“A June wedding, we had a bit of rain in the morning and chose to move the ceremony indoors. The sun came out around noon so everything was dry and sunlit by the time the drinks reception started. Of course, we also got the gorgeous daylight until 10:30pm. We kept to a sage green and dusty pink colour scheme and sprinkled some wildflower design throughout our signage, without doing too much so the florals weren’t overpowering. We told our suppliers that we were looking to achieve a whimsical, fairy-tale, ethereal wedding (and we think we did just that!)”
Couple: Lesleigh and Kevin
Engagement length: 2 years
Wedding date: 2025-06-15
Wedding venue: Cloughjordan House
Photographer: Dasha Caffrey Photography
This happy couple met while Lesleigh was traveling solo across Ireland. One night she ended up at the infamous “The Grand” in Killarney, where she was introduced to Kevin. After an adventure of renting bikes and touring Killarney National Park together, having deep conversations and enjoying one another’s company, they decided to keep in touch once Lesleigh returned to the US. They later met up in Paris and officially decided to pursue a long distance relationship… right before the global pandemic! Once travel bans were lifted, they were able to fly back and forth to see one another.
Lesleigh shares the proposal story: “Kevin, very romantically, set up a proposal in the cabin we were staying in the Blue Ridge Mountains with candles, rose petals and a big light-up “Marry Me” sign. He also played one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs in the background (Sweet Nothing) that I said reminded me of our relationship. I’m a big swiftie 🙂 He proposed with my late grandmother’s ring, it was perfect.”
As a wedding theme, they really wanted a ‘garden party’ inspired cay, which is why they felt Cloughjordan House was the perfect venue choice! They opted for natural, wildflower florals throughout the venue and as bouquets.
“A June wedding, we had a bit of rain in the morning and chose to move the ceremony indoors. The sun came out around noon so everything was dry and sunlit by the time the drinks reception started. Of course, we also got the gorgeous daylight until 10:30pm. We kept to a sage green and dusty pink colour scheme and sprinkled some wildflower design throughout our signage, without doing too much so the florals weren’t overpowering. We told our suppliers that we were looking to achieve a whimsical, fairy-tale, ethereal wedding (and we think we did just that!)”
Lesleigh’s ‘something blue’ was her wedding rehearsal dress; a light blue dress from Na-KD Fashion. She got ready in a pair of Ralph Lauren pajamas – cute, but also practical. The bridesmaids got ready in LHN Edit pajamas, something by an Irish brand, which the girls could wear again.
Lesleigh’s dress was an off-the-rack designer dress from Carrie’s Bridal in Atlanta, GA. She wore simple, pearl drop earrings and plain white shoes, and then changed into a ‘party dress’ which was easier to dance in.
Kevin wore a custom suit from Moran’s Menswear and his groomsmen wore the same! They did navy suits with sage green elements to complement the colours of the wedding.
The bridesmaids were given colours and then chose their own dresses. Lesleigh hoped they would pick dresses they could wear again for another special occasion. All five bridesmaids ended up buying their dresses from Azazie – there were three in green and two in pink floral gowns. The mix and match dresses looked perfect!
Lesleigh says, “I designed the ceremony myself! My brother was our officiant. He had never officiated a wedding before but I knew he was a great public speaker and would do a great job. He actually had people coming up to him after the ceremony asking him how long he had been an officiant! I wrote his entire script to alleviate a bit of the stress for him. We made the ceremony fit our romantic, ethereal, fairytale vibe. Being a Swiftie since I was 10 years old, I had to sprinkle her in to as many places as possible. The bridal party walked in to “Wildest Dreams” played by our lovely violinist and guitarist, it sounded close to the Bridgerton Version and was perfect to set the tone for the ceremony. I walked down the aisle with my father to “Tale as Old as Time – Beauty and the Beast,” done acoustically, as well. The ceremony included 3 readings; 1 Corinthians 13 4-7 (the ‘Love is Patient’ verses) but done as Gailege, Marry Your Best Friend by N’Tima, and an excerpt from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. We wanted to include a bit of Irish to show the melding of two cultures, even though we knew not everyone would be able to understand it. We did traditional vows and also read our personal vows. We walked back down the aisle to “This Will be an Everlasting Love” and had our guest toss natural lavender buds.”
