Colma & Jen's romantic wedding on west coast of Ireland - Doolin Barn , MrsRedhead

Colma & Jen’s romantic wedding on west coast of Ireland – Doolin Barn

This wedding … OMG i could talk and talk . Every piece of your ceremony had meaning to it, and a meaning that was apt to two people starting their lives together.

Charming and full of love Irish wedding ceremony in a rustic barn filled with family and amazing friends .

Congratulations to you girls on your new life as wife and wife!

Mrs Redhead wedding photographer

Dreamcatcher Productions

14 years ago, we met at work and went on our first date in Doolin. It ended up going full-circle and Doolin became the place we got married.

We wanted a relaxed and classy feel, full of fairy lights, flowers, Irish vibes and for our guests to mix and have a laugh… so we prioritised the music, flowers, drink and fancy dress! We knew the personalities of everyone going so we figured if we had those aspects sorted, then hopefully we’d have the right ingredients for an epic celebration… and that it was!

As soon as we walked into the Wedding Barn in Hotel Doolin, we knew it was perfect for us. We loved that it wasn’t a traditional function room. It was alternative in such a jaw-droppingly, beautiful way. It’s whimsical but funky; it’s new-meets-old; relaxed and romantic; rustic and natural… It’s such a cool spot and we adored it!

” ‘Mrs Redhead’: Olga was a superstar and fit in with all of our family and friends like we’d known them all our lives. She got involved with all the guests and even dressed up alongside them.

She took such natural photos and knew all the local places to go to get the best view. She didn’t leave until really late, and by 1am, she had already sent us a sneak peak of some of our photos. We’ve seen them all at this stage and we’re absolutely delighted with the official photos that she took.

It’s no surprise that she just won ‘Wedding Photographer of the Year 2018’, as she has such a talent, and truly deserves that accolade .

As we all know, it’s the people that make a place, and it’s the staff in Hotel Doolin that make the place what it is. Paul Coote is the outstanding Wedding Co-ordinator there. He did such an amazing job, and really took the time to accommodate everything we asked for. He was always so friendly, patient and efficient. He made sure everything went as smoothly as possible and we knew we were in great hands. Special mention to Éimhín in Reservations who looked after us like it was her own wedding. PJ, Zino, Thomas, Niamh, Adam, Tríona and all the gang behind the scenes who pulled out all the stops for us… They were all an absolute delight to deal with .

Gavin ( Dreamcatcher Productions ) and his team were just brilliant on the day. He was so professional but at the same time relaxed, discreet and unassuming and worked so well with the Photographers. We’ve just got our Wedding Highlights Trailer, and it’s amazing. We absolutely love it! He nailed it and totally captured the vibe of the day. We knew we were great hands with him.”.

Col & Jen

When we got engaged, everyone asked us ’so… who asked who?’ It might sound silly, but it didn’t happen like that for us. We’d been together for so long and had been there for each other through thick and thin. As for ‘who asked who’, well for us it was the country that asked that question with the Marriage Equality vote, and when the majority of Ireland answered yes in May 2015, well… that was our answer. It was just a matter of when the right time was…

So now that we could get married, we had no idea how things worked with regards to booking venues. Turned out Hotel Doolin are usually booked up 18 months in advance, so there were only 4 dates left available for Summer 2018. If we wanted any of them, we’d need to book quick. This set the wheels in motion, but we still decided to keep quiet about our plans until we had the venue booked and the rings on our fingers.

Off we popped to Doolin, giddy about the fact that we were going in to book our wedding venue without so much as a ring nor a proposal, haha! Needless to say, we fell in love with the place and knew that nowhere else would compare.

We booked the venue, and then a week later we went off to pick our rings. We had originally planned to get different rings, but funnily enough, the same ring suited us both, and so the same ring it was. The day the rings arrived in, we skedaddled off to pick them up and went to a beach along the Copper Coast in Waterford to finally pop the question… Yes was the answer of course… and 16 months of celebrations ensued until the big day itself. Looking back, it really was the best time of our lives.

