Danielle & John's Luttrellstown Castle Wedding

For over 600 years, Luttrellstown Castle Resort has been owned by just seven families, a testament to its enduring allure. Spanning 567 acres of lush private parkland, it was the utterly stunning venue for the wedding of financial crime delivery managers Danielle Marley and John Cassidy on March 15th 2025; featured in the Summer issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL WEDDINGS. Captured by Photos by Ciara and planned by EPIC Event Design, this cool castle wedding is filled with elegant touches!

The pair are a story of secondary school sweethearts! Danielle & John were in the same year, and started ‘dating’ when they were 17. John's dad was the school principal, and his mum worked in reception, so there was no way to keep the dating quiet. "I couldn’t have chosen a better person to traverse through life with. From exams and university choices to first jobs and moving into adulthood, we’ve pretty much grown up side by side."

"We had travelled to Vancouver, Canada, to see one of John’s best friends get married. Following our wedding, we wanted to travel around Banff, Canada – it was one of our bucket-list destinations. We had taken a day trip to visit Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Of course, on the day in question, the temperatures plummeted, and the rain started. Usually, Danielle is up for walking for hours, but on this occasion, she couldn’t wait to get back to the bus. John was pushing to keep the walk going (which should have been suspicious in itself), so Danielle threw on a horrible blue poncho and off we went. Around 20 minutes into the walk, enjoying the views of Moraine Lake, John pulled out a little blue box and got his words all mumbled up. Between the cold, the rain and the nerves, it was a bit of a blur. We are still not sure if he asked me to marry him at that point!"

For as long as Danielle can remember, her mum has always advised her not to wear makeup every day, so, in that sense, she's always been very ‘low maintenance’. When she went for her bridal trial in Dublin, that was a chance to restock her makeup drawer and get used to wearing everything that would be applied on the day. "I had the fabulous Makeup by Mandi Jay taking care of my makeup on the day, and Lou Merryweather taming my hair. We kept things classic and natural, with pinks and bronzy tones to complement my dark hair. I wanted to accentuate the dress's halter neckline, so we pulled my hair up into a tousled ponytail. It felt polished without being too formal."

"In terms of scent – that’s one thing I have always prioritised. Tom Ford, Black Orchid, was the choice for the day. With notes of black truffle, black orchid and patchouli, it’s a luxurious and intensely seductive fragrance, perfect for such a romantic venue."

"I was very lucky to pick my dress at the first place I visited; Ivy and White Bridal. I had seen a dress online that I was sure would be the one for me." Danielle tried on five dresses, leaving her online choice until last and as it turns out, it wasn’t the one for her! There were similarities between the dress that inspired her and the one she wore – both had a higher neckline and were body-fitting – but they were made of completely different materials. She walked down the aisle in the Palm dress from NEWHITE, a beautiful, liquid-satin bias-cut halter dress with a neck wrap. "It felt modern and simple, which is exactly what I had hoped for."

"We always knew that John would wear a tux, but we wanted something a bit ‘cooler’. We went for a consultation at Dee Grahams, and after the first meeting with Philly, we knew that we would go down the custom route. The service was fantastic, and they really understood what we were after. They talked us through fabrics, cuts, and small details we never would have thought of ourselves. The bride gets to spend money on an expensive dress, so it felt right that the groom got to spend money on one, too!"

Danielle's bridesmaids were her secondary school and Uni friends. "Their dresses were very easy for me to choose; I actually came across them on ASOS. When I saw them, I knew they were the ones for me. The right shape, colour, and length. I had the dresses bought before they knew they would be bridesmaids. On the day I asked them to be my bridesmaids, I brought them the dresses at once! Thankfully, they all loved them, which was a relief."

"Our ceremony was at a small Chapel in Dublin. John's favourite part was probably finding out I had left by bridal bouquet at the house, and was going to be late, after preaching I would never leave him standing at the altar. It’s safe to say he hasn’t let me forget that one. My favourite part was probably seeing friends and family so happy that John and I were finally getting married – we had been together for 15 years at the time, so everyone in the room had a special part in our relationship."

The pair originally thought they wanted to get married abroad, but when they started looking into flights and how easily accessible this would be for friends and family, quickly decided against it. Who knew Belfast International didn’t fly anywhere you want!

"When we decided we would get married in Ireland, we wanted a venue we had never been to before. Luttrellstown Castle checked that box. It was the first and only venue we visited. We both loved having the castle all to ourselves on our wedding day – the venue, the food, the service, and the scenery were all fantastic. Pictures really don’t showcase how grand it is in person. We were in awe the first time we drove through the gates. It really felt like stepping into another world. Once John found out that David Beckham got married there, there was no turning back!"

"For our ceremony, we chose Idyllic Tones NI. John's cousin Catherine is in the band, so it was a no-brainer for us. They are fantastic, the perfect addition to the Chapel. Controversially, we chose not to have a band and to only have a DJ. We chose Yeoo DJ. We wanted a DJ who could play 90s RnB, along with new dance songs. We were very clear that we didn’t want any classic Irish wedding songs (e.g., Proud Mary), and they understood the brief perfectly.|