Set on 840 acres of pristine parkland, Adare Manor in Limerick is often considered to be one of the country's most lavish and exclusive wedding venues. Nestled on the banks of the glittering River Maigue, it was a jaw-droppingly stunning venue for the wedding of construction project manager Abigail Thompson to director of preconstruction John Kooistra on August 15th 2025. Artfully planned by House of Hannah, this Summer celebration is a masterclass of exquisite detail. Featured in the Summer issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL WEDDINGS and shot by Niamh Smith Photography, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more delighted bride!
The couple first met at work. During COVID, they formed a small group of six singles who had a “family dinner” every week at someone’s house to get in-person human interaction and have fun together, since all the bars and other places were closed. The group decided to take a ski trip in Colorado, so the group packed into John's truck and road-tripped for 16 hours to the mountains.
That’s where sparks started to fly between our newlyweds. Because of their shared skills, Abigail and John were the only ones to go to the back mountain, where the more difficult runs were, and they spent the full afternoon skiing together, just the two of them. Their first kiss was later that night.
"Our engagement was perfectly personal and intimate; John proposed to me at his remote log cabin in Upper Michigan (which John’s great-grandfather built and is a very special place for John’s family). He flew in my best friend to be the photographer, capturing the moment with a setting sun and a lake in the background."
Abigail had monthly facials leading up to the wedding, focusing on exfoliation and hydration to give her makeup artist a nice canvas to work with. "Since we were coming from Texas, I scheduled my hair and makeup trials on the day before my tasting at Adare Manor. My hairstylist and makeup artist were able to come to Adare so we could knock it all out in one trip!" It made the whole planning process much easier and meant that she could really relax once they arrived in Ireland for the wedding week.
On the day, Abigail kept things very natural and elegant, focusing on highlighting her natural features rather than covering them. With a high-neck dress, Ami McPartlin pulled Abigail's hair back into a tight bun (Very reminiscent of Grace Kelly) and paired it with a cathedral-length veil edged with matching lace.
"For my wedding day fragrance, I wore Marfa by Memo Paris, inspired by the Texas landscape. It felt like taking a piece of our lives together across the ocean to celebrate our special day in Ireland. And with notes of tuberose & brange blossom, it was the perfect scent for a beautiful summer's day. I loved the idea that every time I smell it in the future, it will bring me right back to the day. For his signature scent, John wore Green Irish Tweed cologne by Creed, a woody-floral musk with notes of vervain, violet leaf, and ambergris."
The couple live in Austin, so with an entourage of her sister, two cousins, and her mom, Abigail drove up to Houston for the day and visited two different dress shops. "I thought I had found my dress at the first shop, but decided to try the second one anyway. I’m SO glad I did because that’s where I found the dress I wore, and I absolutely loved it." She wore the Fleur De Lis gown from the Monique Lhullier Iconic Designs collection, a strapless drop-waist ball gown with a collapsed skirt in re-embroidered lace, paired with a coordinating high-neck long-sleeve re-embroidered lace jacket. "I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite as beautiful in my life!"
Abigail had a whopping sixteen bridesmaids, which, while being pretty average in Texas, is not quite as common in Ireland! They included her sister, cousins, and friends. "I love the look of a non-uniform bridal party, so I let everyone choose their own dresses, only specifying that they had to be blush pink and/or floral and floor-length. Thankfully, my sister took charge of approving everyone’s dress once they picked it (a rather huge task, mercifully taken off my plate), so everyone would fit together. In the end, the mix of styles looked beautiful together in photos."
"I am so happy we were able to do the ceremony outside in the walled gardens of Adare Manor. We were worried about rain, but it turned out to be a beautiful day (we had been warned that the Irish weather can be temperamental, so there was always a chance it could turn on a dime). The gardens felt incredibly private and peaceful once everyone was seated. My older cousin was the officiant, which made the whole thing so special and really eased my nerves. He did such an amazing job. My favourite part was all of the little ones coming down the aisle with the two babies in the wagon. We were all worried that it wouldn’t go as planned, but they all did such a great job, and it was so adorable!"
The pair picked the venue during a trip to Ireland to visit family and fell in love with it after staying there for two nights. "Both John and I have deep ties to Ireland (my mom is first-generation in the States; a lot of her family still lives in Dublin. John spent a good portion of his childhood in Ireland while his dad was building the IBM plant.)" Not only was the manor a total fairy-tale venue for their wedding day, but it also offered activities for everyone, beautiful grounds, a golf course, and amazing history, and it was located next to a quaint village. Perfect for the long weekend the two had dreamed of. It allowed everyone to really settle in and enjoy the celebrations rather than rushing in and out for a single day.
"We quickly chose The Event Band because of how fun and engaging their sample social media portrayed. This translated very well into our reception, as the full wedding party took turns singing & dancing on the stage, fully engaged with the band! The spread of music was excellent to engage all ages at the reception. The dance floor was full all night."
"The best decision (besides choosing each other to marry) is choosing the location. Even though it was difficult for all our guests to travel, the team at Adare Manor are one in a million."
"Our worst decision, although I’m not sure you can call it a decision and more of an unfortunate happenstance, was that Adare was getting ready to host the Ryder Cup, so we were unable to play the golf course. We’ll just have to visit again to finally play it!"
- Gráinne