Brooke and Evan have been in each other’s lives since middle school. More than a decade of friendship, growing up, and building a life together, and when it came to getting married, they knew one thing for certain: a 100-person reception in Rhode Island wasn’t it.
So instead, they saved for two years, booked flights to Ireland, and said their vows on a clifftop above the ruins of a 16th-century castle with the Atlantic stretching out behind them.
Here’s their story.
Why Ireland?
This wasn’t a case of scrolling through Pinterest and picking the prettiest backdrop (though Dunluce Castle absolutely is that). For Brooke and Evan, Ireland was personal.
Both of their families have strong Irish roots, and that heritage has always meant a lot to them. Brooke grew up with red hair, freckles, and a deep curiosity about where her family came from. From a young age, Ireland was somewhere she always felt pulled toward. Not just as a travel destination, but as a place that was part of her story before she had ever set foot there.
When they finally arrived, it delivered on every bit of that. The coastlines, the green, the people. All of it was exactly what they had hoped for and then some.
Why They Chose to Elope
Let’s be honest about something that Brooke and Evan are very open about: weddings in the US are expensive. The average wedding in Rhode Island for 100 guests runs to $30,000 or more, and that’s before you factor in the months of planning, the family opinions, the seating charts, and the fact that most couples barely remember eating their own dinner.
Brooke and Evan looked at those numbers and made a different choice.
“Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on a single day or taking on debt, we made the decision to save together for two years and invest in a once-in-a-lifetime two-week adventure that would become part of our love story.”
Two years of saving. Two weeks in Ireland. One ceremony on a clifftop with no one watching except each other and the sea. When they put it like that, it’s hard to argue with.
They’re clear that they’re not anti-wedding. They would have loved having their people there. But they wanted a day that felt like them, intentional, unhurried, and focused entirely on the fact that they were choosing each other. An elopement gave them exactly that.
Planning from Rhode Island (and Getting a Little Help)
Brooke and Evan had never traveled outside the United States before this trip, so planning a destination elopement in Northern Ireland was no small task. They started around 18 months out and navigated their fair share of uncertainty, shifting travel costs, an unpredictable economy, and the general challenge of organizing something this significant from thousands of miles away.
They weren’t alone in it, though.
Their photographer, Liana of Lia Rose Weddings, had eloped in Europe herself and had become a close friend of the couple. When Brooke and Evan first started seriously considering an elopement, it was hearing about Liana’s own experience that really set the idea in motion. Liana and her husband Will (who shoots alongside her) ended up traveling to Ireland with the couple and spent the week before the wedding exploring the country together, all four of them.
For two people leaving the US for the first time, having someone along who had already done it, and who actually cared about how the trip turned out, was worth more than any planning spreadsheet.
The Morning — Port 56 Guesthouse
Their base for the Northern Ireland leg of the trip was Port 56 Guesthouse, and the morning of the elopement started the way every good Irish morning should: with a full traditional Irish breakfast.
While Evan and Will got ready together, Brooke had her hair done by Charlene from Boho Bridal Stylist. She said the appointment ended up feeling more like catching up with a friend than a wedding morning task. They chatted about Ireland, travel, and Charlene’s family, and Brooke loved every minute of it.
While that was happening, Liana was quietly capturing the small details: Brooke’s vow books, her flowers, and the piece that meant the most. A locket containing the first wedding photo of her grandmother, Nana Lynn. Alongside it, Brooke wore her Nana’s pink rose and pearl necklace and earrings throughout the day.
“Having those pieces with me made me feel connected to her in such a special way.”
It’s the kind of detail that doesn’t show up in venue brochures, but it’s the kind of detail that makes a wedding day feel whole.
The First Look — White Rocks Beach
Before heading to Dunluce, they made their way to White Rocks Beach for their first look, the moment Evan saw Brooke in her dress for the first time.
White Rocks is one of those Northern Irish coastal spots that genuinely takes your breath away: wide pale sand, dark sea stacks, cliffs stretching either side, and on the day of their elopement, warm May sunshine instead of the Irish rain they had been braced for. (More on that luck shortly.)
