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THE COUPLE
Robert Dudley, tax advisor, and Megan Froats, project manager.
THEY LIVE
in Dublin.
THE VENUE
Barberstown Castle, Kildare.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Art Wedding Photography.
THEY MET
We met for the first time in November 2015 during our third year of college. We exchanged phone numbers at a popular sushi bar/nightclub in our college town at Clemson University, but nothing came of it at first. We then unexpectedly met again a couple of months later in January at the same place and the rest is history!
THE PROPOSAL
Robert had booked a surprise weekend trip for my 27th birthday. We ended up in London and stayed at the Royal Automobile Club and within 30 minutes of arriving, Robert popped the question on my birthday eve before dinner in a quiet bar. Robert worked with jeweller Keith Cusack in the Jewel Casket for months to modernise a very similar engagement ring to that of my grandmother. I was speechless and once the tears subsided, I could finally get my answer out – an obvious yes after seven years together.
Subsequent to this, Keith helped bring our wedding band visions to reality and was so helpful throughout the whole process.
THE WEDDING ATTIRE
I purchased my dress at a Bridal Boutique in New Jersey called I Do I Do. I immediately fell in love with Martina Liana’s dresses and with the help of my sister, aunt and cousins, I said yes to the dress! My sister/maid of honour was kind enough to fly my dress over before the wedding so I could get it fitted with the help of Anna O Bridal Alterations.
Robert’s tux was from Abrahams in Dublin. The team was so helpful throughout all of the fittings and we loved getting to personalise certain elements of the tux together.
THE CEREMONY
Our ceremony took place at Barberstown Castle. Live music has always been important in our lives, so we knew we wanted to incorporate music throughout the ceremony.
Doug Sheridan was fantastic, making our ceremony so special and fun, sprinkling our favourite songs into the day, such as “Dreams” by the Cranberries and even The Beach Boys. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, and Doug spent the cocktail hour playing outside, while guests enjoyed the sunshine, drinks and music.
We can truly say we’ve never been happier than we were on our wedding day – to see our vision come to life and to see our friends and family merge together to celebrate our love and commitment to each other was a dream come true.
THE RECEPTION
Our wedding was an Irish/American wedding, with over 100 guests travelling from the US and around 80 from Ireland. The venue lends itself to the rich history of Ireland and we were focused on a day full of fun and family togetherness from the meal, to the dancing to a late-night guitar session, everyone loved the medieval vibes at Barberstown Castle.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
We had the most talented group of singers/performers. Both Bryan Murphy, who travelled up to Kildare from Kerry, and Carouse brought a range of instruments, as they specialise in bringing a modern twist on traditional Irish music. Doug was also fantastic as mentioned above.
THE DECOR
From fonts to colours, I had the most fun synchronising everything to match the style we were going for. I have a background in graphic communications so it was a lot of fun to put our personal stamp on things like printed stationery and signage throughout the venue. We paired the medieval vibes of Barberstown Castle with a whimsical style – dried flowers (from Meadow Bunch), champagne-coloured velvet dresses for the bridesmaids and pops of deep olive green as the secondary colour – mainly featured in the stationery on the day. My employer generously printed our programs and table numbers for us. I designed everything (with the help of Canva), from the invitations and programs to the table numbers and the seating chart.
My favourite décor from the day was our ‘Generations of Love’ photos, thanks to some Pinterest inspo. My mom sadly passed away seven years ago and we really wanted to honour all of our family members who couldn’t be with us on the day. We had a personalised candle that we lit to remember those who had passed, thanks to the lovely work of Calligraphy by Laura. We printed and framed pictures, which are still in our home now as a special memory from our wedding.