"To Me You Invented Love" - A Wild Elopement In Ireland

You might have fallen in love with the stunning imagery from Paula O’Hara a few weeks ago when I shared this elopement in Northern Ireland and I know you’re going to love this wild and beautiful elopement in Ireland.

To Me You Invented Love - A Wild Elopement In Ireland

Mary and Eric live in Bozeman, Montana. Mary is an Oncology nurse and Eric owns a small furniture store. They met almost 13 years ago when Eric asked Mary if he could buy her a cup of coffee in a waiting room of a car dealership, the amusing part was that the coffee was already free. They became friends after that and intermittently stayed in touch throughout the years. Mary moved to North Carolina and sadly, they lost touch. Seven years went by and Mary moved back to Bozeman to full fill her childhood nostalgia and they happened to reconnect. It was a mutual, overwhelming love for one another and they knew pretty quickly they would be together forever.

The Proposal

Eric‘s grandfather built a small church in the mountains of Montana. Mary loves that church and the ruins still stand today. He asked her to marry him there after reading a love letter he had written to her. During their 10 month engagement, they decided it was important to them to just have their closest family members present for their wedding, to not allow the pressure of others expectations to determine what was right for them, and to have a calm, easy going day without any stress. Neither of them had ever been to Ireland but both of their families have Irish history so they decided it would be a fun family vacation and a great place to have their wedding.

After a bit of research they decided on the small town of Glengarriff in West Cork, they hired a private house for the week overlooking Glengarriff Bay. They wanted epic scenery, so on a hike two days prior to the wedding, Barley Lake was decided on. They felt like it was a sacred spot and loved the vast, wild landscape. Even though the forecast in Ireland is ever changing and never guaranteed, they choose to have faith and brave it.

The Wedding Day

The wedding morning started with a great breakfast, and afterwards the guys all went for a hike while the girls got ready. Mary and Eric were extremely flexible on their wedding day and even moved the ceremony time up by an hour due to the call for rain. Everyone drove up the mountain and hiked to the ceremony location.

Mary and Eric allowed their day to fold out naturally. Mary‘s amazing mother even took off her shoes at the last minute and walked her daughter barefoot over large boulders to the ceremony spot! They whole day was so personal to them; Mary‘s sister in law played hymns on the fiddle, while Mary‘s brother officiated the ceremony. Mary and Eric wrote their own vows which was incredibly moving and intimate. Their goal was a traditional Christian ceremony in a not so traditional location, I think they achieved a perfect balance!

Afterwards, they went back to the house where drinks and canapes were served. They enjoyed a candlelight dinner overlooking the bay with delicious local food, wine, speeches and local musicians playing traditional Irish tunes.

All of the greenery used on the day was foraged from the property surrounding the house and in the local woodlands nearby. The table was decorated with various sized candles, moss, ferns, and ivy while each place setting had the guests named calligraphed on local mussel shells from the shoreline outside their house.

Advice From The Couple

Slow down, enjoy the process, focus on loving each other. Enjoy the sentiment of what a wedding day actually means…love always wins! The more you can delegate to a wedding planner, the better!