Erik and Grey, our beautiful real wedding couple, travelled to Co. Clare from their home in in Washington DC, to celebrate their wedding day along with 240 guests in a dreamy castle setting. Grey's bridal style consisted of two awe-worthy gowns, and sentimental touches with included an engagement ring from Erik's grandmother, a something old, borrowed and blue from the mother of the bride and other special touches that we cannot wait to unveil! Anna G Photography captured this fairytale castle wedding day, full of winter magic and we're delighted to share these gorgeous photos with you.
Erik, hails from the US, while Grey, was raised in Dublin and London. Our bride wanted to make their winter wedding memorable for everyone, especially her closest girlfriends. "I gifted each of my bridesmaids personalised Irish Claddagh rings on the morning of the wedding paired with a note about how much my own Claddagh ring meant to me. As is tradition, after I got married, I turned my Claddagh ring around on my hand, and so I shared a little bit of the history of this Irish wedding tradition with my girlfriends. I also gave my bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids, and many of the women in my family a book of Irish fairytales, which I loved reading as a child. I wanted to share some of the magic from my childhood with them during the most special weekend of my life!"
The lovebirds first met in 2017 in New York City, and after doing long-distance, Erik proposed in December 2020 in a private room at a famous old restaurant called Antoine’s in New Orleans! "He organised a beautiful hotel suite, bought me a gorgeous new dress, and had flowers and beignets waiting for me upon our arrival. I thought we were having a belated anniversary celebration, so while I was incredibly impressed and grateful for the special treatment, I didn’t look too much into it. I also didn’t question it when the maître d escorted us to a private room and opened a bottle of Champagne for us."
"Erik asked me to marry him with his maternal grandmother’s engagement ring, which was given to her by his grandfather in 1946. His grandmother is one of my favourite people and is a massive inspiration to everyone in the family. She’s about to turn 100 years old and it is humbling and incredibly special that she trusted us with this beautiful memento from her marriage. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to pass it down too," says Grey.
The breathtaking bride wore a showstopping Monique Lhuillier wedding gown, paired Jimmy Choo bridal shoes! The strapless ballgown was enhanced with magnificent lace detail and an epic train. As for her accessories, she wore satin opera gloves and incredible diamond and sapphire jewellery that was gifted to her by her mother. "I love tradition and I had fun finding meaningful ways to incorporate “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” I also wanted to represent all the women in my family who have come before me because they have each played an invaluable role in making me into who I am today. I wore sapphire earrings and a necklace from my mother that was gifted to her by my grandfather, which was my something blue. I carried a rosary from my childhood that I also used on my First Communion that I wrapped around my bouquet as my something old, my something new was my wedding dress, and my something borrowed was a Danish lace handkerchief that was handmade by Erik’s paternal grandmother and gifted to me by his aunt, which I sewed into the lining of my dress."
Erik continued the timeless style donning a Ralph Lauren tuxedo, in a lavish velvet emerald green, with no shortage of bespoke and sentimental details here. The date of their wedding and their initials were embroidered on the inside of his tuxedo collar, as well as the interior of the jacket and his cuffs,. He carried a pocket square given to him by his father, and he wore his late grandfather's cufflinks. The black tuxedos and green bowties worn by his groomsmen made for a very dapper wedding party, and complemented the bridesmaids lush velvet green dresses to perfection.
Erik and Grey put an abundance of thought into their dream winter wedding, and they wanted a day that reflected them both. "Erik and I both agreed that our wedding was first and foremost for us, but also for our families. We are both fortunate to come from two wonderful, supportive, dynamic families and while our families have a lot in common they also have their own traditions. Erik is of Danish heritage and has ties to the South in the USA as well. We worked with the chef at Dromoland when crafting our rehearsal dinner menu and he carefully highlighted all the important parts of Erik and his family’s identity. The fact that our wedding was bringing together two big families in Ireland and simultaneously paying homage to both of our heritages made the meal that much more meaningful. Additionally, we wanted to show our loved ones how grateful we were that they travelled to celebrate us, so we made sure everyone felt taken care of, well-fed, and had easy access to a Guinness at all times!"
"It was important that my love of Ireland came through in the small details as well, and this was reflected in the menus, the drinks, and the music throughout the weekend. The biggest compliment we received from our guests was that the wedding felt incredibly happy, which is all we could have hoped for and more!" says Grey.
The couple gave their guests a weekend to remember! Before the wedding day itself, Erik and Grey had several fun events planned such as a golf tournament titled The Ostberg Open, complete with personalised hats and golf accessories for the players, along with a bridesmaids' brunch, a ladies’ tea, and most importantly a big rehearsal dinner! Weather-wise, it was one of the coldest weekends on record in Ireland, but that created a frost-covered winter wonderland! "It looked like it was straight out of a film and the outdoors was a perfect contrast to the warm and inviting castle, decorated for Christmas. On our actual wedding day we had the most beautiful blue skies and the whole morning had this soft mid-winter light that made our photos glow in a really magical way. It felt like waking up on Christmas morning when the day finally arrived," they say.
