I remember visiting Dingle as a small child on a holiday in Ireland with my family. I remember it vividly because we went out on the water to see Fungie the infamous Dingle Dolphin. So I was really curious what was in store when the wonderful Louise Scott Photography told me she wanted to submit an elopement in Dingle on the blog. Dingle certainly isn’t one of those Insta -famous locations in Ireland that you see cropping up in your feed on a regular basis. But oh.my.word. This elopement is going to give you goosebumps!
A Wanderlustful Elopement In Dingle
Ashtan and Michael | Dingle Peninsula Elopement from D.art Wedding Stories on Vimeo.
Michael and I met in Louisville, KY in August of 2013. At the time, I was living in another state but made a trip to Louisville to interview for a job and to visit my brother for his birthday weekend. Over the weekend, we all went out to the bars to celebrate my brother’s birthday, and Michael was part of the group. Michael and my brother went to University together, were in the same Fraternity, and were even working together at the same Accounting firm at the time. But because I had been living in another state for the previous 5 and 1/2 years, I had never met Michael before. There was an immediate connection. Michael and I spent the night talking and dancing. I was offered and accepted the job I interviewed for, and Michael and I talked nearly every day over the next couple of months as I finalized my move to Louisville. A few months after moving to Louisville, Michael actually talked with my brother and told him about his feelings for me and that he’d like to date me, and wanted to have my brother’s permission because he knew it might be awkward to have his sister dating one of his friends haha.
12/04/2016. The day started out like any other Sunday for us. After brunch at our favorite spot, Michael wanted to take our dogs for a long walk. But instead of walking them around our neighborhood like we usually do, Michael suggested driving out to the Parklands of Floyds Fork where we spend so much of our time together kayaking and fishing and running (well, where I do the running and he fishes while he waits for me haha). We walked the dogs along the Sky Dome trail, all the way up to the overlook. The air was cool and crisp, and you could tell rain was coming soon. We had the overlook to ourselves as we took in the quiet stillness of the parklands around us. I rested my head on Michael’s shoulder, saying how happy I was in this moment. Then Michael said, “You know what would make me really happy?” As I raised my head from his shoulder to look at him and ask what, he dropped to one knee, pulled a ring box out of his coat pocket and said, “if you would marry me.”
Michael and I knew from the start that a big, traditional wedding was not for us. We wanted something simple and private… something that was just about us. Both having Irish ancestry, we always wanted to visit Ireland, and with our love of the great outdoors, the breathtaking scenery of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way was a perfect fit. There was never really a choice to make… it was always going to be Ireland. After getting to know us and what we envisioned for our elopement, Annie Byrne and the team at Elope to Ireland suggested a clifftop ceremony at the Blasket Centre on the Dingle Peninsula. And once we saw the juxtaposition of the contemporary structure of the centre against the rugged cliffs and green countryside, we knew there was no other location but this for us.
Elope to Ireland helped match us with all of our main vendors, except for the videography. I actually found Rafal of D.art Wedding Stories via a recommendation from another videographer I had reached out to who was already booked for our date.
Hands-down, the best decision we made regarding our wedding was to not have one and elope to Ireland instead. The second best decision was to break with tradition and get ready together before our ceremony. I wouldn’t trade for anything the peace, contentment, intention and perfectness of those sweet moments together that morning.
Nothing big and fancy, just a whole lot of love.
Absolutely nothing!
Big wedding, small wedding, no wedding at all… whatever you choose to do, make sure it is what YOU want. Not everyone may be understanding of your decision, but this is your unique love story and your day should reflect that.
We included our honeymoon with our elopement, spending 10 days in Ireland, with half of the time spent on the Dingle Peninsula and the other half spent in Killarney, Cork and Dublin.
Credits
Photographer: Louise Scott Photography
Videographer: Rafal Ksciuk of D.art Wedding Stories
Planner: Elope to Ireland (Annie Byrne)
Pre-ceremony venue: Pax Guest House, Dingle
Ceremony venue: The Blasket Centre, Dunquin
Post-ceremony pints venue: Dick Mack’s Pub, Dingle
Music: Sean Treacy
Celebrant: Ray O’Sullivan
Flowers: Sheehy’s Florist & Gifts, Dingle
Hair: Tricia O Sullivan
Makeup: Gail Sheehy
Dress: BHLDN, with bespoke alterations
Headpiece: BeSomethingNew
Vow booklets: BHLDN
Suit: Joseph Abboud
