Clara Mai & Killian by James Frost - Together Journal

Clara Mai & Killian's Irish Wedding with an Italian twist.

Planning a large Irish wedding in rural Puglia felt right up my street. Killian always supports my eccentric ideas.

Clara Mai ——We both grew up in Dublin and proudly hold onto our Irish roots but currently live in London with our toddler son, Jude. I work as a perinatal psychologist in the NHS and Killian works in property investment. We met the summer after finishing school at university in Dublin. By Christmas, we were officially going out.

I knew from the start that Killian was one of the good ones, but I don’t think 18-year-old me could have dreamed of how good a life we would someday have. Killian had hoped to propose on a trip to Iceland but ended up proposing between Christmas and New Year on a beach at Brittas in Wicklow.

We wanted our wedding to feel like the holidays we’ve loved organising: something a bit different and exciting, where we could relax but also let loose, drink good wine, eat delicious food and be inspired. Planning a large Irish wedding in rural Puglia felt right up my street. Killian always supports my eccentric ideas. I love everything old and antique and I knew those interests would thread throughout the wedding. In the end, our style was a rustic Italian twist on a vintage classic vibe with a bit of an earthy wild texture thrown in.

I tried on more than 60 wedding dresses all over London and Ireland. In the end, after my second trip to Halfpenny, I saw this dress and then a little peplum skirt, which just felt right. I’m the world’s biggest veil fan and wanted something lacy and dramatic. I also wanted flowers in my hair, but we didn’t work out where and what they would look like until the trial the day before. When my mother brought the veil to the bridal balcony, she noticed a hole in it but the crisis was averted an hour before the ceremony when Killian’s aunt, one of Ireland’s most talented wedding dress designers, fixed it.

Killian’s tuxedo looked chic, particularly against the backdrop of the Masseria and the cacti. Our son Jude wore a cream Peter Pan collar shirt and bloomer shorts from Artesanía Granlei. The night before we left for Italy, I found a jumper I’d given Killian for Christmas 13 years before. I had sewn a little heart button inside the sleeve (teenagers are disgustingly sappy!). I took the heart and sewed it onto Jude’s wedding outfit. Noone would see it but me, but I loved knowing it was there.

While our wedding was probably one of the best days of my life, it’s not the big moments that sustain a long-term relationship. It’s the small, domestic moments of kindness and familiarity that make up the fabric of a life spent together. We both make a huge effort to enjoy the small things in our everyday lives.