I have a feeling lots of you will fall hard for this couple and their non-traditional real wedding! Cliodhna and Ian met at a salsa class, had their first date on April Fool's Day and got married with an emotional Shamanic ceremony at the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club in Dublin. It's safe to say these guys don't follow the rules. The groom rocked a bold steampunk look with a full-length velvet coat and top hat, while the bride was impossibly glamorous in a vintage-style Jenny Packham wedding dress and Hollywood fur stole. With their seven grown-up children by their sides, along with their closest family and friends, their day - captured beautifully by Aoife O'Sullivan Photography - was personalised, fun, and utterly brimming with unique ideas. 

Cliodhna tells us about her first encounter with Ian back in January 2004, “I decided to go to a local salsa class, just for me, just because I love dancing. My best friend Bernie said she would join me. I decided to do two classes in a row, we went down early to register, and then went into the ballroom. Ian was sitting at a table with a pint of water (that in itself is a very strange thing!). ‘Hi’, he said, ‘I’m Ian!’ ‘Hi’, said my friend, ‘I’m Bernie’! I looked at him and thought, ‘What the hell is a man doing here’! (that’s as polite as I can put it!) Bernie said....’oh... don’t mind her, this is Cliodhna’.”

Cliodhna says she ignored Ian as the class started, “We started doing a Paul Jones circle in order for everyone to change partners and practice our new steps and manoeuvres. Then it was our turn to dance together.... let’s just say that Ian is not a natural dancer and before long he had me in stitches! When it was my turn with Bernie, she said, ‘That’s him... he’s the one!’ I can’t write what I said in return! Much fun and laughter ensued and we said goodnight.”

Frog Prince Weddings & Events looked after the flowers and decor for the couple, from this elegant stairway instillation to the chic contemporary ceremony set-up you'll see below.

The following week Cliodhna discovered that Ian was the only other person who’d signed up for the extra class, “We had great craic and the weeks he was away with work I found I missed him. All of the second class used to wait for us to finish and had been watching over the weeks. When Ian was away the first time, they asked ‘Where is your husband?’ That says it all really!”

You guys, we have a pigeon whisperer in our midst!

What a babe! Cliodhna rocked a spectacular red carpet-worthy look. She got this gorgeous gown from Dublin bridal boutique, Sharon Hoey.

Ian finally plucked up the courage to ask Cliodhna out on April Fool’s Day! “I was in a total tizz and reckoned he was just pulling my leg and would be a no show! But he did... and the rest is history!”

The couple got engaged on New Year’s Eve 2016. “Ian’s mum had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year. She was very near the beginning of her next journey. She and her husband always went to Ballymaloe with friends for New Year. It was one of her last wishes. So we brought her,” recalls Cliodhna of the special trip. “Ballymaloe found us a bed to make it all possible. She didn’t have the strength to make it to midnight so Ian took her to her room, settled her and came back with minutes to spare. We decided to go into the front room, with Christmas tree and blazing fire and music and song. When midnight struck and everyone sang out ‘Happy New Year”, Ian popped the question. Needless to say, I agreed!”

These two sum up their wedding as ‘very very special’ and it’s easy to see why. “It was small, intimate and full of fun and laughter and love. It was all about us and our life and our children.”

This eccentric pair have some advice to pass on to other couples, “Stay true to who you are and what you want for each other. Don’t get caught up with what everyone else expects or current trends.” Here, here! 

Nothing like a pre-ceremony ice-cream cone, am I right?

The wedding was something of a Brady Bunch affair! “Our priorities were always about making our wedding a very special day. One that reflected who we were individually, as a couple, and as parents. We have seven children between us. All adults! We wanted them to participate in the ceremony, along with my mum who is in her 80s and Ian’s nephew and niece.”

The full family line-up, Sorcha, Aoife, Caoimhe, Harry, Freddie, Freya and Imogen. I love that all the kids opted for green and blue outfits - they look great! 

We love these ultra modern glass boxes used to create a focal point in the ceremony space.

For their Dublin city centre wedding, the couple found everything they were looking for on at the Hibernian Club. “ ‘The Club’ as we refer to it was the perfect venue. It had everything on our wish list. We wanted a room that would be perfect for the ceremony (The Card Room), a room for dining in and then back to the Card Room for dancing and much laughter.”

The couple loved that all their guests were catered for at the venue, “There was a lift for anyone who couldn’t manage stairs, a fantastic courtyard and sheltered bar area for smokers, a seating area for those who wanted to catch up and talk and of course a bar area!”

Cliodhna tells us about her and Ian’s Shamanic ceremony. “Jules Dolman was our Shaman. Her husband Paul smudged everyone as they came into our sacred space. This is a way of cleansing negative energies. Ian danced in to music he choose and Paul drummed me in, which I found really emotional.”

And you may have noticed Cliodhna’s unique candle bouquet - which I must say is a first for us! “I made my own bouquet. It was made with an upside down candlestick holder, with one large candle in the centre and one candle for all our children around it. It also had a simple spray of ivy intertwined.”

The couple asked their children to be involved in the ceremony, “Those of the children that wanted to participate, all said a few words as to what our relationship/wedding meant to them... more tears,” says Cliodhna. “Ian and I also picked a poem to say to each other and a story that my brothers and my sister read. I gave Ian a gift that relates to the story.”

Ian and Cliodhna jetted off after the wedding for a spectacular honeymoon, “We started with five days in the northern part of Sri-Lanka. We then went to Myanmar and did a combination river cruise on the Irrawaddy River and a small boat cruise in the Mergui Archipelago. We finished off with four days in Malaysia. It was an amazing experience.” Okay, I might need to copy that itinerary, that sounds like a pretty incredible trip! 

What a cool pair! Thanks so much to Cliodhna and Ian for sharing your beautiful day with us, and of course to Aoife O'Sullivan for sending it our way.