Kevin and Lesleigh absolutely adore their wedding venue; Cloughjordan House! While looking at venues, they wanted something that felt truly Irish, especially considering they were flying their American guests over. Cloughjordan offered that perfect atmosphere and had plenty of rooms on site so guests could stay the night.
Lesleigh says, “When I say we couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue… everything was absolutely AMAZING. From the very first phone call to the day-of, the customer service and attention to detail we received from the CJH staff was impeccable. We decided to do our Night Before/Rehearsal Dinner and full wedding day there. They made everything so easy. The venue itself is gorgeous so you barely need to bring in any decor and can use light florals. They will even cut their own fresh florals from their garden and put them around the house for you.
The food, OH MY GOD. Every person complimented the food and said it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. My brother owns an award-winning steakhouse in Florida and is hard to impress when it comes to food, and even he was blown away. He was talking about the pork belly appetizer for days. The breakfast that is included with your stay was unreal. They even came to the bridal suite and took everyone’s order while we were getting ready. Michelin-star level pesto eggs and lattes hand-delivered to us so we didn’t even have to go downstairs and join the others for breakfast.
I am a very Type A and controlling person, especially when it comes to my wedding (lol) and the morning of I felt completely stress-free. The staff at Cloughjordan thought of everything and if there was something minor that needed my thoughts or attention, they approached me with their solution already in mind so all I had to say was “Yeah sounds good!” and continue relaxing with my morning.
Needless to say, if Cloughjordan House has your date available and they work within your budget you would be doing yourself a disservice not to book them.”
The wedding was beautifully captured by Dasha Caffrey on photography and Art Ri Films on videography!
“Our photographer, Dasha Caffrey, was PHENOMENAL. I found Dasha through some reposts that Cloughjordan did on their instagram stories (that is how we found most vendors, and then some on weddingsonline). I loved her style of photos, bright, clear and authentic. It was also great that she had shot at our venue several times so she knew exactly where to go to get the best shots. We booked our engagement shoot with Dasha, as well.
Colm with Ard Ri Films was actually recommended by our Photographer, Dasha. We did an initial call with him to make sure our vibes matched and when we told Colm we were looking for ethereal, whimsical, etc. he said “I’m a bit of a fairy myself” so we knew he would get the shots we were looking for. He sent our “teaser” video just a short week after the wedding and it was perfect (and even better, tuned to Lover by Taylor Swift).”
To entertain their guests, Kevin and Lesleigh had Shane & Aoife Hennessy for the ceremony and drinks reception! Their band was j90, who got the crowd going and kept everybody on the dance floor. Cloughjordan House had lawn games for guests to enjoy during the drinks reception too!
Lesleigh shares their favourite memory from the Big Day:
“We both agreed that our favourite part of the day was after the ceremony when we sat at a little table off to the side of the house and enjoyed cocktails and canapés that the venue had prepared for us. We were in our own little bubble and got to have a few quiet minutes to just us two, but we could still see everyone out on the lawn enjoying the drinks reception. We gave ourselves a few moments to take everything in before getting up and joining our guests out on the lawn.”
We love asking newlyweds for their best wedding day advice. Here’s what Lesleigh said:
“My top tip is to create a wedding email to use for anything wedding-related, suppliers, inquiries, purchases, excel sheets, etc. This way, you both have access to it and you don’t have to FWD each other emails. My other tip would be to follow venues on Instagram and see what they share to their feed and stories. In my opinion, this is a great way to get a feel for the vibes of the venue and see what suppliers they’re recommending.”
Recommended Suppliers
Wedding venue: Cloughjordan House
Cake: Bernadette Kennelly Cakes
Musician/band: Music by Shane & Aoife Hennessy
Other Suppliers
Photographer: Dasha Caffrey Photography | Videographer: Ard Ri Films | Musician/band: j90 Band | DJ: DJ Oisin Ryan (provided by Cloughjordan House) | Hair: Tietheknot Bridal Hair | Makeup: Luxe Salon | Couple’s outfits: Carrie’s Bridal, House of CB, Moran’s Menswear | Wedding party outfits: Azazie, Moran’s Menswear | Celebrant/solemniser: Matthew Readling (Bride’s Brother) | Rings: Worthmore Jewelers in Decatur, GA | Accessories: Veil – Etsy, Bridal shoes – Naturlizer, Groom’s watch – Fossil | Flowers: Clonakenny Flower Farm
