We love it when a couple aren't afraid to be a little bit extra, and in today's real wedding, Lorena and Tom truly leaned into their American, Peruvian, Scottish, Irish fusion wedding. The glamorous couple, who are based in LA, planned an epic week-long celebration in Ireland which took them from the pre-wedding fun in Dublin, to Markree Castle in Sligo for the main event, before a tour down the west coast of Ireland with their friends and family. Their wedding day itself was a fun and fabulous affair, with perhaps the grandest entrance we've ever seen (on horseback, no less!) to a Peruvian dance party into the wee hours - all captured beautifully by Wojciech Koza Photography.
Tom and Lorena tells us they met at a Christmas event through work 11 years ago, “Tom contacted me afterwards but I played hard to get...for a while,” the bride jokes, “We started spending more time together, including a lot of travel. With all our travel over the years (including my first trip to Ireland in 2016) it was only natural to do a destination wedding at a place far away from California.”
Lorena is originally from Lima, Peru, but her family now all live in Los Angeles. The bride tells how her hometown was the perfect backdrop for Tom’s amazing proposal, “My niece Alexandra, was on semester at sea and my sister Sonia was going to meet her in Lima. Tom suggested that we join her on this trip and bring my parents, so we were all in our hometown of Lima, Peru together. Tom and my cousins in Peru hosted a family welcoming dinner at my cousin’s rooftop penthouse apartment in a very posh area in Lima called Miraflores, catered by a chef that made Peruvian traditional dishes and drinks.” So far, so fabulous!
Unbeknownst to Lorena, Tom had purchased a karaoke machine, “He loves to entertain, sing and play the piano, so this was not a big surprise to me. My relatives from Peru were a little surprised because they’re not used to just getting up and singing but Tom always does (I guess that’s the Irish side of him!). As the karaoke continued, Tom sang a song to me in Spanish and then started talking in Spanish. He told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked if I would marry him, BUT he doesn’t speak Spanish well at all and I didn’t understand him.”
Thankfully Lorena’s family did understand him and knew what was coming! “Next thing I knew, Tom was down on one knee, pulled out a ring case and asked if I would marry him! I was completely shocked and did not see that coming! If I had any inclination that this might be happening, I would have gotten my nails done! Of course I said yes!”
We just love how Lorena sums up her wedding day, “A true Cinderella story. I rode in on a horse and married my prince in a beautiful castle in Ireland with 120 of our family and friends from Peru, Europe and America.”
Lorena tells us about the wedding party’s epic ceremony entrance, “Niamh Fitzpatrick on violin, and Shaza O’Hara on cello with their string quartet with flute, composed and played a 13 minute version of Ravel’s Bolero for the wedding processional. The ushers and bridesmaids entered the castle wedding from the forest, the groomsmen and groom appeared from the forest and the river, and I arrived from the river on a horse with an entourage of nine; horsemen, flag bearers and flower girls, all to the last verse of Bolero, led by a trumpet on the castle balcony. Lorena’s cousin from Peru carried the Peruvian flag to lead the bridal entrance.”
On the day, due to the 31 degrees sunshine, the team at Markree set up marquees on the terrace to shield guests during the outdoor ceremony.
Adding to the sense of occasion, the couple said their vows on the balcony in front of Markree.
For their recessional, Lorena and Tom descended from the balcony steps to the sound of bagpipes!
As so many family and friends were crossing continents for their wedding, Lorena and Tom wanted to make the trip an unforgettable one, arranging everything from meals, a tour of the Guinness Storehouse and an Irish dancing show, to trad sessions, a beach trip and several days of exploring the west coast after the wedding. “Almost all of our guests had never been to Ireland so we wanted them to experience as much of this beautiful country as possible. The main events for our wedding guests covered five days from Dublin to Sligo.”
The couple took two planning trips to Ireland and looked at 12 castle venues around the country, “Markree Castle was just completing a major, multi-year renovation and we felt this was the perfect location for our wedding and events. The venue was beautiful and completely new but keeping to the traditional look of a 350-year-old castle. And it was perfect for us since we could “take over” the entire castle for four days. The entire Markree team were very helpful in the months leading up to the wedding, and throughout our stay, and helped coordinate many of the moving parts and vendors for our group.”
Yes to all these gorgeous ladies on the mic!
The opulent reception rooms in Markree Castle required little decoration, the couple added colourful pom poms, pretty florals, and candelabras for added atmosphere in the space.
Music was always going to be a priority for Tom! “The Curly Bobs band played music and entertained the group late into the night. At midnight we surprised the group again by putting on traditional Peruvian clothes and doing a traditional Peruvian dance. The castle staff gave all of the guests traditional Peruvian hats, necklaces, bracelets, scarves and other items and the entire wedding “turned Peruvian” for the last two hours of the night!”
This pair have some practical advice to pass on to other couples, “Hire a wedding planner, but make sure to give them your input to make it special for you. On the day of, just relax and take it all in, all of the details will work themselves out… this is your day!”
Lorena’s favourite moment of the week-long festivities was reminiscent of the Tom's proposal, “ My husband surprised me with a serenade on the piano before the wedding.”
And Tom’s highlight of the day? Lorena’s grand entrance, “My wife got on a horse in a wedding dress! And she is allergic to horses! She also wore a traditional Peruvian outfit for our dance reception.”
After the wedding, the bride and groom toured the West of Ireland with their guests, 50 of the group continued on to Achill, Westport, Croagh Patrick, Doolin, Cliffs of Moher and Shannon. Several dozen of the group continued on to Inishman in the Aran Islands, the Dingle Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry, Cork, Waterford and many other locations throughout southern Ireland.”
Thank you so much to Lorena and Tom for sharing your spectacular Irish castle wedding with us! And of course to Wojciech Koza for capturing all the love! See more from their day in the gallery below!
