The Sweetest Wedding at the 18th Century Millhouse in Ireland

Erin Lepperd
October 17, 2018
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Vintage Chic

I am now fully convinced Ireland is the prettiest spot in all the world for marrying. But all castles (or really cool 18th century mills) aside, it takes picturesque to a whole new level. Niall Scully captured this vintage inspired affair at The Millhouse, ripe with the prettiest florals by Fernwood Flowers, two Brides who are head over heels in love, and that token greenery that Ireland is known for. See it all right here!

Here is their story… Jenna and Aoife met in June 2011 on Inis Meáin, one of the Aran islands off the coast of Galway, Ireland. They had both returned to university earlier that year to study Primary Teaching – Aoife in Dublin and Jenna in Limerick – and had to spend 3 weeks in the Gaeltacht (an Irish only speaking region) as part of their training. Inis Meáin is a tiny island with only 160 inhabitants, one shop, one pub and the most incredibly rugged scenery. They had both chosen the location to get away from all the hustle and bustle; in fact, only 35 student teachers from all the universities in Ireland chose to go there that year.

Little did they know that among that small group in the most unlikely of places, they would find one another. During their very first Irish lesson, they were paired up to chat and from that moment, Aoife was drawn to Jenna. They would walk to and from “school” together every day and it immediately felt as if they were old friends. Although groups would set off around the island for a walk every afternoon, it always ended up being the two of them chatting away, oblivious to everyone around them.

In such a remote place and without phones and other distractions, you really get to know a person for who they are. They made the most of their time on the island: watching the sunsets every evening with their friends from the top of an old fort; ceilís and card games in the pub; adventuring down the sheer limestone cliffs; and late-night sessions with guitars and wine until the sun came up on the beach.

Inis Meáin is a magical place and very special to them both; they try to make time to visit when they can. At the end of the three weeks, although Aoife had to head back to Dublin and Jenna to Limerick and Cork, they stayed in touch and discovered the cheesy adage of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ is absolutely true! What followed was two more years of trains, buses and car journeys back and forth as they fell madly in love. When they graduated, they set off on our next adventure and moved to Kent, England where they still live today.

It was on a December night in 2015 that Jenna proposed in Port Lympe. They had gone to stay in the manor house for the night – Aoife thought she was there to feed the gibbons the next day for my birthday but she came away with a fiancé! Jenna had designed the most romantic proposal: she had a wooden jigsaw made of a map of Inis Meáin, which Aoife had to put together. She completed the jigsaw but realized that there was one piece missing; she was handed a second box, in which was the missing piece and a beautiful ring. There was never any question of where they would get married.

They were so proud of Ireland voting for marriage equality that they knew they wanted to tie the knot at home. They loved every moment of planning the wedding and although they were planning from abroad, our venue and all suppliers were a dream to work with. They had met their photographer Niall Scully a couple of times and had some pre-wedding shots taken, including on one particularly wet and windy day in Dalkey harbour with waves crashing over us!

They had an immediate rapport with him and just knew that the photography on the day would be relaxed and great fun. Their wedding photos totally capture the feeling of the day and they love looking back at them and remembering all the little moments and details. They really wanted to make a weekend of it so they had time to celebrate with all their family and friends, especially those who had travelled to be with them. From their family dinner the night before, and the big day itself, to their after party the following day, every moment was filled with love and lots of laughter. They will never forget the feeling of love in the room as they said “I do.”

Their story started with an adventure to a remote little island and has continued with travels all over the world, which is quite fitting as they favourite quote from their favourite movie is “Adventure is out there!”