A country house situated in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, Orlagh House has a rich history dating back to the 1790s. With uninterrupted views of the Irish sea, it was the perfect venue for the intimate wedding of area sales manager Kayla Palmer to area sales manager Griffin Sweet on the 30th of November 2024. Both effortless and deeply personal, this intimate destination wedding, photographed by Livia Figueiredo Photography, is one for the books.
A chance meeting at work blossomed into a long and lasting romance. Kayla helped train Griffin on all matters related to waxed cotton. It was love at first sight. After plucking up the courage to ask her out, she beat Griffin to it and invited him for a date at her favourite local spot in their future neighbourhood, Astoria, Queens. The pair continues to call the beautiful state of New York home, now far away from Manhattan, where they met all those years ago.
"We were spending a winter weekend in January at one of our favourite places in the country, the Adirondack Park in New York State, where we have a home in the region. The property borders the Hudson River, and we always take walks along its banks in all seasons every morning to relax and talk about the day ahead." On one of our frosty morning walks, Griffin spontaneously got down on one knee with the ring and asked Kayla the most important question, and it was an immediate, “Yes!” Kayla was in shock. Later, after their nerves abated, Kayla asked if Griffin could get down on one knee to repeat the proposal, as she wanted that moment forever imprinted in their minds. The ring Griffin proposed was custom-designed by both Griffin and Kayla, a classic emerald cut 3-stone. The centre stone is an Emerald with two baguette-cut diamonds on each side. They agreed they wanted something different, and the rich green of an emerald was the stone they both were drawn to.
"We told each other that we wanted to be our best selves for our wedding weekend. As any traveller would know, disrupting your routine can have negative effects on your skin, hair, sleep, etc. We took this into account while preparing for our trip and for our wedding in Ireland. Our routine was simple, and we used products we were familiar with. For Griffin, that meant climbing at our local rock climbing gym for an all-over body tone-up. As for his golden locks, we had several discussions on how he wanted to wear his hair, clean and sleek back or natural and curly." Ultimately, he decided to keep it natural and curly as it's one of Kayla’s favourite features about him. His skincare routine was simple: cleanser and moisturiser in the evening and sunscreen in the morning. Kayla focused on strength training and toning. She has tricky skin, so she added Tretinoin to her skincare routine, along with a scrubbing cleanser, a collagen serum, and a daily moisturiser. For her signature scent, Kayla wore Eau Triple Damask Rose by Buly 1803.
"I booked several appointments at bridal shops in New York City. My final appointment of the day was at a salon called The White Gown. During my consultation, I was asked to try on the Peyton Dress from Enzonia, which I saw on their website. When I first tried on the dress, I thought it was cool & different, but not the “One.” My mother LOVED it. It was not an immediate- yes! Instead, I had to try on a few more and really ask myself: Is this how I want to look on my wedding day? We left the salon empty-handed as I could not decide. Was it what I had envisioned? I imagined myself in a regal and stately long-sleeved dress. The Peyton dress is a classic & clean fit-and-flare shape with an avant-garde twist—the black off-set bow—that people in the salon stopped to say “wow”. Over the next week or two, I was torn. Do I keep hunting for this dream dress I had in my head, or do I go with the Peyton?"
"Ultimately, I decided on Peyton, and I am so happy that I did! I felt like a timeless bride from the front, and a couture bride from the back. It was the perfect blend of what I wanted and what I realised I wanted. Accessorising was tricky; a veil was traditional, but how could I wear a veil with the black offset bow? Why hide the best feature of the dress?"
Griffin wanted a shawl-collar tuxedo in classic black wool, undoubtedly influenced by Cary Grant, Sean Connery, and Daniel Craig. He chose Suitsupply as they had the best option and full made-to-measure service, all included in the price of the tuxedo.
"Our ceremony was small and intimate with live harp music for our processional and recessional. Griffin’s brother was the master of ceremonies and officiated at the wedding. One of our favourite parts was that we had a ‘ring warming' ceremony, in which both of our wedding bands were passed around in a pouch to each attendee to give short well-wishes and sentiments before they made their way back to us to be exchanged."
The pair chose Orlagh House as their venue, not only for its stunning views and proximity to Dublin but also for its capacity to host overnight guests. It was a perfect solution for our wedding abroad. "The best part about Orlagh is the estate itself, the rich history and grand rooms within the house and its location in the foothills of the Dublin mountains; the front of the property overlooks all of Dublin City, and on a clear day, you can even see Howth."
"We knew we wanted a live instrument during the wedding ceremony. We ultimately chose Teresa O'Donnell, a classically trained harpist. What better way to celebrate our union than with the national instrument of Ireland? The wedding entertainment was the local band, The Irish House Party, out of Dublin. They are a trad band who can play not only the classics but also cover a wide breadth of genres with an Irish flair. They also provided a dancer to help teach us Yanks how to party like the locals. Many of our guests have told us our Irish trad band was the best dancing/party they’ve ever been to! And we agree!"
"One of the best decisions we made was keeping the guest list small with under 30 attendees. This provided ample time to connect with our families and friends and have a more intimate ceremony and celebration. We felt we got to spend time with everyone, and it did not feel rushed. Most American weddings are rather short, averaging 4-5 hours. We did not want to look back on our wedding and wish we had spent more time with our loved ones."
- Gráinne