Kilruddery House & Gardens Wedding Venue
Kilruddery House and Gardens is now officially one of my favourite wedding venues in Ireland. There…I said it! Why might this be given Ireland has so any gorgeous wedding options? In short it is down to Kilruddery’s absolutely stunning grounds and outrageously beautiful setting to marry onsite. Throw in a stellar wedding team consisting of the owners & wedding coordinators and you have a dream-team in a dream venue to host your wedding.
But enough about the Location and onto the Love-Birds! Miranda and Matt fall in love with each other and then fell in love with the idea of an Irish Wedding after a trip here which included the Cliffs of Mohar. The next obvious step was to bring their families, their nearest and their dearest all the way from the U.S. to say ‘I DO!’ at Kilruddery House. A couple so full of life and love, I remember feeling such a great sense of fun from my very first contact with them. The morning of their wedding when I arrived for preparations, I knew this was going to be a super wedding day given how relaxed and grounded this couple were.
So many highlight moments it’s hard to know what to share. For instance for drinks during their morning preparations, while Miranda was sipping champagne out of a china tea cup, Matt and the men were drinking cans of Smithwicks! No nonsense, just enjoying your pre-wedding drinks the way YOU want (and a lack of glasses in the bridal suite). The marriage of old and new was evident with Miranda who wore a stunning contemporary wedding dress by made with love bridal. This was complimented perfectly with Cinderella style slippers that looked like they belonged from a fairytale of yore. Throughout the whole day, emotions were high and palpable (when you see the photos you will know what I mean)! Big, big smiles and belly laughs were the flavour of the day, combined with the occasional tears and tissues. Miranda had a very emotional ‘first look’ with her Dad, who later in the day fought through the tears for his Father of the Bride speech!
Irish Trad tunes and Rebel songs were belted out on the lawn during the drinks reception which was a delight to our American friends. The bride plucking flowers & petals from her bouquet to give to a group of flabbergasted, star-struck young girls. Their look of disbelief as if they had met a real life princess that wanted to give part of herself to them. The renovated grain store provided the most incredible space for the couple’s evening reception and party. This rustic space is something very unique to Ireland. I’ve seen similar on ‘The Knot’ when weddings were hosted in upper state New York and that neck of the woods. The trestle, wooden tables with lush green arrangements (my favourite kind of reception), the high ceiling, corrugated iron roof, wooden beams. Such a slick reception room!
Throw in a variety of cherry blossom, woodland and then some sunset portraits with the happy couple, seriously sweaty dancing like nobody was ever watching and you have a wedding that was a privilege to be a part of. Oh and thanks to the dream-team of suppliers / vendors that made everything run so smoothly. If you would like to see another beautiful wedding at a second favourite venue of mine, click here.
The Venue
The attention to detail was the very first thing I noticed when I arrived to Kilrduddery House to photograph Miranda and Matt’s wedding. Fionnula (the owner of Kilrduddery House and Gardens) was in the Orangery, personally arranging flowers from their own gardens for the couple’s ceremony in a few hours. This was such a personal touch, to have flowers picked from your own venue and arranged on the wedding ceremony table. As Fionnula prepared the flowers, her daughter was pottering about and playing nearby because after all this Tudor revival mansion is their magnificent family home. Oh and what a home this is I learned very quickly.
There are many beautiful nooks & crannies within their lush gardens, walkways and throughout the house itself. Caoimhe and Paula the wedding co-ordinators gave me a tour of house with it’s gorgeous dining room, the library, the renovated Grain Store (wait until you see their wedding reception there) and the breath-taking Orangery. Combining beautiful architecture and art, Kilruddery House and Gardens has everything you need to set the scene for a wonderful wedding day.
Suppliers / Vendors: Coming Soon
Kilruddery House Wedding / Kilruddery House Wedding Photographer