“For our wedding weekend we wanted a relaxed, festival style with gorgeous food and great music. We had wild flowers and pop of colour with candles, ribbons and the men’s ties with a matching bow tie and ribbon for our little boy and flower girl. We both love hiking so we had a mountain theme with the tables named after mountains we have hiked together.”
Couple: Jess & Seamus
Engagement length: 1.5 years
Wedding date: 2024-06-22
Wedding location: Mountain View, Kilkenny
Photographer: Bokeh Photography
Seamus and Jess’s love story began when they met on a blind date, set up by a work colleague and Seamus’s sister in law!
Jess tells their engagement story:
“We both like hiking and had been to Slieve Donard hotel a few months after we had started seeing each other to do the hike and stay in the hotel. We went back to stay in the hotel two years later with our little boy. Seamus booked for us to go back and do the hike again and stay for a weekend just the two of us in March 22. We summited the mountain in the lashing rain and when we got to the deserted summit, we ate our sandwiches, had a flask of tea and when we finished we went to take a picture. When I turned around he was down on one knee. When we got back down to the hotel we had booked me a manicure and suite for us for the weekend.”
They are both living abroad and wanted a party with a relaxed atmosphere. On the Wednesday, they got legally married in the registry office in Dublin, with just their son and parents there.
“For our wedding weekend we wanted a relaxed, festival style with gorgeous food and great music. We had wild flowers and pop of colour with candles, ribbons and the men’s ties with a matching bow tie and ribbon for our little boy and flower girl. We both love hiking so we had a mountain theme with the tables named after mountains we have hiked together.”
For the registry office wedding, Jess wore a Dream sister Jane dress with her dream shoes – Nicki Hoyne Pink Pow Pumps. For the wedding day, she wore a Bo and Luca two piece top and skirt which she describes as ‘light and comfortable’. Seamus and the groomsmen wore Navy Herby Frog suits.
Jess had two bridesmaid and they wore oyster oasis dresses which went really well with the bright flowers. The groomsmen also wore Herby Frog suits and Loake shoes.
“Our ceremony was actually conducted by my dad as we were already legally married. We liked the idea of somebody close to us doing the ceremony. We wrote our own vows and included a sandwich ceremony with our son, we had sand from Seamus’s hometown Bantry, Dublin Bay which is where I am from and Cyprus which is where we live with our little boy at the moment. We were even lucky enough to have our ceremony outside, a rare opportunity in Ireland!”
“Our venue was just stunning, it was the first and only venue we looked at when we were planning our wedding. We loved the breathtaking views but also the decor, relaxed feel, food and the fact that they had glamping on site. It is such a special place and our guests are still raving about how special it is.”
The wedding was beautifully captured by Dez and Josip from Bokeh Photography!
“They were so relaxed, really good craic and captured the day perfectly.”
To entertain their guests, they had Toucan Band, a band they both love and had seen live a few times while dating. After the band, they had a DJ to keep the party going!
Jess describes her favourite memory from the day:
“I think the favourite memory of the day was actually entering the wedding tent with our wedding party and son, dancing around the tables to Gerry Cinnamon, she’s a belter.”
We love asking newlyweds for their best advice. This is what Jess and Seamus had to say:
“Just remember that the day is about you two as a couple so make the day your own. We swayed away from a lot of traditions which we didn’t feel were important to us and it made the day more unique to us!”
Recommended suppliers
Photographer: Bokeh Photography
Venue: Mountain View Ballyhale, Kilkenny
Planner/coordinator: Sharon from Mountain View
Other suppliers
Musicians: Toucan and Cliodhna Gahan | DJ: Eoghan O’Sullivan | Hair: Shannon Nugent | Makeup: Michelle Montgomery | Dress: Bo & Luca | Suits: Herby Frog | Bridesmaids dresses: Dream Sister Jane | Cake: Jen’s Cake Boutique | Celebrant/solemniser: Bride’s father, Dave Willow | Stationery: Canva and Reads | Jewellery: Kyna Maree | Accessories: Inspired Creations | Flowers: Gypsy Rose Wild Flower | Flowers girl dress: Monsoon | Page boy outfit: Next | Day Two: Mountain View Farmers Market
