Personal Notes: I myself honeymooned in Ireland, naming my first daughter after the same beautiful rolling green hills and staggering natural landscape. Shannon and Eric would go on to do the same with their daughter, and the connection is especially beautiful as I look back and remember fondly getting to witness a wedding in one of my favorite places.

Due to storms in the United States' key flight departure cities for Ireland, many of the wedding guests were delayed arriving (Shannon's mother and grandmother missing 2 flights due to storms - and my second shooter and I experiencing a total of 4 consecutive flights due to weather!) Thankfully we had planned to arrive multiple days early, but time was slowly disappearing. We were told one final flight was leaving over the next 24 hours connecting through another city to Ireland. "Can we make it?" We begged the airline worker with desperate eyes as he changed our tickets. "Depends how fast you can run." was his response. We sprinted the entire length of the Chicago airport end-to-end and arrived to the gate just in time to jump on board, gasping for breath and abandoning our personal luggage to ensure our gear made it safely in our arms. We finally landed in Dublin 36hrs after intended, safe and sound and on time.

Upon arriving, we drove 3 hours to the cliffs of Moher to meet Shannon and Eric for an engagement session, wearing the same clothes we had slept in on the airplane with no alternatives. I'll never forget what it took to get to this spot, and every mile was worth it.

The morning of the wedding began in typical Irish fashion, with rain beating against the windows and a romantic overcast settling into the city of Ennis. After a quiet morning at Dromoland Castle preparing, Shannon walked down the grand aisle of Ennis Cathedral to marry Eric in a moving ceremony before returning back to Dromoland to celebrate their marriage. Irish dancers, cigars, and fireworks filled the evening with memories and 9 months later the couple celebrated the birth of their first daughter, named named after County Clare where they wed. Little Clare it the spitting image of her beautiful mother and the couple hopes to return with her some day.

VENDORS

Planning: Eva Clark Events
Ceremony: Ennis Cathedral
Venue: Dromoland Castle, Co. Clare
Florals: The Garden
Videography: Justin Peay
Dress: Monique Lhuillier
Hair & Makeup: Oksana Lobanova

Shannon hales from a family with deep Irish history, and knew the only place to wed her husband Eric was in a castle among the hills of Ireland. Their friends and family traveled abroad to join them, and got to witness all that this incredible country has to offer.