One of the most special parts of the winter wedding day was the car ride to the ceremony and walking down the aisle with her dad, says Grey. "My dad is one of the most important people in my life. I walked down the aisle with my dad to our string quartet playing a classical rendition of Edelweiss from The Sound of Music. This was one of my late grandmother’s favourite songs and hearing it on my wedding day it felt like she was there with me. Our church ceremony music was a repertoire of classical pieces dedicated to our maternal grandmothers, both of whom were involved in the arts and loved classical music. We also opted for a traditional church ceremony with a mass to pay homage to my family’s Catholic faith and Erik’s family's religious heritage as well. The entire wedding day felt seamless, incredibly relaxed, and happy."
Another special moment during their ceremony was having both godparents read blessings and prayers during the mass, as their godparents were also part of their Baptisms, Communions, and Confirmations in their home churches. "We were able to live stream our wedding through the Cathedral’s webcam, so many of our elderly guests who were unable to travel were still able to watch our ceremony from afar."
The magical wedding venue was the spectacular five-star Dromoland Castle, in Co. Clare, where Grey would visit each year with family and friends after Christmas. "I have so many joyful memories there but one of my favourite memories will always be trying to spy on all the adults in their gorgeous gowns and tuxedos at the black-tie New Year’s Eve gala. I suggested Dromoland to Erik for the personal connection I have to it, but it also didn’t take much to convince him after we spent a long weekend in Ireland together. He fell in love with the culture, the charm, and of course the beer and the golf courses. Dromoland feels more like a second home than a hotel. The management treated us like family and went above and beyond to make our guests feel welcome. Ireland is a country unlike anywhere else and we loved how it felt like we were in another world but it was also relatively easy to travel from the United States."
Finally, a first look at the stunning bridesmaids! Dressed in Jenny Yoo and Revelry, they wore evergreen velvet dresses in different styles that they chose. Her maid of honour wore an evergreen chiffon and jacquard dress to stand out." I gifted them all black fur shawls, black velvet evening gloves, and silver snowflake brooches. They wore black patent leather heels and choose how they wanted their hair and makeup as well."
Being lovers of the festive winter season Grey wanted the wedding to beembued with the scent of fir, flickering candlelight, rich seasonal foliage and romantic ambience. "I love how beautiful everything looks when it is decorated for the holidays, so I wanted to incorporate some of that décor into our wedding theme. I have always wanted a ball gown princess-style wedding dress and it felt fitting that our reception venue was a castle! A winter wedding has been my dream since I was a little girl," she says.
The couple's wedding was elegant but still had a fun and relaxed experience. "We had multiple formal black-tie events and the whole weekend was filled with glamour, Christmas spirit and a lot of Irish magic. Our goal was to have more of a winter feel than a Christmas feel so we focused on incorporating a lot of candlelight, winter greenery with pine and berries, fabrics like velvet and plaids as well as furs. There were always big fires in the fireplaces throughout the castle, and we had a lot of white and silver florals and details. We personalised everything with our initials, right down to the napkins."
A snow white four-tied wedding cake awaits, finished with delicate iced florals, and nestled amongst festive fir and bathed in golden candlelight.
Just when we thought the wedding style was covered, Grey stepped out in all of her beautiful glory in a second wedding dress! The Carolina Herrera gown speaks timeless elegance and utter sophistication, especially that swoon-worthy bow detail! Adding to the satin-chic beauty, she wore her sapphire necklace to match her glistening earrings.
As for wedding advice they say: "Take time with your spouse after the ceremony and before the reception to step away from all the people so that you can be together privately. Erik and I found this moment to be one of the most memorable, especially since time goes by so quickly on your wedding day. Take time to talk, laugh, and appreciate the beginning of your new chapter together. We took about 10 minutes after the cocktail hour and looked down from the balcony into the ballroom at all the people in our lives who loved us enough to travel to another continent in the middle of a busy holiday season. It was humbling to be reminded just how much love was in the room at that moment and how everyone was there for us," they say.
When the castle celebration came to an end, the couple jetted off on their honeymoon shortly after the wedding. "Since we got married right before Christmas, we took a mini moon and travelled to Marrakech and then met our families in France and Malta for the holidays. We travelled home briefly stopping in Turkey for a few days, which we later realised was our fourth continent over the course of three weeks. We travelled from North America via Europe, Africa, and then to Asia when we crossed the Bosphorus River in Istanbul. This summer, we are planning to go to Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand for several weeks for a proper honeymoon together."
They shared their first dance to At Last by Etta James, just after they walked out to the dancefloor to LOVE by Nat King Cole. "It was sweet, a little cheesy, and we loved every moment of it!" The guests were kept dancing all night long thanks to the wonderful energy of wedding band Sax and The City!
A wonderful thank you to Erik, Grey and Anna G Photography for sharing this elegant winter wedding with One Fab Day! There are lots more gorgeous photos to pore over in the gallery below.
Did you fall in love with this winter wedding? Check out our favourite festive wedding cakes, our guide to winter wedding florals and winter wedding stationery right here!
