“Some cheeky teenage antics” brought bridal brand Tara Lauren Co-Founder Shaina Healy and Shawn Tunstall together, she recalls. Shaina’s original homecoming date bailed on her, so she decided to kiss his friend to get back at him. “That cute friend ended up being Shawn, and I forgot all about the other boy once I kissed Shawn! Little did we know that we were just at the beginning of a long and beautiful path.”
A decade later, while on a weekend trip to Solvang, California, with another couple, Shawn proposed. Shaina had assumed the weekend was planned by their friends, but it had been organized by Shawn from the beginning. He led her down a quiet path through the vineyards before dropping to one knee. “And as soon as I realized what he was doing and watched him pull the little box out of his pocket and get down on one knee, I lost it and started sobbing,” Shaina shares. “I was overwhelmed with joy.”
“Honestly my wedding vision hasn’t altered much since I was a little girl,” Shaina, who grew up in and around her mother’s bridal shop admits. Given her Irish roots, she’d long been drawn to the idea of nuptials in the locale’s countryside. “I used to love the movie The Secret Garden, and it’s been the basis of my aesthetic preferences ever since childhood.” When she found an image of the small abbey ruins in front of Huntington Castle & Gardens in County Carlow, her “heart stopped,” and their venue decision was made.
Shaina worked with planner Kate O’Dowd of Love & Gatherings to bring the vision to life. The brief was clear: a romantic, nostalgic, and magical Irish summer garden wedding. “I love having a feast for the eyes, where the more you look, the more you notice,” she says. “So I wanted lots of flowers and sweet little details on the tables. I also wanted to lean heavy into a color palette of whites, greens, and yellows. I’ve always known that would be my wedding color palette.” Rachel & Noah Ray were on hand to photograph throughout the weekend, while The Hansons videoed.
“As a bridal designer, it was exciting and daunting to design my own wedding dress,” Shaina admits. “There were so many ideas and details I wanted to incorporate, and it was quite an undertaking to focus all those ideas into one design.” For the ceremony, she looked to the Edwardian Era, drawing from vintage references, ruffles, and lace. The look came together with an A-line organza skirt, a Juliet cap veil, and a custom headpiece designed in collaboration with Heather of Heart Gold Designs. She also wore Gianvito Rossi shoes and A.B. Ellie drop earrings. Orlaith Shore and David Cashman styled her hair and makeup for the day.
Later on, Shaina swapped her skirt for a mini of the same design for dancing. “It was truly a Tara Lauren original,” she shares. “I felt so beautiful and happy in my dress, it was so freely and unreservedly an expression of myself.”
Shawn wore a shawl collar tuxedo by Ted Baker with a continental-style tie, inspired by Elvis. Bridesmaids wore dresses in soft yellows and greens, while the groomsmen kept to classic black suits.
In true Irish fashion, rain poured on the afternoon of July 22, 2023. Still, the skies cleared just long enough for Shaina and Shawn’s ceremony in the abbey ruins. The aisle, lined with florals by Rosehip and Berry, led to an arch positioned at the altar. Mamisa String Quartet played “Dreams” by The Cranberries, as the bride walked down the aisle with her father.
Along with the couple’s personal vows, the ceremony included several traditional Irish elements—a handfasting, a ring warming passed among guests, and a unity candle ritual. “We felt so joyous and fortunate to be so deeply in love and to be marrying each other, surrounded by all of our loved ones in the most unbelievably beautiful place, brimming with flowers with the rain magically holding off for just enough time,” Shaina reflects.
The reception unfolded beneath twinkle lights and candlelight, as rain fell just outside the tent. Long farm tables were set with yellow and green floral-print linens and topped with arrangements of the same color palette. Handwritten name cards marked each place setting, alongside custom menus designed by Shaina in collaboration with Jessica of Pink Moon Designs, who also created the invitations.
Dinner by BlackSheep Foods featured a choice of Hereford prime sirloin, seasonal baked fish, or wild mushroom pasta—served alongside Irish butter potatoes and a miso kale salad. Dessert was a summer pavlova, followed by a Clare Anne Taylor cake.
Toasts were given during dinner by the bride’s father, her sister and maid of honor, as well as Shawn’s best man. Dancing followed, beginning with the newlyweds. “We knew without discussion that we would be doing our first dance to our song, which was ‘Right Down the Line’ by Gerry Rafferty,” Shaina says. The Enemies kept the dance floor full, while espresso martinis and late-night burgers sustained guests into the early hours. “Everyone says this but it’s true, it all goes by so fast. I remember looking back at the aftermath under the tent and trying to hold on to every little moment. Then we made our way back into the castle and called it a night.”
