A beautifully restored private Georgian house and courtyard set amid breathtaking Meath countryside, Clonabreany House was the breathtaking venue for Georgina Masters and Oisín Ó Cléirigh's spring wedding on the 3rd of May 2024. Captured by Anna G, every detail of their special day was executed perfectly.
"Oisín and I first met in Munich at Oktoberfest in 2017. I had moved to London and was travelling over with a group of friends. I was strolling around a beer tent with a friend and chatting with an Irish group. Oisín decided to throw chunks of pretzel at me to get my attention. Very romantic. We started talking and hung out for the rest of the weekend."
In December of 2022, the couple visited Queensland for a month so Georgina could visit family she hadn't seen in 3 years due to the pandemic. "We got engaged on holiday at Tangalooma resort on Moreton Island. I didn't have a proposal on my radar, and unbeknownst to me, I was blocking Oisín's attempts, such as refusing to go on a romantic walk in favour of a lie-in. Oisín proposed on the beach. It was perfect, and nothing was more special than celebrating with my family."
Being blessed with low-maintenance skin, Georgina didn't change much in her skincare routine leading up to the wedding. "Michelle, my makeup artist, encouraged me to moisturise, moisturise, moisture. I use Clinique Moisture Surge. Before my wedding, I'd been blonde for over ten years. I decided to try my natural brunette colour before the wedding and found it looked much better with my dress. My hair colourist helped me return my hair to its natural dark brown and improve its quality after years of bleaching. I was so happy with how it turned out on the day." Georgina wore Prada Paradox for her signature scent; "Oisín has a nice habit of randomly buying me perfume, which was my favourite."
Georgina started from scratch when finding her dress, having no preconceived notions of what she wanted to wear on her walk down the aisle. "I started seriously looking about one year out and went to about eight different stores in London, gradually narrowing down my style. One Saturday, I went with my bridesmaids to three stores in London and narrowed it down to two dresses." She tried on her dress three separate times before making the decision! Eventually, settling on a beautiful, strapless, full-skirt ball gown from Suzanne Neville. "I wanted something classic and timeless, and Elliana was the dress I kept returning to. The couture process was so much fun, and knowing my dress would fit perfectly felt great. One of the funniest moments was taking the dress on the flight to London; she even had her seat."
She had five bridesmaids. Her two younger sisters, Libby and Imogen, Oisín's younger sister, Clodagh, and her childhood friend Lauren and Dervla, who she met while studying at university. "Looking for bridesmaids' dresses was challenging as the girls lived in London, Sheffield and Australia. There were some design requests from the girls, and I also wanted to find a brand with multiple styles so everyone could be comfortable during the day. I found Billy J after much searching online with Dervla on Saturday morning. We had been shopping in London, but Billy J had so many styles and colours, and we felt it was the best option. I chose sage green as the colour. The girls wore various styles and chose their shoes and jewellery."
"Originally, I was planning for an outdoor ceremony; on the day, it was overcast, and I decided to have it indoors. It didn't rain, but I was so happy with my choice. It made for a more intimate ceremony, and the acoustics were perfect for the music. We had a humanist ceremony, and our celebrant, Pat, made the whole process easy. My bridesmaid Lauren sang during the ceremony. She is a professional opera singer and sang O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini. It was so special and one of my favourite parts of the ceremony, and so many people came up and told me how beautiful it was. We chose to do a hand fastening as part of our ceremony. We both didn't feel comfortable sharing our vows in public, which meant we could also incorporate vows uniquely and meaningfully. During the whole ceremony, we laughed and smiled, and there was nothing more special than seeing all your loved ones' faces in one room and smiling back at you."
Despite the Irish family asking, why not get married in Australia? The couple knew straight away that they wanted to get married in Ireland. "I wanted to enjoy all the lead-up to the wedding, such as menu tastings, beauty trails and venue viewings, which would only be possible if I got married on this side of the globe. I was so lucky my mum could fly over to do venue viewings around Ireland for two weeks. My mum, I, Oisín, and his mum Rita spent two weekends looking at venues across Ireland. Clonabreany House was the last venue I viewed. On arrival, I fell in love with the grounds, sprawling green fields, and surrounding lakes. The venue was perfect as it had a beautiful outdoor and indoor option for the ceremony and plenty of on-site accommodation. Clonabreany has the Butler’s Rest, a little Irish pub on site. I loved the idea of late-night drinks in the pub and thought it would be a fun experience for the Australian guests."
The pair chose Inneshlaken strings for the ceremony music and drinks reception. Georgina played the violin for over 20 years and always pictured hearing classical strings as she walked down the aisle. They hired the LOLs for the reception music and organised a DJ to follow. "We knew we wanted a band, and when I heard the LOLs online, I loved their voices and felt they'd be perfect for keeping the dancefloor full. The dance floor was pumping all night; those photos and videos are some of my favourites!"
Regarding the best decision, Georgina said, "Honestly, I'm lucky not to have any regrets about the wedding. All my suppliers were amazing! One of my best decisions, which wasn't originally part of the plan, was to book a content creator. I couldn't decide if I wanted video content; I liked the idea for the speeches, dancing, and ceremony but didn't think we would watch a long wedding film. I started researching content creation and found your story by Elle. I loved her style, and she offered to meet over Zoom to explain how content creation worked; it's more than just TikTok. I'm so glad I did it! It was the best feeling waking up wedding morning to hundreds of photos and videos, reliving the best day ever! We had over 150 people at our wedding, which meant we could experience little moments between friends and family we missed. I would recommend anyone getting married to consider content creation."
Regarding the worst decision, Georgina said, "The worst decision—that's a tough one! Probably allowing the groomsmen to get ready unsupervised. Oisín's brother almost lost his jacket, and my brother somehow wore the wrong suit pants (thankfully, no one noticed). In all seriousness, a few friends have asked if there is anything I'd change, and honestly, there is nothing. As typical as it sounds, it was the best day."
- Gráinne