An incredible location and two special guests - that's exactly what Alison & Caimin chose for their intimate, part-one wedding day at The Village Barn, Tyrellspass. Even with tricky Covid-19 restrictions to navigate, their September 2020 celebration was filled with heart, soul, and so much love. Add in the talented TEN21 behind the lens, and well, it's downright perfection! If you're thinking of having a small wedding, this Little Big Day provides all the inspiration you need.
Bride Alison hails from Dublin, and groom Caimin from Mullingar, where the couple are now based. The couple went on their first date in 2014, to Culture Night in Dublin City Centre. Alison tells us, "we hit it off immediately but it was probably our third or fourth date when we realised that this might be something special. We’d just spent the evening arguing (in a friendly way) about everything and anything."
Bride Alison hails from Dublin, and groom Caimin from Mullingar, where the couple are now based. The couple went on their first date in 2014, to Culture Night in Dublin City Centre. Alison tells us, "we hit it off immediately but it was probably our third or fourth date when we realised that this might be something special. We’d just spent the evening arguing (in a friendly way) about everything and anything."
Alison and Caimin had originally planned to have a Dublin City wedding, their ceremony in City Hall and their reception in Medley. However, like so many other couples over the past year, their plans were turned upside down the week before their wedding, as the country went into Level 3 lockdown, meaning they weren't able to travel outside of their county. With 8 days to go before their big day, the couple made the tough decision to look for a new, last-minute venue and go ahead with only two guests. They planned a 'Little Big Day' with their Maid of Honour (Alison’s bestie Emma) and Best Man (Caimin’s brother Cian) as the witnesses, with a view to having a bigger celebration with friends and family at a later date.
With just a few days to go, the pair frantically Googled to try and find a new venue, and couldn’t believe their luck when they came across The Village Barn, which was available for their date, and just 15 minutes from their home. The couple went to visit the venue and booked it on the spot. "The Village Barn is an oasis in the middle of Tyrellspass," they tell us. "They have a little church-like building called the sanctuary - the walled garden is beautiful and there are lots of cute, vintage touches. It was so peaceful and had so many great seating areas and places to take photos." Alison adds, "our favourite was an area called the Orangery, which is a small conservatory where we had teas and coffees after the ceremony."
In spite of the strict restrictions, Alison and Caimin tell us that they're still delighted they went ahead with their day. "We ended up doing essentially the opposite of what we had originally planned, and still had the best day and loved every minute of it. So, our advice would be to not worry about it, when you surround yourselves with great people, everything will work out." We couldn't agree more!
Alison looked effortlessly beautiful in a dreamy, embellished Needle and Thread dress with matching cape, and her hair in vintage waves, while Caimin donned a sharp suit and sharp tie from M&S.
Covid restrictions meant that the couple's wedding was a really quiet, relaxed affair. "In terms of the day itself and what made it special, it felt really intimate with both our best friends present, it was so relaxed," Alison says. "One of the most positive things is that we spent most of the day together, which I imagine that some people miss out on when there are many guests to chat to. It felt like we had all the time in the world, and we didn’t have anywhere in particular to be so we could just enjoy the moment. We had worked really hard on the ceremony with Emer, our celebrant, so we felt like it really reflected both of our personalities. We did video calls with our parents after the ceremony and that was really special."
