Our real wedding couple from the West of Ireland are well used to the unpredictable weather, but were blessed with a sun-drenched day for their dreamy destination wedding. Katie and Alec fell in love with France while they were on holiday, so it felt fitting that they chose the romantic Chateau St Michel in southwestern St Lizier for their special day. The couple's journey to the aisle faced a number of delays, but the wait was certainly worth it as their October wedding in the newly-renovated castle was right out 0f a fairytale. They became husband and wife during a boho-themed bash with a relaxed vibe, beautiful rustic blooms and a lot of inspiring DIY. Watch the magic of their French chateau wedding unfold in these sublime wedding photos by Studio Lordan.
Katie hails from Clonakilty in Co. Cork while Alec is from Lahinch in Co. Clare. It was a modern romance, as the couple met online after they swiped right on each other on Tinder. Katie reveals that her sisters played an instrumental role in her finding her happily ever after. "My sisters had gotten sick of me complaining about going on bad dates and so I agreed to set up a profile and go on one date... that turned out to be Alec." They chose the bustling gastro pub The Oval in Cork for their first date and sparks flew immediately. In fact, Alec kissed Katie before they had even ordered their second drink!
When the time came to pop the all-important question, Alec whisked Katie off to a hotel in Galway for New Year's. He popped the question on New Year's Eve when they were having dinner at the hotel but Katie didn't believe him! "We were on a table that was next to another couple and we got talking to them. They had gotten engaged a few days before and after they left Alec said 'Isn't it nice that they got engaged? Maybe we should get engaged?' Now!" Describing Alec as a "complete joker" she explained that he had been joking about getting engaged for the past six months. "If we would pass a jewellers he would say, 'Oh quick we are late for the appointment in there.' Or if we were enjoying a romantic moment on a beach he would say, 'Ah sure this would be a nice place to get engaged.' So, when he said that, I took it as another of his jokes (that I had had enough of!) and promptly told him to shut up but then I saw him getting down on one knee and got the shock of my life. I had to get him to ask me again because I didn’t believe him the first time!"
"We both adore the food and wine in France so it was our only choice for a wedding." Then came the hard part, finding the dream venue for their French chateau wedding. "We began our search online. Hitchedinfrance.com provided a list of venues in the area that we were interested in. We then narrowed it down to four venues that we liked within driving distance from one another and then took a wonderful trip to France to view them." They ended up swinging by Chateau Saint Michel but Katie actually hadn't done any research on it and she didn't even need to step one foot inside the door to be spellbound by it. The majestic property is located in the wine valley of Rully in the heart of the Burgundy wine area. "I remember the journey up the driveway and the chateau just appearing like magic out of the trees. I fell in love with it straight away."
Katie had her three sisters right by her side on her wedding day as they were her bridesmaids. Sweetly, she did their hair on the day as she has always done their hair for big events. While she usually prefers to do her hair herself she also ended up doing her own makeup too unexpectedly. "My makeup artist cancelled the week before the wedding! Initially, I was really disappointed but when we got to France I just treated myself to all new makeup and did my own and I was actually more happy with it!"
When it comes to planning a destination wedding, Katie says teamwork makes the dream work. They had initially started working with a wedding planner to bring their French chateau wedding to life but things fell through so they ended up rolling up their sleeves and planning it together. "Working together as a team is so important for any wedding but especially a foreign one. There is so much planning and organising that goes with it even if you are keeping things simple so it's so important to share the responsibility."
Katie was a boho beauty in her lace Rue de Seine gown which she styled with brown heels with white floral embroidery from Etsy. We love a bride who DIYs and Katie created a number of key elements from her wedding day herself, like the invites and her sparkling headpiece! She finished off her bridal look with very sentimental jewellery, including a pair of Carat earrings which were a wedding present from her husband and her mother's engagement ring.
The look of the wedding was rustic bohemia with a very relaxed vibe and the couple held their ceremony on the lawn in front of the chateau. 56 of their loved ones jetted in to witness them exchange vows and the sun beamed down creating a beautiful glow for their magical moment. One deeply poignant part from the ceremony was the ceremony reading of the song Galileo by Declan O'Rourke. "This was my late parents' song and to have it read out by one of my sisters was really lovely."
"Donna Critcher who is also the owner of the Chateau was our celebrant as well which made things a lot easier." Katie created a dried flower arch that served as a stunning rustic backdrop to their "I do's". She decided to make it herself because it was more cost-effective! "I dried flowers from my garden and shipped them over to the chateau a few weeks before the wedding. The day before the wedding I assembled it."
After having to postpone their big day a number of times, Katie says their French chateau wedding was "heaven". "At so many points throughout the day I stopped and thought 'I can’t believe this is OUR wedding.' Having to cancel our wedding twice meant that it was all the more special when it did take place."
For the couple, it was having their nearest and dearest with them that made their wedding day unforgettable. "Having both our families all stay in the chateau for the weekend of the wedding was really special. It's a wonderful thing to have all the most important people under the same roof altogether."
Good food and music were also top priority for the bride and groom. "It was really important that our guests felt looked after. It is a big ask to have people travel abroad for your wedding and we wanted our friends and family to know how grateful we were that they had." After the wedding ceremony, the guests enjoyed tipples and nibbles by the pool.
Katie sourced gorgeous pieces from the high street for her bridesmaids who glittered in blush pink high-low dresses dashed with gold sequins from ASOS which were matched with barely-there heels from Mango. The bride also created cute hairclips for her bridal besties to wear. Alec looked suave in a suit from Saville in Cork which comprised of a light grey blazer with light blue slacks, a white shirt and a brown belt and brogues. The groomsmen were dressed in Next suits with bowties sourced from Etsy which Katie's two nephews also wore. How cute!
They held their wedding reception in a tent on the grounds. Tables were dotted with dried flower bouquets and once the sun set the space took on a whole new level of magical thanks to the festoon lights.
The couple heaped praise on their caterer, The Conscious Chef. "Anders and his team really made our day. They took control of everything and made it so easy for us. One of our favourite memories of wedding planning was doing our tasting with Anders. He invited us up to his home in the French countryside and we sampled our wedding food for the afternoon with his family. It was just amazing!"
We love to hear how couples have fun with wedding traditions and Katie and Alec skipped the wedding cake and served a macroon tower instead.
The couple had planned to jet off to Bali immediately after their wedding but they were expecting at the time. They went to Fuerteventura in Spain the following March where they split their honeymoon up into two parts. They honeymooned in El Cotillo first where the groom took full advantage of the good surfing conditions! They dialed up the luxury the following week by staying in Secrets Bahia Real Resort in Corralejo. They had a very exciting arrival that June as their son Will was born.
Thank you to our fabulous real wedding couple Katie and Alec for sharing their fairytale French chateau wedding with One Fab Day and to Studio Lordan for the exquisite images.
Thinking of getting married abroad? Check out these incredible Destination Weddings!
