Are you planning a wedding at home? Prepare to be inspired to no end by the stunning real wedding of Kaela and Barry. The couple dreamt of an elegant garden party wedding that was timeless and relaxed, beautiful and different and 100 of their loved ones got a front-row seat to the fabulous celebration.
Featuring phenomenal bridal and grooms party style, something blue accents, clouds of uber-pretty baby’s breath, and loads of dreamy personal touches, you can’t miss this absolutely beautiful big day. Find out all about the magical fete with photos from Victoria McGarry below.
Kaela is from New York City while Barry is from Longford. Kaela tells us how they met, “We met seven years ago at Christmas. I was home in Ireland visiting from New York. We kept in touch over the years although we were living in different countries, Canada and New York, our paths just hadn’t quite aligned yet. I moved back to Ireland during Covid and the first Christmas I was back I got a surprise text from Barry saying he had come home, for good. I knew from that moment we were meant to be together, after all these years. And the rest is history.”
Kaela was caught completely by surprise when Barry popped the question in New York. “It was beautiful and thoughtful. Barry proposed to me in front of the Alice and Wonderland statue in Central Park. It was a place I spent so much time in growing up as a child and that particular area of the park and that statue is my favourite place to be so it was a really special place for me.”
The couple wanted a smaller wedding where they could enjoy every moment of magic surrounded by their favourite people in the world. “We wanted to be able to spend our day with our family and friends and truly be present with everyone there. We also had our eight-month-old son so the fact that it was at our house we knew he was happy and comfortable and in his own space as well.”
The couple tied the knot on a sun-dappled May day with their ceremony held at St. Mary’s Church, Legan in Longford.
Kaela was utterly enchanting in a lustrous Orseund Iris gown which had a high neck, long sleeves and billowing sleeves. She accessorised with strappy Tony Bianco heels and a fairytale floral lace veil. Her something borrowed? Her mother’s ornate pearl and gold earrings by Chanel. Wow!
How touching is Kaela’s first look with her father? A moment brimming with pure joy!
A highlight of the ceremony came as Kaela’s godmother read Marry Your Best Friend by N’tima Preusser which features heartfelt lines such as, “Life is too short not to love someone who lets you be a fool with them.” Kaela highlights, “I had it saved on my phone for a long time and I thought it was such a beautiful message not just for us, but for everyone there.”
Kaela did all the wedding planning herself and she admits, “I’m probably a micromanager but also very organised so I really enjoyed the process of the planning and styling. Thank goodness for my Pinterest boards and a husband who goes along with my ideas.”
Shedding more light on the aesthetic of their special day, she says, “We wanted to keep it very classic. I wanted the flowers white so they would hold their own beauty yet not take away from the dress but add to the simplicity of the décor. I wanted to be able to look back on our photos in 10 or 20 years time and feel like I could have everything the exact same way again.”
They incorporated subtle pops of blue and white throughout the styling to pay tribute to her mum. “I grew up in a home where my mom collected beautiful blue and white plates and dishes etc and I have taken after her by doing the same. I feel like it is very classic and timeless and that was what I wanted for my wedding so my bridesmaids dresses were all different patterns of blue and white to represent that. We also had some antique blue and white vases and jugs scattered around the place with flowers in them.”
The choice to celebrate at home was an easy one for Kaela and Barry. “We are lucky to have a beautiful large garden with a fabulous view. So when thinking of places to have our wedding we were sitting out in our garden and then suddenly looked around and said, ‘Why don’t we just have it here.’ It was the best decision. We got married at the end of May and our garden is always thriving that time of year. We have a line of hawthorn trees that were covered in beautiful white flowers, wild daisies and just an abundance of greenery that made it the perfect garden wedding.”
Grooms who want to incorporate a subtle pop of colour into their wedding day look, take note. Barry’s dapper navy suit from Benetti Menswear was styled with a light blue tweed blazer. He also wore a pocket watch which was a gift from one of his groomsmen. His groomsmen were all dressed in Benetti Menswear suits so as you can imagine they all looked impeccably suave.
Kaela is a professional makeup artist so she created her beautiful bridal beauty look with a rich brown smokey eye playing a starring role. “I did my own hair (no one can do a slick back bun like me),” she adds. She also did her mother’s makeup and all her bridesmaids too. Kaela added another incredibly chic accessory to her wedding day wardrobe – a white retro-style bridal sunglasses.
Their baby boy also got the something blue memo with his adorable check romper by Ralph Lauren. As for wedding day advice, Kaela says, “At the end of the day the small things don’t matter. People don’t really notice the small details and that’s why we didn’t focus too much on that. It’s the atmosphere and vibe that people remember the most.”
Something blue bridesmaids dresses are just the sweetest, aren’t they? Kaela’s ladies wore mix and match floral print dresses from Reformation and they looked absolutely lovely.
Reflecting on the reception, Kaela shares, “The feeling of pure happiness when we walked into our back garden and saw all of our guests basking in the sunshine, smiling and chatting, sipping on drinks to the subtle sound of background music was such a special feeling.”
When it came to the décor, the couple sourced everything locally and they decorated their car with accessories from Etsy. The floral arrangements were created by the florist Down The Flower Path who is a friend of Kaela’s with dreamy baby’s breath flower clouds suspended above the tables in the marquee.
Their chic cream tiered wedding cake with frayed edging was made by their close family friend. The couple had their first dance to a piano version of Infinity by Jaymes Young. Blue Romantics served up all the hits so the dancefloor was full into the early hours!
“We look back on the day and it was perfect,” Kaela remarks. “It was the happiest day because we felt so relaxed at our home surrounded by our family and friends. Of course the sunshine was the icing on the cake. When the sun started to set and that golden hour appeared, looking around at everyone taking photos outside, standing around our firepit, laughing with each other while we held our baby and just took it all in, that was when I knew it was the best day.”
The newlyweds chose Croatia as their honeymoon destination where they spent five days in Hvar and two in Dubrovnik. “It was an amazing honeymoon. Hvar was magical. It was beautiful, relaxing. It felt like another world. Dubrovnik was amazing. Full of old culture and history. We are planning on going back to Hvar for our five-year anniversary.”
A huge congratulations to Kaela and Barry! A very special thanks to Victoria McGarry for sharing the images of this joy-filled home wedding with us, you can see even more in the gallery below.
Planning your own wedding at home. Check out these utterly lovely Real Weddings for more inspiration!