Family & Friends:

We had family and friends come from as far as Australia, Italy, Jersey and from all over the U.K and Ireland. It was just so priceless to have our nearest and dearest with us on our special day, and it wouldn’t have been the same if any of them had been missing. So many of our closest crew went over and above what we ever expected of them, and it was so touching being on the receiving end of all their special touches. The acceptance and excitement of it all was so contagious. They made us feel very loved and we are so grateful to have them all in our lives.

Pride Wing Mirror covers :

One of our nieces came up with the idea to get Pride Wing Mirror Covers for family and friends arriving in Doolin, two days before the big day. She’d packaged them up with a label saying “Keep an eye out for others on your drive to Doolin. Beep Beep!” It was the most exciting journey ever, looking out for pride flags coming from all different directions on the motorway and the country roads… The end result was a convoy of cars with pride flags arriving into Doolin on the same day as us. It was such fun! The Hotel had the pride flag up outside all week; and for the two days before the wedding, our families and friends were sporting different versions of flags whether it was on their jumper, their runners, their kids or even on their dogs… Loved it all!

Inishowen Gospel Choir:

We walked into ‘Lovely Day’, followed by ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘This Little Light of Mine’, ‘Your Love Keeps Lifting Me’, ‘Aint No Mountain High Enough’, ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’, ‘Forever Young’, and then left to ‘Oh Happy Day’… The Inishowen Gospel Choir nailed every one. Col’s Mam & Dad are not with us any longer and we figured if we had very emotional music during the ceremony, we’d lose our composure… so we wrote to Inishowen Gospel Choir and begged them to bring some soul to the day. They travelled 5 hours (one way) and lifted everyone’s spirits. Instead of tears of sadness, there were tears of joy and they raised the roof with their harmonies. They were just magical and created such a happy and joyful vibe to the day.

Miriam Fitzgerald in Spiritual Ceremonies:

Miriam did such an amazing job, and really took the time to know us. She opened lots of people’s eyes that day, and we’re eternally grateful to her for that. After the ceremony, our guests thought she knew us a long time, which is a total credit to her. We were taken aback with how patient, kind and caring she was and how it didn’t seem like a job to her. She was so professional throughout and despite all our changes, she made it seem like it was no problem. She calmed us beforehand, and then she went and put her whole personality into her delivery and that’s what made it so unique and beautiful! Everything was just perfect, it was powerful! We had such an amazing day, and we were so glad she was part of it!

Fun Times Vintage Dress Up:

Hannah was amazing and set it all up that morning. To be honest, we had no idea how fantastic this was going to turn out. It was hilarious watching everyone in their beautiful wedding gear turning into their alter egos and hitting the dancefloor. It was amazing!

West Clare Flowers:

Sheena arranged our bouquets, button-holes and corsages… She did an amazing job and everyone complimented how beautiful they were. She was a pleasure to deal with and is truly gifted.

Body Treats Beauty Salon:

Deirdre & co. made us look like better versions of ourselves for our Wedding Day. She put such precision into both looks and really made us glow! She was fantastic and really put everyone at ease on such a hyper morning!

Louise Byrne Mobile Stylist:

Louise gave us the most magnificent hair sculptures. Our hair stayed put until 6am when we finally went to bed, despite dancing our socks off all night. I don’t know how she did it! She smashed both looks!

Grace Events:

Louise and her team totally nailed what we wanted… from chatting about colors and ideas to actually seeing what it looked like on the day! They totally nailed the look we were after and their attention to detail was second to none.

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

: wedding photographer Ireland MrsRedhead

We stayed in Doolin for our mini-moon for a week, along with both our families and close friends… It was the biggest honeymoon we’d ever heard of! 😉 Especially the day 75 of us headed off to Inis Oírr together, sun blazing and it felt like we were somewhere tropical! It was something that could only happen once-in-a-lifetime and the whole week was really and truly unforgettable.

After that, we worked for a week and flew to NYC for 3 days and then on to Secrets Maroma in Cancun, Mexico for a week. Secrets Maroma was pure luxury and we loved every minute. White sand, palm trees, pool bar, hammocks, swings, cocktails, lots of restaurants, made great friends – everything was just amazing! Highly recommend it!

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

Enjoy all the planning – because although it might seem overwhelming sometimes, you’re going to miss it when it’s all over. We want to do it all over again. Best. Day. Ever!