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Real Weddings: Caroline and Dwayne’s fairytale wedding at Kildare’s Kilkea Castle

by IMAGE
03rd Feb 2024

First crossing paths at the Galway Races, Caroline and Dwayne got engaged in Glendalough and tied the knot in Kilkea Castle, where the pair danced the night away…

THE COUPLE
Caroline, mental health nurse and Dwayne, mechanic.

THEY LIVE
in Naas Co. Kildare.

THE VENUE
Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Elaine Barker Photography.

THEY MET
We crossed paths at The Galway Races, when Dwayne kindly offered me a seat as I had sore feet from standing all day in heels — we definitely hit it off, and the rest is history.

THE PROPOSAL
At the time, Dwayne had a broken arm and had a few weeks to reflect and prepare the engagement, but keeping it under wraps from me would be difficult. He was eager to go for a walk on Valentine’s weekend in the rain with our French bulldog Lexi –who also hates rain – but we went along with it, because I thought he needed to get out of the house with his broken arm.

He got down on one knee despite the arm at the lower lake in Glendalough, and it was more perfect than I could have imagined. Afterwards, we went out for a romantic dinner and celebrated with friends and family. It was a weekend full of happiness.

THE WEDDING ATTIRE

My dress was by Georgia Young Coutour ‘Vasette’ purchased in The One by Sinead Corcoran in Rathmines, Dublin. It was the first dress I tried on and said yes to within minutes. I kept the dress a secret from everyone bar the two mums. It was a hard dress to keep a secret but so worth it!

Dwayne wore a black velvet tuxedo from The Man’s Shop, Newbridge.

THE CEREMONY

We had our ceremony on site in Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare. We opted for a spiritual ceremony and our celebrant was Tom Farell, who made the ceremony so special — we laughed throughout!

THE RECEPTION

We had our reception in Kilkea Castle, which suited us as I am originally from Limerick and my family would not know the area for travelling from place to place, so it was easier to have it all on site.

THE ENTERTAINMENT

The HoneyVoom Duo were one of the first vendors I secured. They are amazing at what they do and made our day so unique. They played rock music on cello/guitar, and we exited the ceremony to Cascada. They played at out drink’s reception and everyone really enjoyed them.

Our band was Evolution, they have been friends with Dwayne since school, which made it extra special. They sang our first song, and the dance floor was never empty.

THE DECOR

Total Flower Designs by Angie and Siobhan. They created a timeless classical look with modern details which echoed both my dress and bridesmaids.

THEIR TOP TIPS

Sometimes less is more. Kilkea Castle itself is an amazing venue and has great character, so we didn’t want to take from this with too much décor.
Take a few moments in the day to step back and savour it — it passes so quickly.
Spend the day with your partner, as you want to create shared memories.
Enjoy it! We really did and it was the most amazing day. We felt we enjoyed it so much as we thoroughly researched our vendors and could be at ease. We opted for a wedding content creator, because we didn’t want our bridal party / guests on their phones taking pictures all day so that they could really enjoy the day.
Don’t dwell on the expectation that something will go wrong on your wedding day. I don’t know how many people told us this in the lead up, nothing went wrong on our day. Focus on the positive moments and enjoy the celebrations.
Get wedding shoes that are comfortable and have flats for dancing!

THEY WISH THEY HAD
We genuinely wouldn’t have changed a thing, it was the best day. We were worried regarding the weather as it was November and there were storms in the lead-up, but the sun was shining all day. It was perfect.

THEIR BEST MOMENTS

Mum and dad seeing me in my dress.
First look with my bridesmaids and flower girl – I kept the dress a secret for a year and half, and it was worth it!
Walking down the aisle with dad and the guests’ reaction to my dress, it was not what they were expecting.
Seeing Dwayne at the top of the altar, he admitted he was nervous but my smile settled him. I kept Dwayne’s outfit a secret, so it was exciting to see that I guessed the type of tux right.
The ceremony (first kiss and then walking down the aisle as husband and wife — what a feeling!)
A relative of Dwayne’s surprised us by playing the bagpipes as we walked out from the ceremony to the castle — this was a real stand-out moment as we didn’t have a clue!
The music all day, the speeches.
The owls were magical and really suited the castle theme.
Our nighttime photoshoot with champagne and sunglasses – this was really fun and the best images were captured by Elaine.
Being surrounded by our family and friends to celebrate us and finishing off the night with Fairytale of New York and a dance-off to bagpipes!