A Connemara-Inspired Wedding at Ballynahinch Castle
“How lucky were we to work with Love & Gatherings in planning our dream Irish wedding. We felt relaxed, prepared and excited when our day finally arrived and left our wedding not only happily married, but with new friends in Kate and her team.”
LENA & RYAN
PHOTOGRAPHS Joshua Kane
VIDEO Dreamcatcher Productions
PLANNING & DESIGN Love & Gatherings
WORDS Kate O’Dowd
Right back at you, Lena and Ryan! We adored every minute of working with this adorable Washington DC-based couple, who fell in love with Connemara, years before their joy-filled wedding day, and knew they had to share it with their nearest and dearest, on the occasion of their marriage. A true Irish destination wedding, each guest flew in to join the adventure and we ensured that they were perfectly placed to enjoy the very best of our glorious Emerald Isle.
We love a friendly-vendor; especially when they’re as talented as Lena’s good friend and glorious wedding stationer Abby Armistead. Abby was a dream to work with, illustrating our outdoorsy couple’s love of the landscape with more than a sprinkling of magic (and a smattering of local fauna, which we gladly helped our out-of-towners identify)
I could say a lot about the beauty of Ballynahinch Castle, but really, there’s no need… I mean, just look. The setting is breathtaking. The charm of the place is a rare combination of pure luxury (some interiors designed by BOS Studio, for those in the know) and perfect authenticity (like The Fisherman’s Pub, that feels as unassuming as any country boozer). But best of all - and indisputably my most sought after attribute in a luxury venue - the staff are just the most lovely, kind, everything’s-possible local people you could meet. I really love it there.
“Organizing our wedding from the US, we wanted to ensure we found a fantastic local planner who had connections to a variety of vendors and could support us for every step of the way in the planning journey. We are so grateful we found Kate. ”
Lena wanted her wedding flowers to be bright, bold and gloriously irreverent… and boy is that what she got. The Studio Florist took inspiration from the blooms in Ballynahinch’s paradise of a walled garden, where ceremony installations rooted in, as if they’d grown there. Stay tuned to see how this rainbow-bright floral concept got extra special, in the dining room.
“Kate was delightful to work with; she took the time to truly listen to us and our vision of a “wild and bright” garden wedding and worked tirelessly to make it come to life. Kate is a true creative, and when it comes to the design, vision and styling of your event, her ideas and execution are second to none.”
Our floral aesthetic really came alive in the dining room, where we designated a variety to each table - let’s say you’re at Table 11; you’ll find marigolds as the centrepiece, the same flower illustrated on the table number card and again on your escort card. Guests loved discovering the uniqueness of their table… and the effect of the blocks of colour throughout the space was just glorious.
Glorious, too, was the custom-sourced crockery and linen, which we had shipped in, to mirror the vibrancy of our couple and all that love in the room. We adore how the classic pattern on this Oscar de la Renta plateware become modern and fresh, when its juicy orange tones sit against the crisp white linen… that scallopped napkin doesn’t do any harm, either.
“She was incredibly thoughtful in the range of vendor options she presented us with and quick in her correspondence in locking them in. Wedding planning can often be stressful, but Kate was able to be a calm, rationale and empathetic force throughout all the decision-making moments. She was incredibly responsive (even with the overseas time difference), and met with us multiple times in person as well as virtually to ensure we were confident and aligned for everything that was to come.”
