soul into their work and they really wanted us to have a fantastic day."
Deborah from Camus Farm provided lots of extra little touches to ensure that the day was a comfortable and enjoyable experience for all. This included sensory-friendly wedding measures such as sensory treats and a sun shade for the kids, as well as a quiet space for breastfeeding and downtime for parents and kids.
How gorgeous are these portraits by photographer Sarah Kate Murphy? A supplier that the couple speak very highly of, "it felt like having a friend who we’d known for years, we were just so comfortable with her and she was such craic. She was so warm and thoughtful, great with the kids and the oldies alike and a beautiful creative person. I will be recommending her glowingly to everyone who will listen for years to come. We have already done another photoshoot together for my music since, and hope to continue to work together in future!"
We still can't get over that dress!
After the Camus Farm celebrations, the couple and their guests stayed at the glamping site Mountain Forge Escape, "we also had Pitched Perfect put extra bell tents for rent there for our guests. Conor and Ber who run Mountain Forge were just amazing, the place was amazing. The craic the night of the wedding and on day two was mighty altogether, we loved it so much, and so did all our guests!"
Reflecting back on their day, the couple have this advice for those planning their weddings, "pick good professional people and trust them to do their job well rather than trying to sort out every single detail yourself. And maybe give yourself a bit longer to plan than we did! (We planned it all in about 5 months, it was hectic!)."
The couple also highly reccommend sitters for those planning weddings with smallies on the guestlist. "We had two babysitters - Joanne and Nicola - from littlesitters.ie. They were absolutely amazing, we were able to relax and know that our kids were having a great time and being so well looked after. With one of our kids having a high level of support needs, this was so, so important to us. It’s really rare that we can just relax knowing that all is being taken care of! Joanne and Nicola are just wonderful people and are outstanding at their jobs, can’t recommend them highly enough!"
The pair have yet to go on honeymoon but plan to take a well deserved break at Seafield Hotel in Wexford very soon.
A very special thank you to Eavan, Barry and Sarah Kate Photography for sharing this magical family-centered wedding with One Fab Day. Make sure to check out the gallery below for more shots from their spectacular special day below.
