With a rich history dating as far back as the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, Tankardstown House has made a name for itself as one of Ireland's premier luxury wedding venues. Exuding understated elegance, the venue was the perfect setting for the wedding of Jennifer Brown, head of marketing, and Conor Mac Crosain, a construction project manager, on June 7, 2025. Captured by Studio Brown, this early summer wedding with pastel pink accents is totally dreamy!
The pair first crossed paths as teenagers, playing the role of chaperones on a friend’s ice-skating date, although they didn’t exchange a single word. It wasn't until the summer of 2014 in DIT, as they both waited outside a room to resit an exam. "At the time, Conor was a year ahead of me in college, but whether by fate or simply Conor’s lack of studying, we soon found ourselves in the same class for the next three years." After graduation, Conor moved to San Francisco, and Jennifer to Vancouver, but the couple kept in touch daily. "We visited each other when we could and reunited in Coachella in 2018. Soon after, Conor took the leap of faith to leave San Francisco and travel the 800 miles north to move in with me in Vancouver, and we've been by each other's side since."
"We were staying on the Aran Islands on Inishmore in April 2023 and headed out that day with a picnic and our bikes to visit a quiet beach recommended by some locals. But on the way, Conor's bike chain broke, so we had to call to get a replacement and find a rag for him to wipe his hands, which were covered in oil from trying to fix the chain (not ideal when you are about to propose with a ring). I now know why he was so stressed over the broken bike and oily hands. When we got to the beautiful, big beach, we were the only ones there, and Conor got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was perfect, and we stayed there for a few hours with the beach to ourselves, enjoying our picnic before calling our family and friends to tell them the exciting news."
As she has sensitive skin, Jennifer didn’t want to risk causing any reactions before the big day, so kept skincare changes to a minimum. "I saw a dermatologist who recommended less is more, so I stuck to my usual routine and did not introduce any new products or treatments a year out from the wedding." For her wedding day fragrance, she wore Tom Ford Soleil Blanc, an unexpected, sultry and addictive solar floral scent with notes of pistachio, ylang-ylang and coconut.
"I always dreamed of wearing a Vera Wang wedding dress. I grew up watching Brides Wars and fell in love with the ballgown style dress from a young age. I didn’t think Vera Wang was a designer you could find in Ireland. So when I travelled up to Belfast and saw a ball gown by Vera Wang hanging on the rail, I had to try it on, and sure enough, it was the one. I think I’ve always known what type of dress I wanted."
Conor loves the colour green, and saw a picture of his sister's friend's husband wearing a custom velvet green tux and knew that’s what he wanted. From there, he visited Brendan Kidd on a recommendation and started the process of creating his dream custom suit with their team.
For her bridal party, Jennifer had four of her closest friends by her side. "I couldn’t have imagined the day without them; they were the best support in the world, and I hope to be by their side one day doing the same for them." When it came to picking colours, she had already decided on pink and white as the overall colour scheme, so it only made sense to choose a pastel pink for her girls. "I found their dresses on TH&TH, although they were being discontinued, so I quickly asked my maid of honour's opinion, and once I got the go-ahead from her and the rest of the girls."
"Our ceremony was magical, taking place on-site in the orangery at Tankardstown. I loved it all, especially my nieces walking down the aisle as my flower girls with my mum. My favourite part, though, was looking out at all our friends and family in one place and thinking to myself, 'Remember this moment; I am so happy.' Conor and I held hands and laughed together throughout the ceremony; it felt exceptional."
Tankardstown was the first venue the couple viewed, and it was just impossible to top it. "The orangery, where we had our ceremony and dinner/reception, was absolutely stunning; it was utterly transformed between the two periods of the day, and you would barely know that they were the same location." The transformation was aided by the incredible Mark from The Garden, who filled the space with soft plumes of white and pink hydrangea, carnations, English roses and gypsophila to match the pink taper candles and silky ribbons. "I genuinely couldn’t fault Tankardstown; they have such a good reputation for a reason. I bawled driving out the gates after the wedding because we just didn’t want the weekend to end. We’d do it all again in a heartbeat."
"We had Rebecca Creighton doing our ceremony and reception music; her voice is absolutely incredible. And we had Spring Break for our band. We wanted a band that would get people up and dancing for the entire night, and they didn’t disappoint. The dance floor was full all night, and we had the night of our lives. We tried to get them to stay forever, but unfortunately, after the second extension, we had to accept that the party had to end at some point."
"We were so happy with all of our decisions, I genuinely wouldn’t change a thing about our two days at Tankardstown. But by far the best decision we made was to have our first dance outside in the walled gardens with our first dance song playing and all of our friends and family surrounding us with sparklers and joining in to dance with us. The moment felt like something out of a movie, and the pictures from Claire and wedding video from Evan of that moment are something we will cherish forever."
- Gráinne