A Truly Irish Wedding Celebration Filled with Traditional Music and Dance

Meet Sarah-Mai and Patrick! This beautiful couple shared their love of traditional Irish music and dance at their special summer wedding during the local Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford.

Couple: Sarah-Mai and Patrick

Engagement length: 18 months

Wedding date: 2025-08-01

Wedding venue: Newbay House, Wexford

Photographer: Eddie Kavanagh Photography

Professional dancers Sarah-Mai and Patrick met while touring with Irish Dance Show, Rhythm of the Dance. They got engaged at Aghadoe Viewpoint after staying at Aghadoe Heights Hotel and shortly began planning their special day which included many personal and very memorable moments that reflected them as a couple.

“Our wedding was full of fun Irish music and dance. We decided to get married the week the Fleadh Cheoil 2025 in Wexford launched, as it was my hometown. Flowers were wild in style with each bridesmaid having their own block colour and my bridal bouquet was mixed with all the colours and flowers used. We went with a blue and floral theme for the stationery. Our table settings included Irish tune names, with significance to our professional dance and music careers. Favours included festival bands in wexford colours with date and Fleadh Cheoil Paddy & SMai logo, Wexbury strawberry shots, Jameson whiskey and treble-clef keyring. The weather was sunny and our food was all based around wexford with Blaa canapés and chocolate dipped strawberries.”

Sarah-Mai wore a stunning Vera Wang strapless ballgown and blue Jimmy Choo heels. Her maids wore pretty dusky blue halter dresses, whilst Patrick and his guys wore a classic tux with black paisley waistcoat from Eden Manor Bridal.

Their ceremony was incredibly moving and personal. Held in Clologue Church, which Sarah-Mai’s Grandfather helped build, they had a mix of Irish and contemporary music. Sarah-Mai’s brother and Patrick’s sister performed a lullaby, ‘A lullaby to Sarah-Mai’, composed by the Father of the Bride as she walked up the aisle.

The couple said their vows in Irish and were joined by friends and family on the alter to play Resessional ‘Kesh Jig & The Bucks.’ Following the ceremony Sarah-Mai’s dance school made a Guard of Honour outside and blew bubbles as they left the ceremony now husband and wife.

“We picked our photographer, Eddie Kavanagh, as he’s a very close friend of ours. He’s not only an incredibly skilled photographer but also a musician whom which we’ve worked with for years travelling and playing music all over the world. We felt so at ease. He prepped us pre-wedding and had us practice our poses pre-wedding at home so we would feel so comfortable. He also captured so much of our wedding guests and didn’t have us take away from wedding for too long, which we loved as we had FOMO! We had photos back within a week and were able to enjoy them on holiday after, which was extra special.”

Favourite Memory

Seeing Paddy at the end of the aisle just focusing on him and becoming husband and wife (saying vows in Irish). Just generally having so many people in the room that you love, all in the one place from every different phase of your life. You’ll never feel as much love in one place. I stopped at various moments in the day and watched everyone, taking a mental snapshot of everything, the craic, that was happening around us.

Advice for other couples

Enjoy it, easier said than done but… date each other throughout planning, celebrate each step and each month counting down. It will be stressful at times but focus on the significance of the day. Get the ball rolling as soon as you can and try to have everything sorted at least one week before. And delegate tasks, people are more than happy to help and be a part in your day. Call in those favours of talented friends/find local businesses, it makes it so much more personal!

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Photographer: Eddie Kavanagh Photography

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