An Intimate Destination Wedding At Ballynahinch Castle In County Galway

Katherine & Tommy flew all the way from Chicago in the USA to Ireland to say their wedding vows in an intimate destination wedding at Ballynahinch Castle in County Galway. They found Ballynahinch castle during their venue search, a beautiful castle set amongst stunning scenery, and knew it was the perfect place to get married with 8 of their closest family members.

Their beautiful adventure was captured beautifully by Alise & Conor from No Other Love Photography

An Intimate Destination Wedding In County Galway In Ireland

Tell us about the proposal

My family has a lake house in Northern Michigan and we spend a week every summer with my father’s side of the family. Tommy and I have made it a tradition to go to Mackinac Island for a day every summer. In the summer of 2017 on July 5th we took the ferry to the island and started to hike. We reached an opening in the forest where there was a large field of yellow flowers. I was so taken with the flowers I didn’t notice how nervous tommy was! He suggested taking a picture of us and while I focused on that he had pulled out a ring and gotten down on one knee – I turned around and the rest is history! My grandmother had given my great grandmothers wedding ring to Tommy and he had it reset for me, when we returned back to the lake house later in the day surprising our family my grandmother was there brought to tears.

How did you choose your venue?

After the initial idea of getting married in Ireland was brought up, I started looking around at locations. The Ballynahinch came up as an option and I stumbled upon their website and honestly the images of the place just kind of sold it for me. I fell in love with the location, remote and rustic but classicly beautiful. I could have never predicted how perfect it turned out. The location was beyond amazing, the staff were incredible and everything turned out so much better than we could have imagined.

What was the hardest part of the planning process?

Sticking to one decision, there are just so many options out there for just about everything. Its hard to see all the amazing things online and on instagram and then not want to change something. Looking back now though, I wouldn’t change a thing!

How did you personalise your wedding day to reflect who you are as a couple?

Every single detail of the day reflected who we were. From the hike we went on in the morning to the relaxed way we got ready, our unique ceremony and family dinner followed by guinnes pints and live music in the pub – it couldn’t have been more us. Classic, relaxed and happy!

What are you favourite memories from the day?

Getting ready with just our families made for the most relaxing wedding morning. Tommy and I woke up and went for a small hike on the Ballynahinch grounds. We had breakfast delivered to our room and relaxed. When it was time for hair and makeup to come and set up, Tommy went off with Katherine’s Dad and Brother to do some clay pigeon shooting while Katherine got ready with her mom and sister in law. The whole process was just calm and happy.

Looking at Tommy as we stood at the dinner table with his newly minted wedding ring, he was making a toast to our families and as I looked all of our loved ones sitting at the table with their glasses raised toasting our marriage you could just feel the warmth and love surrounding us. I was overwhelmed by how happy everyone was and by how happy we were. With everyones glasses in the air and smiles on their faces, it was a moment I wont soon forget. At the end of the night, when both of our families were sitting around a table in the pub listening to two men who had been playing together for years while drinking pints of beer, my sister in law (brothers wife) turned to me and asked “is this what you imagined? Because this is so much more incredible than i ever could have imagined”. That sealed it, not only did we think the day had been perfect – so did our family.

If you could offer one piece of wisdom to couples currently planning a wedding, what would it be?

Relax and listen to what you truly want. Its hard to ignore all the people who want a say in your special day but in the end its about you and what the two of you want. Focusing on that will make your wedding day that much more special. A lot of people had a lot to say about

Anything you are really glad you did? Or wish you didn’t do?

We are so glad we made our ceremony intimate, and we committed our lives to each other with the people who mean the most to us in attendance. It felt more focused on this incredibly important promise we made to each other.