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“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.”

irishwedding

Simone and Darren’s gorgeous Doonbeg Wedding As seen in Martha Stewart Weddings. 

On one of their early dates, Simone Sheils and Darren Mullane climbed to the top of a waterfall in Maui—and jumped. “I was absolutely terrified,” says Simone. “It was brilliant.” It was a typical outing for the two Dublin college students, who met when they were working at a beachside restaurant on the Hawaiian island in 2007. She noticed that everyone around him was always laughing. And he sensed an immediate connection: “We have similar humor and personalities. It felt very easy,” he says.

During hikes through bamboo forests and afternoons of surfing, they discovered they both came from large families in the west of Ireland and shared mutual friends. That September, they moved home and found that they got along just as well in a less-sunny climate. “We went on more traditional datesin Dublin,” says Simone, laughing. After college, Darren, an anesthesiologist, traveled around Ireland for work, and Simone, a speech and language pathologist, lived in London for two years. When she returned to Dublin in 2015, they moved in together and planned a December ski trip to Whistler, Canada – and it was there that he proposed, beside a frozen lake.

They knew they would marry in Doonbeg, County Clare, a village on the Atlantic Ocean close to Simone’s hometown of Ennis. Growing up, she’d spent summers playing on its sand dunes; Darren, from Newcastle West, County Limerick, often joined her family there over the years, golfing at the club where they would hold their reception. The couple, who now live in Vancouver, envisioned a fun, relaxed wedding inspired by the windswept coast, with décor that incorporated its moody hues. The menu highlighted local seafood; a friend of Simone’s father sourced lobsters from nearby Carrigaholt.

Over a long weekend, about 220 guests gathered in Doonbeg to witness Simone and Darren recite Catholic vows on April 29, 2017, then celebrated into the wee hours. The highlight of the night came at around 3 A.M., when a piano player led a sing-along in a fireside bar. With hands in the air and voices in unison, “everyone was in such good form,” says Darren. It was a joyful moment for the couple as they leapt off into a new adventure.

CREDITS:
Styling & Planning: Alise Taggart 
Stationery: La Happy & Appleberry Press Ireland
Location: Doonbeg Trump international
Florals: Informal Florist
Cake: Cloudberry Bakery
Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhuillier
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Alexandra Grecco

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