A Markree Castle Wedding with Sensational Style & Plum Pops

The style, the style, the style at this real wedding! Kerrie and Matthew tied the knot at Markree Castle in Co. Sligo and their celebration exuded relaxed regality. With a colour palette with hints of burgundy and plum the couple wanted their winter wedding to have a cosy and chilled out vibe, but don’t be fooled it was an unforgettable party equally. From the gorgeous scenes with family on the wedding morning to the ornate reception in the gilded ballroom, Lynn Wortley Photography worked her visual magic to capture every moment of joy-filled wonder.

Kerrie and Matthew are both from Moy in Co. Tyrone and she tells us about how their happily ever after began. “We met when we were 17 and have been together ever since.” When it came to popping the question, Matthew planned a beautiful trip to Killarney after Christmas in 2019 where they checked into a lakeside B&B.

Reflecting on the magical moment, Kerrie shares, “We had spent the day stopping at different spots along The Ring of Kerry. When we got back to our B&B that evening we took a walk down to the lake as the owner said you often spot deer swimming in the lake crossing. When we got down to the water’s edge Matthew proposed.”

Kerrie looked phenomenal in a cape wedding dress by Una Rodden Couture, more on that later! Ireland is home to many fairytale castle wedding venues and the couple fell head over heels for Markree Castle in Sligo. “We couldn’t recommend Markree enough. The décor is stunning and they had the most amazing food! Deirdre, Nicolas and all the staff were so professional and couldn’t do enough for us.”

The celebrations began the night before as they stayed at the Markree Courtyard and had rented Markree House. “We got catering in and had a meal with some family and friends. It was lovely to have everything sorted and sit down, chat and relax knowing that everything was done.”

Kerrie’s four-year-old niece Aodhá and her brother Barry were so excited during the build-up to the wedding. “Aodhá took the role of flower girl very serious and had often practiced in her kitchen how she was going to walk up the aisle holding her flowers and said it was going to be like Father of the Bride the movie. She told us she might cry when Kerrie and Matthew get married, but it would just be happy tears.”

As for her brother Barry, he couldn’t wait to get a nice suit on, tuck into great food, drink Coke and dance the night away. “He sat up on the couch the morning of the wedding watching us get our hair and makeup done and lounged about in the butler’s kitchen. When it came to leaving for the ceremony we had a brief moment where Barry was nowhere to be seen, in the midst of the last rush to get out the door he had wandered off to the bar in search of a Coke! He was so proud to walk mum down the aisle, he was smiling and putting his hand up acknowledging family and friends as he passed them.”

After trying a few bridal boutiques, Kerrie hadn’t seen any dresses that she really loved. “I had an idea in my head, and I just couldn’t find anything close to it. Una made my mum’s outfit for my sister’s wedding along with her bridesmaids dresses, so we knew how talented she was. I wanted two bridal looks but without having two dresses and long sleeves were a must for the time of the year. I had a jacket vision in my head and Una brought that to life while keeping it elegant and regal.”

The result was an epically elegant gown with a cape-style jacket with fitted sleeves and soft pleats on the front and a skirt with a magical long train attached to the back of the jacket. She wore a dazzling custom Lori Muldoon headpiece. “She was inspired by a regal feel and designed it almost like a crown with plum-coloured jewels which subtly adorned the head piece.” She completed her mesmerising wedding day look with a pearl clutch and LK Bennett heels.

Una also designed the mother of the bride ensemble, which Kerrie’s mum fell in love with immediately as it reminded her of iconic Chanel tweed, the bridesmaids dresses and the mother of the groom ensemble.

Bride wearing cape wedding dress during Markree Castle wedding

The couple wanted a chilled out and cosy atmosphere on their special day and their guests were their number one priority. “We wanted to keep things relaxed for our guests, weddings can be such a busy day so from the get-go we didn’t want to have any pressure and just wanted everyone to enjoy themselves.”

“The drinks reception area and cosy living rooms along with the layout of the dining room were perfect as didn’t want a huge function room and wanted to keep it more intimate. We don’t think we have ever seen a more beautiful dining room. Everywhere you turned in Markree there was something else to see or discover. Some of the guests managed to find the pool room nested upstairs.”

They have the following wedding planning advice for engaged couples, “Enjoy it! Anyone who tells you that you can’t plan and book a wedding within less than a year they are lying – we did it within eight months. We booked things that we loved and thankfully for us we weren’t indecisive and were able to make decisions quickly which was helpful due to our short timeframe.”

102 of their loved ones joined them for their special day and we’ve no doubt they were blown away by the majesty of the ornate venue.

We love to see how brides dazzle with their second-look wedding dress changes. Kerrie revealed the second part of her gown for her reception entrance which had a V-neck top with a plume of feathers on the shoulders and a feathered panel on the train.

Seizing their grand opportunity in between showers, the couple made a dash to the courtyard for their sparkler-lit first dance, which sounds so utterly dreamy. They chose Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs as their first dance song.

The couple celebrated tying the knot with a luxurious mini-moon at Kilronan Castle for a mini-moon. “Kilronan was incredible, we highly recommend it. We are planning to go on our honeymoon in the summer and would love to visit the Amalfi Coast.”