In January of this year, my dear friend Tami Klein introduced me to Eva and Alan. Eva and Alan we're planning their wedding in Ireland, where Alan is from, for July of this year and Tami was not able to document it and passed my name along. Not long after the initial introduction did the three of us meet for a Guinness and it was love at first sight haha
My family reigns from Ireland and it has been an ultimate goal for me to document a wedding or even couple session there and to now have done so, I feel so incredibly thankful and honoured.
The location Eva + Alan chose is what dreams are made of. Lough Rynn Castle was stunning from the old building to the walled gardens to the lake, it couldn't be a more perfect venue. I spoke with Eva about their planning, their love story and their wedding. Have a read!
How did you two meet? Tell us a little about your love story
E: "Alan and I were both working in financial services at the time, and "met" initially through email when we were working on the same client. Slowly our work emails started including more and more personal updates, and we had to start a separate email chain just for chats. Eventually Alan got up the nerve to ask me out on a date and it was the best first date I had ever been on - we both laughed SO hard the whole evening, and neither of us had anything to drink. We went to a board game cafe and found out after arriving that they didn't have a liquor license."
A: "One day Eva called me on an issue (we still hadn't met yet) but she was really sick at the time. We joked that she was going to get me sick over the phone. Eva thought it would be funny to send me a Strepsil through interoffice mail just incase. Unfortunately for me the Strepsil arrived at my desk when my supervisor and manager were standing there and they both asked me - "Why is Eva Curtis sending you mail? What is it?". I reluctantly opened the envelope and out dropped the Strepsil, my co-workers were super confused, but I thought to myself, I think I might marry this girl."
With you being from Canada and Alan from Ireland, how did you decide where you would have your wedding?
E: "After travelling to Santorini a couple years ago, we both decided that was where we wanted to get married. But after doing some research realized it would be difficult for people to get there from Canada. We then started looking at other options outside of Toronto and eventually decided on Ireland. We have built a home in Toronto, but Ireland is where Alan lived most of his life, and we liked the idea of incorporating it into our story by celebrating there."
How did you guys choose Lough Rynn?
E: "We went home in July 2017 to look at wedding venues and start the legal process for us to get married in Ireland. We had a couple venue appointments setup, based on researching online, and weren't actually planning to see Lough Rynn. Alan's friend mentioned he had attended an amazing wedding at Lough Rynn recently, and highly recommended we check it out. We scheduled a last minute appointment to take a tour and it was the third venue we saw. As soon as we drove up the driveway we were pretty much sold. It is such a beautiful venue and the grounds are stunning. After taking the tour, we were so impressed by the professionalism of the staff, we knew that they'd do a great job and would be easy to deal with while planning an overseas wedding. We cancelled all our other appointments after the tour and signed a contract that day."
What was most important when it came to your wedding, what did you want to make sure was included?
E: "There were three things that were super important to us (aside from each other and our wonderful guests) - great food, good music, and a photographer who was able to capture the events of the day in a candid style."
Looking back, would you of changed anything?
E: "The whole day went perfectly - we were both shocked how smoothly everything went. Honestly neither of us would have changed a thing."
Did you find it difficult to plan a wedding from another country? How did you find your vendors?
E: "Planning a wedding in Ireland, while in Canada, was definitely challenging at times. But our vendors were all SO amazing, they made the process extremely easy and were very helpful throughout everything. It also helped having Alan's family and friends in Ireland, as they helped out as well. Special mention to our wedding coordinator, Michelle at Lough Rynn. She was so helpful and made sure the day went smoothly without any issues. We found our vendors through a mixture of family/friend suggestions and suggestions from Lough Rynn."
Your wedding was flawless and not one thing went wrong BUT is there any advice you would give to couples planning their wedding? More specifically, from another country?
E: "Planning a wedding from another country - I would suggest picking a venue which provides you with a designated wedding coordinator - someone who will help you throughout the planning process and also be there on the wedding day to make sure everything goes as planned. That really helped to alleviate some stress, and made the planning process a lot easier for us. I would also highly suggest having a first look - we were both nervous the morning of the wedding, but as soon as we saw each other the nerves melted away and we were both super excited for the day."
Is there a moment that really stands out from your wedding day?
E: " There were a couple moments that stand out, when we look back on the day - the first look was really special and emotional. It helped to kill our nerves and allowed us to spend some alone time together before being with everyone. The second moment was our vows during the ceremony - we both wrote our own and it was an incredibly special and emotional moment to share with our guests. The third was after dinner - we decided to take a walk and found some chairs down a hallway. We sat there for about 15 minutes and reflected on the day. It was really nice to be present in the moment and appreciate what a special day we had had so far."
