Today I’ve got another Irish treat for you! This is Valerie & Trey’s intimate Cliffs of Moher elopement captured by Amare Stories and Mrs Redhead.
A Backyard Elopement At the Cliffs of Moher
Cliffs of Moher Elopement Clare from Amare Stories on Vimeo.
Valerie and Trey met on October 5, 2012 as two law school students at Florida State University College of Law. They started out as friends and teammates on an intramural flag football team. Surprisingly, Valerie and Trey grew up in towns located about 45 minutes away from one another. After a few months it was inevitable that they would become more than friends. Valerie admired Trey’s nonchalant approach to everything – including school – and his ability to laugh through any situation. Trey valued Valerie’s independence, loyalty, and her cooking skills. Almost overnight, the two of them formed a bond that they knew would last forever. They enjoyed playing sports with mutual friends, visiting home to their families, and beginning to travel the world together.
In December of 2016, Trey brought Valerie to a beautiful park decorated with Christmas lights before they headed to their favorite restaurant in Thomasville, GA. In true Valerie-fashion, she was tired, hungry, and grouchy and didn’t feel like walking around the park that evening. Trey was nervous and sweating bullets, even though it was quite cold outside. As Valerie tried to make her escape to the car, Trey literally had to drag her back into the park so that he could drop down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of their lives together. Of course, she quickly said yes and asked where the champagne was! Knowing her all too well, Trey opened the trunk of his car to reveal the chilled champagne and flutes he had brought for them to celebrate with. They walked around to see the lights one more time, this time in much happier spirits, holding hands as fiancé and fiancé.
Not too long after, Valerie and Trey began wedding planning. They knew they wanted their special day to take place in October of 2017 and began seeking out venues and getting estimates from vendors. Planning a wedding with some family overseas, a job transition, and limited financial resources began to seem like more of a daunting task than a day of celebration. Together Valerie and Trey decided that if their wedding day were to be about them and their decision to spend the rest of their lives together, they needed to refocus their wedding planning efforts. They took their budget and decided that planning an unforgettable trip for the two of them was where their dollars would be best spent. The hardest part was keeping the secret from all of their other loved ones!
Being overseas made choosing vendors especially difficult. We put a lot of faith into internet searches and hoping the photographer and videographer we selected would work out. Both Olga and Ronan put our minds at ease by communicating via email and even Skype.
We wanted to intimately celebrate the decision we were making to spend our lives together with just the two of us.
Put yourselves first when wedding planning. Don’t be afraid to do something untraditional!
After spending time in Ireland we ventured to Barcelona, Santorini, and Paris! It was a magical trip that we are so fortunate to have experienced. We even returned to Yellow Cottage for our first anniversary!
Credits
Photographer – Mrs Redhead
Videographer – Amare Stories
Celebrant – Eithne Griffin
Yellow Cottage – Owners Phil & Valerie
Bride’s Hair - Mimis Hair Salon, Ennistymon
Wedding Dress – BHLDN
Groom’s Suit – ASOS
