Anastasiya Kotelnyk

Real Weddings: Sinead and Ronan tie the knot in a sun-soaked Spanish castle

by IMAGE
28th Feb 2024

Set in the idyllic surrounds of Castell de Sant Marçal, just outside Barcelona, Sinead and Ronan’s wedding was something straight out of a fairytale book.

THE COUPLE
Ronan O’Doherty, lawyer, and Sinead Barnes, pharmacist.

THEY LIVE
We’re Irish, but during the pandemic we moved to the Cayman Islands temporarily. We hope to return to Ireland next year.

THE VENUE
Castell de Sant Marçal, 20 minutes outside Barcelona. We chose Barcelona as it was close enough for all our guests to travel to from Dublin (direct flights that aren’t too pricey), but far enough away that we wouldn’t end up with a huge wedding. Also, you can’t argue with a bit of guaranteed sun. We had heard the rumour that abroad weddings are cheaper but I don’t think this is true anymore, or at least not for Spain and Italy.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Anastasiya Kotelnyk. She was absolutely lovely, originally from Ukraine and living in Barcelona, but she travels the world photographing weddings (including Ireland). She was recommended by another photographer and when I saw her Instagram, her style was so vibrant and beautiful I knew I had to hire her.

My husband was also adamant that he didn’t want to spend more than 15 minutes taking one-on-one couple photos, whereas I, having spent thousands on hair, makeup, etc really wanted some nice photos. Anastasiya assured us that she is very efficient and could easily get beautiful photos in 15 minutes, and she really did deliver.

Real Weddings: Sinead and Ronan

THEY MET
In a little cocktail bar disguised as a Chinese takeaway restaurant, Hang Dia on Camden Street, Dublin. Despite being in the same university and having our paths cross on multiple occasions, Ronan only worked up the courage to ask me on a date after seeing me on the dating app Tinder. Although to this day I’m not sure if it was my pictures that drew him in, or the bizarre rumour he’d heard about me that my uncle was a famous footballer John Barnes (absolutely not true, FYI).

THE PROPOSAL
He booked a surprise weekend away to Miami, arranged time off work for me by conspiring with my bosses behind my back. When I finished work on the Friday, I saw he had packed a suitcase for me but didn’t tell me where I was going. I didn’t find out where we were going until leaving the airport. After a day by the pool we got back to the hotel room where champagne was waiting and he popped the question.

THE WEDDING ATTIRE
Suit: Custom-made from Abrahams Tailoring.

Dress: WONÁ Concept.

Shoes: Jimmy Choo.

THE CEREMONY
Monestir de Sant Cugat, a beautiful church just outside Barcelona.

THE RECEPTION
The cocktail reception was on the castle grounds by the fountains. Then dinner under the oak trees — we love al fresco dining. We aired the rugby match in the cellar. The Ireland vs South Africa World Cup match was on at the same time as our wedding, so we had to rearrange the timings of all the speeches so that the match could be screened live after dinner.

Then, the after party in the greenhouse, and afterwards, we had a bus bring everyone back to central Barcelona, where the hotel was.

THE ENTERTAINMENT
We had a string quartet playing instrumental modern music, Bridgerton style, at the church. We had the quartet play Elton John’s Your Song as I walked down the aisle. Then, we had a violist play as our guests entered the castle grounds and sipped welcome margaritas on the lawn, followed by a saxophone playing for the second half of the drinks reception.

We had a glitter artist with a decorating station for anyone who wanted it, and for the party in the greenhouse, we had a DJ play alongside a saxophonist. He was great and really got the crowd dancing.

THE DECOR
There were chandeliers hanging from the oak trees, candles everywhere, wildflowers with a touch of autumnal tones (pink, toffee, white, oranges), and a neon sign for photo ops.

THEIR TOP TIPS (for planning a wedding abroad)

Book early. We got engaged in August and really wanted to get married the following year. Maybe it was the pandemic wedding backlog, but it was so hard to find an available venue. I looked nonstop for two months before I stumbled across the Castell De Sant Marcel. Even when I found it, it had been provisionally booked by someone else. We had to pay a deposit without ever having seen it in person. Luckily, it worked out and the venue was stunning.

Look out for/be prepared for hidden costs, especially if you choose a venue that isn’t all-inclusive. Our venue’s cost was only for the venue, which had a list of suppliers you had to choose from. Everything was extra, from the plates people ate off to the lights and sound. There was even a non-refundable plate deposit for breakage. I’d say ask about every cost or ask someone who knows the venue well.

If you don’t speak the language, it’s important to hire suppliers that speak English. Poor communication can make things so much slower and harder. From simple things like tweaking your make-up on your wedding day to larger things like your overall vision.

We had a Catholic wedding, which is legally binding in Spain, but the paperwork involved was very arduous, vague and time-consuming. Either hire someone who understands what is required or be prepared to do a lot of research yourself.

We gave our photographer an example of five shots that we really wanted to capture and I’m so glad we did.

The Joy website is great for sending invites and sharing information with our guests.

I would also say arrive in your chosen country the week before. We were tight on annual leave, so we arrived three days before and had so much running around to do. Remember any underwear needed for your dress change, and enjoy every second of the day because it goes by so fast!

THEY WISH THEY HAD
Hired a wedding planner with better English. Communication was very difficult. At one point we asked the wedding planner if we could put a screen up to play the Ireland vs South Africa rugby match. But for a few months, the wedding planner thought I wanted to get out of my dress and play Ronan and the guests at an actual game of rugby.

The venue didn’t provide accommodation, so we picked a reasonably priced hotel that all our guests could afford to stay in. It was centrally located in Barcelona with a roof terrace for the welcome party. But in hindsight having all the guests staying in one hotel made it a bit stressful. We couldn’t leave our hotel room without having to stop and chat with friends and relatives, which was lovely, but sometimes overwhelming when you’re in a rush or needed some alone time.

Our suite was beautiful but some of the other rooms we heard were quite small, which made us feel bad for suggesting it. The hotel, to be honest, didn’t even give us a good discount despite all the bargaining. So in hindsight, if planning a wedding in a city, I’d suggest having a general area for people to stay in or a few hotel options. Or, I would have just stayed in a different hotel to the guests for the actual wedding night.

THEIR BEST MOMENTS

Walking down the aisle was a lot more emotional than I thought it would be; I couldn’t hold back the tears.
As everyone sat down for dinner under the oak trees, just as the sun set. The sky was a beautiful pink and the sax player pumped out the tunes as everyone gathered. It felt magical.

THE FIRST DANCE SONG
You Are the Best Thing by Ray Lamontagne.

THE CREW
Flowers: Phlox. Catering: Joker. Videographer: Fem Weddings. Cake: ‘Mr&Mr’. Hair and Makeup: Tatiana Besad. Venue: Castell de Sant Marçal. Suit: Abrahams Tailoring. Dress: WONÁ Concept. Shoes: Jimmy Choo.