American Wedding In Irish Style – Springfield castle Fairy Tale – Caitrin & Matt

American wedding Ireland, Mrsredhead wedding photography, castle wedding Ireland

MrsRedhead Wedding Photography Ireland

American Wedding In Irish Style – Springfield castle Fairy Tale – Caitrin & Matt

We wanted it to be a fun, relaxing, unique experience for all our guests as we had never been to Ireland.

We figured with the costs of typical large, American weddings we might as well make it an experience. Decisions about style and décor were with the idea of timelessness – as Matt is very laid back and easy to please, I, the Bride did not want to look at pictures years down the road and think ‘Well THAT was a 2019 wedding!’

We chose Ireland as a unique wedding idea and started searching for venues.

Caitrin’s father had family originally from Limerick, and so the search was narrowed to that area. We loved Springfield Castle’s motto, “Forti et Fideli Nihil difficile” which translates to “Nothing is difficult to the strong and faithful”.

When discussing wedding plans with an aunt, we learned that someone she knew had gotten married at Springfield Castle and loved it so much, they returned for a five year reunion! This sealed the deal, and the choice became very appropriate as 2019 was a challenging year leading up to the day; Caitrin’s father got diagnosed with cancer in January and Caitrin got the shingles in March! Much of the wedding planning was made sight unseen working nights as an ICU nurse.

We loved that our families were able to stay at Springfield Castle and have unique Irish experiences such as the Jameson Distillery in Cork prior to the wedding.

We are originally from two separate states, (Ohio and Nebraska) and our wedding was the first time many of our relatives and friends met each other. It was so exciting meeting up with friends and family in Ireland and experiencing a wonderful vacation in the days prior to our wedding! Everyone got along splendidly.

I used the cuff from my mother’s wedding dress as my ‘something old’ – wrapped around my bouquet.

After helping my dad recover from surgery the previous spring, the Etsy pin find, “I Loved her First” with our picture on it (one of my favorites) was truly special to me. At one point we weren’t sure if he would be able to make it over to Ireland.

That being said, we made our favors a donation to the American Cancer Society as we know many people who have been affected by cancer. My mother’s brother died of it at a young age and my mother’s friend Kathy who came to Ireland, had lung cancer – and unfortunately passed almost a month after the wedding.

My Aunt Linda and cousin Kelsi are wonderful seamstresses and made sure my dress was pressed and ready for the day ahead.

Our good friend Helena kept herself busy in the kitchen making sure I had a good breakfast – and some mimosas – before walking down the aisle!

Matt enjoyed the special time he spent getting ready with his Dad and friends. The ambiance of the castle made the pre-wedding nervousness easier to bear!

What advice would you give to other couples planning their day?

Just relax and enjoy the day – it will all work out in the end! And hire a wedding planner if you can! J Make the day about you and your partner, the rest shouldn’t matter!

We could not have been more delighted with every single vendor we found to make our day complete. From the florist, to the musician Brenda, DJ Paudie, Tricia’s hair and makeup artistry, and of course Mrs. Redhead herself, we are so grateful for your contributions.

Irish hospitality especially at Springfield Castle simply cannot be beat!

How did the proposal go, if there was one?

I had gotten off three straight nights of working in the ICU which means I wasn’t moving quickly when I was woken up at 3pm.

Matt had planned another one of our routine hikes in the woods with our dogs and was more insistent on getting there on time than usual. He woke me up with my Starbucks order of coffee and a warm blueberry muffin to entice me to leave my warm comfy bed. On this particular day, I had had some hard nights at work and didn’t want to go anywhere. Matt was chiding me to get moving and I was wondering why the rush when we had nothing else planned.

In my typical fashion, I suddenly got a burst of energy and dressed to head out the door. But when we got out of our apartment parking lot, he suddenly stopped and must have let 20 cars pass! I was too tired to be entirely suspicious but asked him why he suddenly wasn’t in a rush anymore?! We got to the woodland reservation and started our hike up a peak with a beautiful view of downtown Boston.

I like to get a good workout in and don’t like stopping to catch the scenery, no matter what! When we got further up the hill, our dogs suddenly ran ahead of us, which is atypical for them. Unbeknownst to me, our friends were at the top of the peak to stop me from continuing on the hike! As I said hello and turned to look over at Matt, he was down on one knee and speechless, having lost his carefully planned speech. In my shock and surprise, I put the ring on my hand and kissed him! We toasted with friends on the top of the peak and finished the hike with them.

A perfect surprise!

How did you meet originally and get together?

I had reluctantly travel nursed to Omaha, Nebraska in April 2017 after having applied to positions in Seattle, Portland and Boston and not hearing anything back.

The recruiter had said that the city was dog friendly which appealed to me after having left my dog Finn with my parents back in Ohio to travel nurse to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Towards the end of my three month assignment in Omaha, I finally agreed to go on a date with Matt after casually talking to each other on eHarmony. He seemed nice enough, and I had no plans of anything serious since I would be leaving town shortly.

I had secured a position for my next assignment, a lifelong dream of mine and told him right away that I didn’t like Nebraska, and was heading to Boston! Matt had been planning on quitting his job at TD Ameritrade to be a full time ranch hand on his friend’s land in Western Nebraska. Low and behold, he ended up quitting his job and moving to Boston with me! Matt said he knew I was ‘the one’ when he first laid eyes on me, and I thought he was different when he told me to let him know I made it home safe. He was the best thing that ever happened to me!

Photographer : Olga MrsRedhead Photography Ireland

Second Photographer : Aleks Skibniewska

● Ceremony: St. Bartholomew’s Church in Dromcollogher, County Limerick

● Reception (if different): Springfield Castle in Dromcollogher

● Bridesmaids dresses/Groomsmen suits/Wedding party outfits: Scott had a custom suit from Jos. A Banks and Kelsi wore a dress from Macy’s

● Shoes: from Dilliards

● Accessories: A combination of Etsy (bracelet) and David’s Bridal (earrings, veil)

● Flowers: Tie The Knot Weddings in Abbeyfeale

Cake: Brudairs Bakery

● Wedding Favours: Donated money to the American Cancer Society

● Stationery: Invitations/programs were handmade by my Aunt Linda

● Makeup: Tricia O’Sullivan

Hair: Same

● Wedding Rings: Jared’s Jeweler

● Ceremony/Reception Music: Brenda Grealis

● Band/DJ: DJ Paudie

American wedding Ireland, Mrsredhead wedding photography, castle wedding Ireland

MrsRedhead Wedding Photography Ireland