We’re thrilled to announce our very own Waterlily Weddings was featured in the May/June issue of Wedding Planner Magazine as part of their Outdoor Events feature! Discussing the skills needed behind-the-scenes to pull off outdoor weddings in Ireland, our premier planner Michelle Johnstone Clark describes what it took to coordinate Brittany and Shane’s memorable wedding at Dromoland Castle. Pulling off their perfect day included 62 white resin fold-able chairs for the ceremony seating, rustic stands for the flowers and 24 candle holders for the reception tables, and 2 horses with 30 hounds plus trainers for the memorable escorted post-ceremony procession. Challenges in planning an outdoor event in Ireland always involves the weather; “As the weather in Ireland is so changeable,” Michelle says, “making a call on whether ceremonies are indoor or outdoor always occurs at the eleventh hour.” With a promising morning it was “all systems go” for Brittany and Shane, and preparations began immediately at 9:30 in the morning.
As couples look to personalize their wedding day with special details, a wedding planner needs to account for those within their own planning process. For Brittany and Shane’s wedding, they wanted a traditional horse-and-hound escort. Two horses together with hounds escorted the couple and their guests from the ceremony location in the Walled Gardens back to the Castle for the reception. The challenge was working with the trainers to time their arrival perfectly to the conclusion of the ceremony, keeping the horses and hounds quiet as the ceremony concluded. “The design of the outdoor space and control of the dogs by the horseman facilitated this whole piece,” says Michelle, “which came together perfectly.
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