Great Gatsby Inspired Winter Weddingfest in Doolin Barn – Treasa and Karl

Great Gatsby Inspired Winter Weddingfest Doolin Barn MrsRedhead

Great Gatsby Inspired Winter Weddingfest in Doolin Barn – Treasa and Karl

MrsRedhead Photography

We wanted our wedding day to be very relaxed and easy going. It was very family orientated, we both wanted everyone included and didn’t want anyone small or big left out.

Everyone came in the mood for a party which made for a great night and the celebrations went on until the early hours of the morning thanks our DJ, Will Softly cranking out the tunes in the bar.

I love all things vintage especially the 1920/30s and always loved the book Great Gatsby, so for me this was the perfect theme for the wedding. We had so much fun putting together ideas for the day and Louise from Grace Events, with her brilliant eye for detail brought the whole thing to life.

The photography was really important to us, we wanted the day to be documented rather than posed and Olga – MrsRedhead photography – really delivered. I had followed her for years online and loved her style, it was so natural and she has just such an amazing eye. She was like a ninja on the day, snapping away but never distracting or obstructive. The photos speak for themselves, and as my father put it ‘they really tell a story of the day’. She is a brilliant storyteller and herself and her assistant photographer, Alex perfectly captured the spirit and style of the wedding. Not to mention she’s great fun to have around and she managed to put everyone at ease.

What was important to you about your wedding- what were your priorities from the very beginning?

Food, food and more food. We love to eat and spend ninety percent of our time talking about food or making food so naturally this was at the top of the list for us. We are regulars down in Doolin so we knew the hotel would not disappoint in this department and laid out some spread. All of our guests commented on the food from the reception tapas, to the meal, to the much welcomed midnight snack boxes.

We really wanted good music, our music tastes are very different so we wanted a band that would capture both of our styles. The Converse Allstars are pros at what they do so we knew we were in good hands when we booked them. We had been to weddings where bands cranked out the usual tired old tunes and that was not for us – thankfully with the Allstars we knew there would not be a waltz in sight and they did a brilliant rendition of ‘The Chain’ for our first dance song.

What made your venue “the one”?

My brother runs the hotel so we are down there quite a lot. We have always loved Doolin, it has it all; the cliffs, the atmosphere, the scenery, the relaxed vibe and of course the craic so it was a no brainer for us. I also always wanted a Winter wedding and I love the wildness of Doolin in Winter, everything is so rugged, and the hotel makes for a lovely cosy haven against the harshness of the weather. Aside from that, I had seen different weddings in the hotel over the years and they always did a great job. It has such an incredibly welcoming and easy going vibe. All the staff get on very well and it really comes out in the service.

What’s your love story? How did you meet originally and get together?

Like every true modern day romance, Karl and I met online. I was new to the online dating scene and after a few seriously bad dates had come to conclusion that maybe online dating was not for me…… enter Karl!! We reluctantly decided to go for a drink in a pub in Rathmines on Valentines night, despite the cringe factor, and ended up hitting the dance floor in Coppers until the wee hours of the morning. Things went so well we had a second date that weekend and within a week had met up a few times.

How did the proposal go, if there was one?

We had just come back from a week in Italy, and decided we would go for a bit of a hike to the Spinc, Glendalough in Wicklow. We go there regularly as it’s not too far from home. We had talked about getting married but I wasn’t expecting anything anytime soon so it came out of the blue. We were only about 15 minutes into our hike when it started to pour down on top of us, so we took shelter under a tree and before I knew it Karl was down on one knee. He told me afterwards he hadn’t planned on proposing but decided to seize the moment. It always rains when we plan any outing, and Karl thought it was just so us. It was the perfect proposal as I would have hated anything clichéd and the place meant something to us. We went into town the next day to pick out the ring together.

We are both big on family so it meant a lot to us to have all our nearest and dearest with us on the day.

We wanted the kids to have as much fun on the day as the adults. Our nieces and nephews were all so excited about the wedding and it meant a lot to have them there. I wanted to keep them entertained during the meal, as I can remember how boring I found the meals at weddings when I was a kid so we hired some babysitters. The kids had their meal in the snug bar and we made a goody bag for each of them, which included games, toys, colouring books, sweets etc. We loved putting them together and the kids were so happy to have stuff to play with on the day. We also bought a few Christmas dvds to have on in the background. We were really happy with how it turned out; the parents were able to enjoy their meal and the kids had a blast.

I make jewellery as a hobby and managed to convince Karl that it would be a lovely idea if we made our wedding rings. I booked us into a weekend course in the School of Jewellery (Cabra, Dublin) as I had done a few courses with them before and we had such a great day. Karl really enjoyed it and it was so special to be able to design and handcraft your own ring.

What advice would you give to couples planning their day?

1. I know absolutely everyone says this but make sure to relax on the day and enjoy it. You put so much time as a couple into planning it and it goes by so fast that you really need to enjoy every minute. I can honestly say Karl and I were so relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the day. If something goes wrong, who the hell cares, it’s the one day where you get to have all your favourite people under one roof so make the most of it. Don’t sweat the small stuff because it really doesn’t matter.

2. If there is something that you don’t want to do, then don’t do it – there is no rule book you have to follow. Don’t feel under pressure to include every single clichéd tradition.

Where did you go/are you planning on going on honeymoon?

We went to South Africa, neither of us had been before and we fell in love with the people, the scenery, the food, the wine – I could go on. We started our trip in Cape Town and drove along the Garden Route, stopping in wine estates/towns along the way and ending it with a safari. It was an amazing trip and we loved all of it, from the bustle of the Waterfront in Cape Town, the chilled atmosphere of the vineyards, swimming in the warm Indian Ocean, to the safari drives where we got to experience nature at its wildest.

Great Gatsby Inspired Winter Weddingfest Doolin Barn

Photographer : Olga – MrsRedhead Photography

second shooter : Aleksandra Skibniewska

Church : Kilshany

• Wedding Dress: Aibheil in Adare

• Groom’s Suit: Magee in Dublin

• Bridesmaids dresses: Asos

• Shoes: Brown Thomas

• Flowers: West Clare Flowers

• Groomsmen’s suits: Suits Me

• Groomsmen’s shoes: River Island

• Cake: Hotel Doolin

• Cars/Wedding Favours: Heritage Wedding Cars.

• Stationery: Gilded Swan Paperie

• Make Up & Hair: Hair Boutique and Roisin Kirwin Make up

• Wedding Bands: Converse All Stars

• Ceremony/Reception Music: Lorna Moore

Great Gatsby Inspired Winter Weddingfest Doolin Barn