JAMES & BRYAN

“Choosing Love & Gatherings was the best decision we could have made. We were supported every step of the way and Kate’s rolodex of suppliers is unlike any of her competitors in Ireland. We had the most bombastic two days of our lives and will be eternally grateful to Love & Gatherings for making it all happen”

A wild Forest Ceremony & Marquee of your Fever Dream

Wedding design magic for two Interior Design heroes

James O'Neill & Bryan O'Sullivan do nothing by halves. Bryan founded Bryan O'Sullivan Studio — a London & NYC interior design firm — and his studio spent the year refurbishing Ballynahinch Castle itself. They'd looked at twenty-five venues in Spain & Italy before coming home to this one.

The ceremony was in a woodland clearing on the riverbank — a spot that, not long before, was wildly overgrown scrubland. Our team cleared, levelled & barked it, carving a forest walkway and a secret glen. Watching Niall O'Driscoll helm the Celtic Handfasting in blazing Connemara sun… I still get goosebumps. Sacred ribbons in our event palette bound their hands; when they pulled free, the knot was tied. Bubble machines erupted the moment they said I Do — the forest sparkled.

The love procession out — 280 guests dancing to "Like a Prayer" behind a ribbon banner — led everyone to the riverside terrace. Then the Orangerie: a canvas marquee wedding tent (the very one used by Harry & Meghan), a week to erect & style — long wooden tables, antique crockery, a floral garden growing ceiling-down, one glorious glitterball. Marigolds — a nod to Ballynahinch's past as the home of a Raj, utterly original.
Charlotte Church & her Late Night Pop Dungeon lifted every guest from their seat. James performed alongside Charlotte in a serenade to Bryan. Then Sink the Pink.
I was invited as a guest. Watching faces walk into that marquee… a privilege I rarely get from behind the scenes. This is the Irish destination wedding dreams are made of — and why I became a luxury wedding planner.