A Very Intimate Real Wedding

An intimate, family-filled gathering at Ballyvolane House, Co Cork

Photographs Pawel Bebenca

American couple Kristyn Deyo and Robert Long came to Ireland for a wedding that they could feel connected to and enjoy every moment of. Each element was personal to them; from Roger’s dad officiating the ceremony, to personal notes for every guest, to the handmade wedding rings they crafted themselves. They involved their family in every aspect of the event and the resulting warmth of this is palpable.

?Our wedding was about love and family.? We asked Roger’s dad to become ordained and marry us.?The entire bridal party was made up of our siblings and their spouses.? My dad participated in our hand fasting ceremony.?Roger’s brother introduced our ring-warming ceremony. I designed and wrote the ceremony and all of our vows – we also wrote personal vows that we shared with one another for the first time at our wedding.? It was really important to us to have vows that weren’t cookie cutter.?We did a seated dinner at one long intimate table.?The guests were seated and given time to sip their wine and read our notes in handmade cards, before we made our entrance.? It really set the tone, and gave us the opportunity to thank them for coming all the way to Ireland.? We asked our parents and siblings to bring their favorite picture from their wedding day, as well as our grandparents wedding day, and used them at our reception.? We wanted to emphasize love, family and how important they are in our life together.? We love our families and we love where we came from.? We wanted to highlight the great generations of examples we have in our lives, and really embrace what love looks like all around us.?We wanted our guests to share in our day and feel like they were also in our love story.? The intimacy of our entire wedding really made that idea possible.?

THEIR SUPPLIERS

Bride’s dress Cala Bridal Her veil Sibo Designs Hair Upstyle Junkie Makeup The Mobile Makeup Artist Her shoes Menbur at Nordstrom Groom’s suit Duchess Clothier Groom & groomsmen’s custom ties Tux & Tulle Invitations One Little M Cakes Touch of Magic Cake toppers Prince Whitaker Sky lanterns Sky Orbs Wedding bands With these rings Reception music The Bentley Boys

For more from this beautifully personal wedding, pick up your copy of IMAGE Brides, on newsstands now