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Born on St. Patrick’s Day, It Was Fate That Madeline Hendryx Hemingway Marry an Irishman at Ballynahinch Castle

By Shayna Seid | Photography by 

Studio Brown

|Planning by 

Waterlily Weddings

Madeline Hendryx Hemingway, founder of interior design firm Hendryx Design, and Darragh O’Flaherty had their first date at a coffee shop in the East Village, after she spent the morning at the 2017 Women’s March in New York City. They had originally connected on a dating app, but he admitted that he recognized her from a yoga class. “After we parted ways, Darragh texted me immediately to ask to join him for dinner later that night; I said yes despite thinking it was a little soon,” Madeline reveals. “After walking me home that evening, he asked me to dinner the next night, and I went! We ended up going on three dates in less than 36 hours.”

After dating for around two-and-a-half years, he proposed while they were on a trip in Darragh’s home country of Ireland. He planned for them to visit the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, and they eventually made their way to Don Aenghos, the ancient ruins on the cliff. Darragh suggested Madeline pose for a photo, and when she turned around, he was down on one knee with a cushion-cut diamond. She says, “It must have been fate to marry an Irishman; I was born on St. Patrick’s Day!”

The engaged couple decided to host a destination wedding at Ballynahinch Castle in County Galway, where Darragh grew up. “Darragh and his parents have always loved Ballynahinch Castle, especially since the castle has been intertwined with the O’Flaherty clan since the 14th-century,” Madeline reveals. “Ballynahinch has an incredible food program, an amazing art collection, and gorgeous interiors. Each hotel room has a different color palette and wallpaper, as a commercial interior designer that is so impressive!”

The two took full occupancy of the hotel for their August 2021 wedding weekend, and with the help of their planner from Waterlily Weddings, it felt like one big country house party. “Our aesthetic really stemmed from the location and my gown,” Madeline says. “I had always wanted the day to be a black tie garden party turned Gatsby-style house party.” To help set the tone of the events, Linden Illustration created a perfectly on-theme invitation suite, and Heritage Monograms—owned by Madeline’s dear friend’s mother—designed a gorgeous custom monogram.

For the welcome party, Madeline wore a Markarian’s Maddalena gown, paired with an antique necklace and a sapphire, ruby, emerald, and diamond ring—both jewelry pieces were gifted from her in-laws. And Darragh looked dapper in a custom suit from Alan David with tartan Stubbs & Wootton shoes. This wonderful evening was lensed by Aoife Herriott Photography. And at the rehearsal dinner, the bride-to-be chose a silk The Vampire’s Wife dress and Loeffler Randall heels.

The bride first saw her wedding gown on Monique Lhuillier’s Instagram in 2019. It was the first dress she tried on, and it never left her mind, so she finally purchased it from Mark Ingram Atelier. “The sleeves were not supposed to be removable, but it shipped that way, so we embraced it; it ended up meaning I could remove the sleeves and wear the gown well into the evening,” Madeline says. And after the band wrapped up at the reception, she made a quick change into a brocade Markarian halter gown to move around a bit better in and held the Shrimps Antonia pearl tote.

To accessorize her ceremony look, Madeline also wore her antique Claddagh ring with emeralds and diamonds that was gifted to her by Darragh and her late grandmother’s pearl earrings. “I was glad to have a little bit of Sissy, my fraternal grandmother, with me that day,” the bride shares. Madeline also held a wonderful bouquet by Wedding Flowers by Josephine.

On the morning-of, the bride got ready in Sleeper Party Pajamas with makeup artist Odharnait Keiran and hairstylist Michelle Grimes of Studio Maven, who gave Madeline a clean and understated beauty look. The bride’s sister, Caroline Harrell, complemented Madeline well in a The Vampire’s Wife dress in a Liberty print, while her other sister, Helen McLaughlin, looked lovely in a Markarian gown. Madeline’s best friend, Lizzie Merrill, also wore a fabulous Marchesa cape gown. And the mother of the bride stole the show in a Rebecca de Ravenel gown with a print that featured local Irish flora and fauna and a Vivien Sheriff headpiece.

Darragh looked handsome in a custom tuxedo from Alan David and paired it with a shirt from Bombay Shirts, Stubbs & Wootton velvet slippers, and custom cufflinks that were gifted to him by Madeline’s parents. The groom’s party wore Brackish bowties and his best man, Max O’Flaherty, put on custom silver cufflinks that Darragh gifted to him on the ceremony day.

On August 28, 2021, the Catholic mass and ceremony took place at St. Joseph’s Church in Clifden. Father Bernie Costello, who has known the O’Flahertys for many years, performed the service.  Madeline and her father took a vintage car from the castle to the church, and the bride really cherished that time alone with him. “We practiced deep breathing and enjoyed the incredible views of the Connemara landscape,” she remembers. “He walked me down the aisle to ‘Gabriel’s Oboe,’ a favorite song of Darragh’s.”

“I was so nervous during the start of the ceremony,” she adds. “There was a tractor crash that caused the roads to the church to close—only in Ireland—on the night of our rehearsal, so we were unable to rehearse with Father Bernie. Because of that, I wasn’t one hundred percent positive of the flow of the ceremony, and it all seemed to happen so fast!” However, it was a beautiful service.

During the ceremony, the groom secretly added a unity candle to the ceremony. The couple lit a candle together to symbolize the union of their families. After reciting their vows, the new Mr. and Mrs. O’Flaherty recessed down the aisle to “This Must Be The Place,” as their guests threw a confetti of dried flowers.

With uncharacteristically warm weather, the newlyweds and their loved ones spent a few hours post-ceremony in the walled garden with a gin and tonic trolley, oyster station, margarita bar, and the jazz band Satin Martinis. Madeline ponders, “Who would have thought we’d be in sunglasses sweating in Ireland?”

For dinner, guests found their table numbers via fish-themed cards tied to fishing rods in the castle’s stairwell. “Darragh is a fly fisherman, and Connemara is known for its rich salmon and trout fishing,” Madeline explains. In the main dining room, local fare was served like Irish cheeses, veggies from the castle garden, and lamb. The meal was finished off with a taste of Texas in the form of pecan pie and their wedding cake—orange Madeira with hand-painted florals—all by Goyas of Galway.

During the toasts from family and the wedding party, the bridal party arranged for a video slideshow to play with messages from family members who couldn’t attend the destination nuptials. “My tears were flowing!” Madeline remembers.

Madeline and Darragh had their romantic first dance to “Moon River” on the castle’s terrace next to the river, and then the party continued into the wee hours with Luke Thomas & The Swing Cats. After the reception formally ended, the festivities continued on a groomsmen’s suite’s terrace with an acoustic singalong.

On the Monday following the wedding, the married pair zipped off to Italy for their honeymoon. Madeline says, “We made our way up from Ravello to Lake Como over the course of two weeks and filled our time with truffle hunting, swimming in the Mediterranean, and loads of pasta.”