Festival fun with rustic charm...

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Today’s fabulous real wedding is a perfect example of how to blend wedding styles seamlessly to create something truly unique. Louise and Barry’s rustic celebration also perfectly incorporated elements of a festival wedding and as a result, had a big day that was an expression of their personalities. Doing so in the surrounds of the ever-fabulous Mount Druid, this pair pulled together the most relaxed and fun celebration and you can see the proof in the wonderful photography from Sean Gallagher.

Louise and Barry go way back, having met when they were in school. “Barry was a few years older and a very cheeky chap so I stayed away,” Louise jokingly told us. “I always had a wee thing for him though. He had a great sense of humour and lovely dimples. He always had a notion of me too and then one night in the local pub, I plucked up the courage to go up and chat with him. I walked home from the pub that night cradling my takeaway and singing ‘I kissed Barry Keaney’ absolutely chuffed with myself. Six months later, we moved in together and a year and a half after that, we emigrated to Toronto and we’ve been moving around the world ever since.”

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can go off course and that’s literally what happened to poor Barry when the big moment came. “Barry had booked for us to go to Las Vegas for my 27th birthday,” Louise told us. “He had already given me my present but he told me he had another surprise planned when we were there. We woke up at 4am and Barry took me to a hot air balloon rental place which had always been on my bucket list. It was the most amazing experience watching the sunrise over the desert. Barry had planned to propose when the balloon landed but our pilot literally ran out of gas trying to get us back on track after a gust of wind blew us off course. We ended up crash-landing in the desert just metres before a canyon. Barry was sure he’d lost the ring in the rough landing and was green in the face when we eventually landed. It had ruined the moment so instead, Barry booked us dinner in a fancy restaurant the following night. We finished the night by going to see the Bellagio water fountain show. He whispered romantic things in my ear as we watched and when it finished, he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the most magical moment like time had stopped.”

For their big day, Louise and Barry wanted something a little different and described their ideal wedding vibe as “quirky and laid-back with a romantic charm”. “Our main priority was having a wedding that broke away from the traditional Irish wedding,” Louise explained. “The venue played the most important role for us. It had to be something that we loved and that showed a sense of character that was unique to us. So, when we found Mount Druid, it was like finding a pot of gold in terms of our dream venue.”

Mount Druid made quite the impact on this pair who gushed about every aspect of their gorgeous venue. “We fell in love with the place as we drove down the entrance,” Louise told us. “It was the first and only venue we viewed which tells you how hard we fell in love with this place. The tin chapel was just the perfect setting to get married with the origami birds hanging overhead. What was not to love?”

Louise and Barry chose to have a celebrant at their wedding and tailored the ceremony completely to embody their love story. “It was absolutely amazing, it was full of wit and romantic charm,” they said.

It’ll come as no surprise that this pair’s advice is all about making the most of the day itself and how to help ensure it’s as stress-free as possible. “Have fun and just do it the way you want to do it,” Louise said. “Be relaxed and don’t stress because it will all work out. We more or less planned our wedding in less than a month and we're not organised people so if we can do it, anyone can! Don’t try to please anyone but yourselves because you will never please everyone anyway.”