A timeless Palladian mansion set on 1,100 acres of sweeping Kildare parkland, Carton House was the breathtaking venue for Ciara Goodwin's wedding to Xavier Ashurst on December 16th 2023. Photographed by Spellbound Photography, planned by Owl House Events and featured in the Autumn issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL WEDDINGS, this elegant winter wedding is chocked full of dreamy details that we're excited to share!
The pair were high school sweethearts, having met in secondary school in Manchester. "We dated on and off for a couple of years but ultimately went our separate ways after we left school. We went the majority of 6 years without seeing or hearing from each other, bar a couple of chance encounters." In 2019, after having relocated to Canada, Xavier travelled back to Manchester to visit family and ran into Ciara. "We met for dinner, and it felt like we’d never spent a day apart. Xavier left that ‘first’ date, immediately rang his best friend, and told him he would marry me." Later that year, the two made plans for Ciara to come to Toronto permanently, but two days before her flight, Canada closed its borders due to COVID-19! "Xavier managed to book a seat on the last plane out of Toronto, so we spent the lockdown together at home in the UK. We could finally fly to Toronto together in October 2020, and we’ve lived there ever since!"
Xavier designed and secretly bought the ring in July of 2021. "As soon as I had the ring, the thought of marrying Ciara felt so exciting that I wanted to ask her to marry me immediately! However, I wanted to take my time to make sure I did the moment justice and to make her feel special, so I fought the urge until December." Over the next few months, he spent most of his time figuring out where, when and how to pop the question. "Given that we live abroad, being at home at Christmas started to seem like the nearest best opportunity for me to pop the question. I wanted to propose and celebrate on the same day, so I decided on the following:
- The actual proposal: I wanted to propose to Ciara on December 28th on a walk at The Edge in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, which became a very special place for us during lockdown. We had spent almost every day walking Ciara’s dog here during COVID-19 (which marked the first time our relationship had not been long-distance!).
- A celebration meal: I would then take her home to get changed and drive us to the restaurant where we had our first date when we were 18.
- A surprise party: After the meal, I had planned for us to walk over to a local bar to celebrate with our closest friends and family. When planning this party with Ciara, I told her and our guests that it was a Christmas party, a way for us to ‘spend time with all of our loved ones after the busy Christmas period’ (a decoy for me to gather everyone without raising anybody’s suspicion)
However, things didn’t quite go as planned. Ciara and I fell ill on the 19th of December with COVID-19 and had to isolate for 10 days, which ruined my rigorously planned 28th December plans. Because we were isolating, I had to frantically text my mum to ask her to change the bookings from the 28th of December to the next available date. Luckily, everything lined up for the 30th of December. We went for a walk in the rain with the dog on December 30th. She said yes, and the rest is history."
"I didn’t sway too much from my normal routine. It was important to me that I felt like myself on the day. For that reason, I was nervous about having my hair and makeup done, but my makeup artist, Briefne Keogh, and my hairdresser, Amanda Doogue, were so talented and truly made me feel beautiful and confident on the day." Ciara wore Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir for her wedding day fragrance, a rich fragrance with notes of pomegranate, pink pepper and Casablanca lily, and Xavier wore Tom Ford Ombre Leather.
"I've always wanted to get my dress from The White Closet. They have the most beautiful selection of dresses, and the girls there made the process so much fun! I chose a beaded Alena Leena design and had it heavily customized by the wonderfully talented Fran at The Lace Mannequin."
From the beginning of the planning process, Xavier knew he wanted a custom suit made. "I worked with Carl at Harris & Howard to design an incredible black double-breasted velvet tuxedo inspired by a Tom Ford suit I had seen 12 months before. Carl also made my shoes. The process was easy, and the fabric quality and fit were fantastic."
To say that the pair had a huge wedding party is to put things lightly, with Ciara having nine bridesmaids and Xavier having nine groomsmen. "The boys wore classic black tuxedos to match Xavier, although not made of velvet so he would stand out. I wanted the bridesmaid dresses to be stylish and not too traditional; I found Folkster online and immediately fell in love with their styles. We chose floor-length, dark (almost black) forest green satin dresses with an asymmetrical skirt for five of my bridesmaids; the other four wore velvet floor-length dresses in the same shade of green with fur stoles."
"We had a Catholic ceremony with a wonderful and charismatic priest who was a highlight for us and our guests; if he hadn’t had a vocation in the priesthood, he would have been a brilliant comedian! For both of us, our favourite part was when we were finally reunited at the altar. We spend all of our time together, so being apart for 12 hours was out of the ordinary for us; we were so excited to be side by side finally and to be able to enjoy the day together and take in every moment as a couple."
As Ciara is half Irish, she was dead set on saying 'I Do' in Ireland. "We had an extremely large wedding guestlist, which limited our choices, but as soon as we saw Carton House, we both fell in love with the venue. Regardless of party size, we would have always chosen this venue. The location, the grounds, the atmosphere, the staff - everything - was beyond what we could ever have imagined. It went beyond what we could ever have dreamed of."
"As soon as we heard the Luna Boys, we knew they would fit the vibe of our day. The boys are so talented and create an amazing atmosphere. The dance floor was jam-packed, and we felt we were at a gig, exactly what we wanted. Today, people still talk to us about their opening song, I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons, and how amazing it was. It set up the rest of the night perfectly."
Regarding their best decision, Ciara had to say, "Taking the time to choose all our suppliers was our best decision, and we couldn’t have asked for better. Most importantly, our incredibly hard-working wedding planner, Niamh, at Owl House Events. Niamh worked tirelessly with us for nearly a year, answering weekend calls and late-night texts and piecing together every part of the jigsaw puzzle for us. Organizing a wedding from Canada to England to Ireland for a huge guest list is by no means an easy feat, and Niamh took every single worry out of our hands, not only on the build-up but also on the day of the event. We cannot thank her enough! Additionally, our wonderfully talented photographer, Sylvia, and videographer, Chris, were so discreet and made us feel extremely at ease the entire day. We wanted a relaxed and candid approach to our photos and videos, something that would capture the atmosphere, and boy, did they do well. We often scroll back through the many photos/clips of the day and genuinely feel as if we’re right back in the room."
- Gráinne