Surrounded by five hundred acres of unspoiled parklands and woodlands, Dromoland Castle in Clare was the beautiful venue for consultant Madison Barefoot and start-up founder Don McCormack's wedding on May 2nd 2025. Captured by Story of Eve, featured in the Autumn issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL Weddings, the celebration was expertly planned by Tara Fay Events. Family and friends travelled from across the globe to enjoy a stylish long weekend with the newlyweds.
Yet another dating-app success story, the couple met on Hinge in August of 2021. The pair had their first date at Don's favourite pubs in London, which (not so coincidentally) just so happened to be an Irish pub called the Auld Shillelagh, where they bonded over a few pints of creamy Guinness. Four years later, they tied the knot in a luxurious castle wedding!
"We got engaged in December 2023. We had a trip planned to visit the Christmas market in Bruges, and Don decided this was the perfect place to propose! He tried to throw me off the scent on the train to Bruges by trying to have “a chat”, telling me that he wasn’t ready to get married yet, but I had a feeling something was up. He kept obsessing over wanting to go to the top of the medieval bell tower - so much so that I started to think he might pop the question at the top. But then, when we were at the top of the bell tower surrounded by people, Don didn't propose (thank goodness, a public proposal is my worst nightmare!). Instead, once we were about ⅔ of the way down the bell tower, he brought me into a side room where it was just the two of us and asked me to marry him. We then went out for a lovely dinner at a local restaurant and called our family in Ireland, the UK, and the US to share the big news."
"I’ve been going to Kate Kerr in London for years for my facials and skincare. A few days before the wedding, I got the Instant FX Skin Perfector facial."
Before she started shopping for a wedding dress, it was essential to Madison that she have her mom, grandmother, and maid of honour by her side. "I extended a trip back home in June 2024 so we could spend some time together searching. We took a full day of dress shopping in Raleigh (NC), and I tried on more dresses than I’d like to admit!" Luckily, she had a very patient team and eventually found her Monique Lhuillier gown at Alexia’s Bridal. "I knew straight away it was “the one”, because all three of them started crying immediately when I came out of the changing room – so that helped with my decision!"
"Don got a custom tuxedo made at Billy Reid Custom in Washington, DC. I went with him to the appointment, and he initially told me that he wanted to pick it out by himself so it would be a surprise for me on the wedding day. He then panicked and described every detail of the tuxedo to me in the store, but never showed it to me. Luckily, he’d made all the right design decisions and looked very spiffy in his midnight blue tux."
For her bridal party, Madison had four of her closest girls by her side: her freshman roommate, Christina, her friend from her first adult job, Shelly, her MBA friend Shannon and Don's sister Deirdre. "My maid of honour and I tried on potential bridesmaid dresses together at Bella Bridesmaids in Raleigh. Then we picked our two favourites and had the other bridesmaids vote. They wore dark green Jenny Yoo dresses."
"We got married in the walled garden in Dromoland, which was stunning. We were incredibly lucky that the garden was in full bloom and the weather was incredible, so thankfully, we only needed umbrellas to protect us from the sun. Don found out about a month before the wedding that I would have a special song for my walk down the aisle with my dad (“Concerning Hobbits” from the Lord of the Rings), and he decided he and his groomsmen wanted an entrance song as well so the string quartet played “Gangster’s Paradise” for Don and his groomsmen for their entrance! The ceremony itself was very personal and playful, and our celebrant (Caroline McCarthy) was a rockstar, making sure there was lots of laughter and just the right amount of tears."
The couple chose Dromoland Castle as their venue for several reasons. For one, it’s absolutely beautiful and provides a “wow” factor. And secondly, they had family and friends flying over from the UK and the USA, so its proximity to Shannon Airport was a major plus. "One standout feature of Dromoland is that we were able to host multiple events at various locations on-site: we had the welcome party at the Fig Tree restaurant, golfing on the morning of the wedding, the wedding ceremony in the Walled Garden, and the dinner + party in the Brian Boru Hall. In addition, Dromoland is close to some excellent amenities, such as the Cliffs of Moher (an excursion for our guests brave enough to push past their hangovers the day after the wedding) and our day 2 location, Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty."
"We chose Spring Break as our main entertainment on the wedding night. Don has been a long-time fan of Spring Break, and he and his friends describe themselves as “superfans” from their college days. Once he found out they were available for wedding events, they were the only option for us! To say they stole the show is a complete understatement; they brought a huge energy to the night, and we had a packed dance floor all night, except when they were leading people around the room in a conga line."
"The best decision was to have the wedding events spread over three days, allowing our guests to feel a sense of community by the end of the wedding, and also allowing us to spend quality time with everyone without feeling rushed. The Americans and the Irish got along so well!"
"We were so happy with how everything turned out for the wedding weekend, so it’s tough to say there were any bad decisions. I guess the worst is that one of the gifts I got for my bridesmaids was a faux fur wrap to match their dresses. It was so warm and sunny during the wedding weekend that they didn’t need them at all!"
- Gráinne