True Love Tuesday Carrieann and Jamie Martin

From Desertmartin to Australia, this couple brought the two hemispheres together with their summer wedding day in the beautiful Larchfield Estate.

Carrieann, did as so many Northern Irish twenty-somethings do, went backpacking to Australia to experience life and travel away from home. In her case however, it turned into home when she began working in a bar in Cobar, New South Wales. A job that was meant to be for three months turned into five years and we think a certain Australian called Jamie might have had something to do with it.

The two got together and after five years of dating – to the exact day – Jamie proposed to Carrieann with a stunning 1.1 carat solitaire diamond ring from Michael hill’s Jewellers.

Carriann and Jamie decided to have their wedding back here in Northern Ireland with their ceremony in St Patricks Chapel, Keenaught, Desertmartin and Larchfield Estate for the reception. Carrieann says, “We kept our theme very rustic, to match the barn feature at Larchfield. The barn really is something else.”

The couple travelled across the world with 43 Australians in tow to share in their wedding. Carrieann also travelled with her wedding dress. She had found her off the shoulder white gown with pretty lace detail in Belle and Beaux in Newcastle, Australia. She says, “It was the first shop I had gone to for a look, and I found my dress”.

The groom and his three groomsmen wore blue suits with bow ties which they bought from Next. “We struggled to find suits that matched a colour the groom wanted, which was green/teal, but these Next suits were the perfect colour.” The bridesmaid dresses were purchased here from Dream Weddings in Coleraine.

Carrieann believes that their wedding centred around the venue at Larchfield. The flowers and décor were created by Happy Ever Vintage. The bride says, “We kept everything minimal, as the barn itself is just beautiful so didn’t need much added to it. We simply added a fairy light draped backdrop and a hanging floral arrangement to focus on the top table. We used Larchfield Estates’ own candelabras for our centre pieces, and our florist added some green ivy to these.”

She adds, “We added Hessian where we needed, as we felt it matched the venue beautifully. We used Hessian in our table numbers, to dress the cake and for our favours which were stubbie coolers. (Stubbie Coolers are a bottle holder in Australia, to keep your beer cold) We felt these added a little bit of Australia to the wedding.”

Even though the two organised an international wedding, they didn’t find it too stressful. The only issue was the time difference, but the day went without any issues.

Carrieann did, however, make an endearing error that so many brides and grooms make during their vows. “When we were exchanging our vows, I went to place Jamie’s ring on his hand. I reached out and held his right hand. He gently whispered a few times, left, left, to get my attention. In the end the priest whispered, other hand. I couldn’t help but laugh, then everyone else had a laugh with me.”

The couple had the fantastic Justin McGurk and the Boogiemen as their band who had their wedding guests dancing the night away after their first dance to ‘This I Promise You’ by Ronan Keating.

So what advice would Carrieann and Jamie give for any others planning their wedding? “Pass whatever you can on to your bridal party, especially that week before the wedding. Don’t try do it all yourself.”

Another great piece of advice is, “take 5 minutes on the day, step back and take it all in, as the day is over so fast.”

The newlyweds are now back in Australia and enjoying married life together. “We just purchased a new home and are currently starting the renovations there.” We wish them all the best for their next adventure.