For those dreaming of a wedding in a castle in Ireland, Jess and Peter's real wedding adventure in the medieval Newton Castle by the Cliffs of Moher in Clare with an Irish pub reception in Vaughan's is the dream come true

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We find ourselves way out West this morning for a wedding in the heart of the beautiful Burren. Jess and Peter are a couple who used Ireland as the perfect halfway point to celebrate their international love affair. Coming from opposite sides of the globe, but with a shared Irish ancestry they enlisted the help of wedding planner Annie of Aislinn Events to create an Irish extravaganza and photographers Sean and Kate of Poppies and Me to capture all the fun - this is a wedding full of fun and laughter guaranteed to make you smile...

So how did all of this start originally? Jess filled us in... "Peter and I first met in Queenstown, New Zealand. We had both just moved to Queenstown to spend the season snowboarding and travelling. We met straight away in a hostel called Bumbles. There was huge group of us from all over the world travelling on our own, looking for places to live and work. Pete arrived about 2 days after me and about 3 days later as we couldn’t find a place to live so we ended up buying a car together. About 3 weeks after that we finally found a house for 4 of us to live in, but we seemed to click from the beginning. We spent the whole season snowboarding and partying and travelling together. It wasn’t supposed to last as we both had different plans to travel after the season; but once it came to an end, we knew it was more than that! Pete spent a season in Whistler, Canada, while I moved to Mammoth Mountain, in California, for the next season. A couple of visits during that season, and after a trip around America we have been side by side since. Nothing better than finding your best friend and travel mate!"

Having started their story on an adventure, Peter chose another adventure, this time en famille, to pop the question..."We were on a road trip in West Australia. Me, my parents (who flew in from Germany), Peter and his Mom all packed into an RV and travelled over 1500km up the coast. About 5 nights in, we were staying at our favourite place in West Australia, Coral Bay. We had just booked our dives for the next day so Pete asked me to go for a bike ride with him. We rode to the edge of town and hiked up a big sand dune. They had a big lookout of the beach and the entire bay. We were just chilling at the top enjoying the view when he very nervously got down on one knee and pulled out a dolphin ring he had purchased at the dive shop (he wanted us to pick out the right ring later together). Such an amazing place, will never forget it! So we rode back to the campground to celebrate with our parents."

Jess and Peter chose to tie the knot in truly epic fashion, in a medieval castle on the edge of the Burren, with all their adventuring around the world, this just seemed like another madcap chapter until a key moment..."Things had been so calm all morning. I am really laid back, but once I started to walk up the stairs, the emotion of it all completely hit me and the tears started welling up. I was so happy, excited, and nervous, and walking up those stairs and walking into the room and seeing Peter straight away with all of those emotions in me was a truly incredible and awakening experience. Something I will never forget."

But given that Jess is American and Peter, Australian, how come Ireland for the wedding? "First off, it was hard for us to decide where to have our wedding. It was unfair to have it in either America or Australia so we chose neutral ground in Ireland. Pete’s granddad was born in Dublin (hence McDonnell), and my father’s side of the family is Malloy from County Donegal (and our Celebrant was Dara Molloy from the Aran Islands!). Ireland was also my grandfather’s absolutely favourite place to travel to, so it only seemed fitting. I had always wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher, and wanted to keep the feeling rustic so Annie helped us hone in on County Clare. The Burren was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen so it suited us so perfectly. With Annie’s guidance, we fell in love with Newton’s Castle and having our small reception at Vaughan's with the Ceili dancing. We could not have asked for anything better! Not only was the place beautiful, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming, it was a truly a fabulous experience."

Peeling off by themselves for a few private moments, Jess and Peter enjoyed a bit of a wander in search of the perfect wedding portraits with Kate and Sean of Poppies and Me...

"They were so amazing, we truly made some great friends! They captured the moment and scenery so well, matching our personalities. I hate having my picture taken and was most nervous about this part of the wedding, but they did an incredible job and made it so much fun!" And that's what your wedding pictures should be - a few moments alone to enjoy each other's company. Don't fall into the trap of seeing it as a chore, something taking you away from your guests, you will get very little time alone on the day so enjoy these private moments!

And then, in true Irish fashion, it was off to the pub!

The wedding party then headed to Vaughan's for a traditional Irish pub reception to delight their international guests.

Annie even arranged for a local gent to give the group some quick lessons for one of the Ceili sets. "We all found it is quite difficult, but can see why so many people come every week to dance, it was so beautiful and so much fun!" And sure isn't most of the fun in the trying!

What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? "Annie from Aislinn events was a lifesaver. She did such an amazing job at finding everything we were looking for and fitting it into the budget. She was such a great friend through it all! If anyone is planning a destination wedding, a wedding planner is a must. But everything goes by so fast that day, so be sure to take everything in! Don’t get bogged down in all the petty details and pleasing everyone else; this day is for the bride and groom so take care of yourself and everything will fall into place. Everything happens for a reason, and if you just stress about every little detail on the day of, it will be over before you know and you won’t have slowed down and taken it all in. Stick to a calming routine in the morning and things will move smoothly from there. I started my day with a run as I always do and it all fell into place after that."

Huge thanks to Jess and Peter for sharing their beautiful day with us - hope your adventures are continuing unabated now you're an old married couple! And a big thank you to Sean and Kate of Poppies and Me of course, a pleasure as always to feature your work!

If you're entranced by these pictures, make sure to pop over to www.poppiesandme.ie!

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