Brooke says seeing each other there, on the Northern Irish coastline with all of that beauty around them, instantly calmed any nerves. They were able to slow down and just be in it together before the ceremony even started.
Something wonderful happened while they were on the beach. A local spotted them and mentioned that the cave visible in the distance was known locally as the Wishing Cave. Brooke and Evan stood together looking toward it and quietly made wishes for their future before sharing a kiss. Completely unplanned, completely theirs.
Giant’s Causeway
From White Rocks, the group made a stop at Giant’s Causeway, because if you’re going to elope in Northern Ireland, you really should stand on those basalt columns in your wedding clothes at least once.
The Causeway is one of those places that manages to be iconic and still genuinely impressive in person. The hexagonal stones, the scale of it, the way the ocean hits the rocks. It made for some truly stunning portraits and gave the day a sense of covering the full breadth of what the North Coast has to offer.
All three locations, White Rocks, Giant’s Causeway, and Dunluce Castle, are within a short distance of one another, which made the day’s logistics smooth and relaxed. No long drives between spots, no rushing.
The Ceremony — Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle sits on a basalt outcrop on the Antrim Coast, separated from the mainland by a narrow chasm, with the Atlantic Ocean below on all sides. It has been there, in various states of ruin and occupation, since the 13th century. It is, by any measure, a dramatic place.
For Brooke, it was also a fairytale.
“I’ve always dreamed of a fairytale-like wedding, and I couldn’t imagine anything more magical than exchanging our vows beside the ruins of a Celtic castle overlooking the sea.”
The staff at Dunluce welcomed them with a shot of Irish whiskey before they made their way down to the clifftop above the castle, a small, perfect detail that set exactly the right tone.
They exchanged personal vows, completed a handfasting ceremony, and exchanged rings. Brooke describes walking toward Evan as one of the moments she’ll never forget. The coastal breeze moving through her dress, the cliffs around her, the ruins below. After thirteen years together, they were finally here.
They both cried.
“After 13 years of growing up together, supporting each other, and dreaming about our future, we were finally standing in the moment we had imagined for so long. Looking at each other, we knew we didn’t have a single regret.”
About the Weather
Let’s be honest. No one traveling to Ireland expects amazing weather. The rain is what makes it so green and lush! So Brooke and Evan fully expected to spend at least a few days of their trip in ponchos. But what they got instead was a heatwave! Every single day they were in Ireland was warm and sunny. Blue skies over Dunluce Castle, golden light on White Rocks Beach, sunshine on the Giant’s Causeway columns. They were, by their own admission, extremely lucky (and the photos show it)!
After the Ceremony
Something we absolutely love about Brooke and Evan’s day was what they did after the vows were said and the wedding photos were taken. They sat in the grass together.
They looked out at Dunluce Castle and the sea, let the adrenaline settle, and took some time to absorb everything that had just happened. No reception to get to, no speeches to sit through, no hundred guests waiting for them. Just the two of them and a view of Ireland.
This was followed by a private dinner at the golf course restaurant at Eighteen Ninety Four.
Their Advice for Anyone Thinking About Eloping in Ireland
Brooke’s answer to this one is our favorite thing in this whole submission:
“Don’t listen to anyone else. Do it.”
She’s not dismissive of the people who love big weddings. She gets it. But she and Evan went into their elopement clear-eyed about what they were choosing, and they came out the other side with zero regrets.
“Standing in front of your best friend, with no audience, no distractions, and no expectations, just the two of you looking into each other’s eyes, feeling nothing but love, intention, and complete presence, is an experience that’s hard to put into words.”
If you’ve been wondering whether eloping in Ireland could be the right fit for you, Brooke and Evan make a pretty compelling case!
Supplier Credits
Photography and Planning: Lia Rose Weddings | Instagram: @liaroseweddings
Content Creation: Rose and Reveries | Instagram: @roseandreveries
Hair: Boho Bridal Stylist | Instagram: @bohobridal_stylist
Venue: Dunluce Castle
Accommodation: Port 56 Guesthouse
Florals: Coleraine Florists | Instagram: @coleraineflorists
Dress: Ann.tique | Instagram: @ann.tique
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Has Brooke and Evan’s day got you thinking about planning your own engagement? Here are a few articles to help you get started:
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