A marriage ceremony which begins in the gardens of the historic Santa Barbara Courthouse and progresses on to horse backcountry is just what this bride and groom dreamed about for a long. long time. The groom’s immigration from Ireland to the US was fraught with delays and difficulties, and it was touch and go up until the final week of the wedding date. The nervous bride and I had been in constant communication which had a special influence on the ceremony I wrote for them — when there’s plenty of time to get to know about a couple, I find that their marriage ceremony becomes deeply personal. I always hope for genuine moments to listen to the amazing “Love Story” of two people who have found each other among the billions of others on the planet. When this groom arrived — just days before the wedding day —I discovered something so interesting: There’s a certain something about a guy from Ireland who has that Irish wit and sensitivity that ended up making their ceremony one full of tears and lots of laughter. Their best friend read a wonderful poem, “Scaffolding” by Ireland’s beloved poet, Seamus Heaney. It seemed like Seamus wrote the poem especially for this couple since it was about the strength of TRUE LOVE and being there for each other no matter what — months and months of being apart only brought them closer and closer. After the marriage ceremony (one that those of us at Santa Barbara Classic Weddings will never forget), off they went to share a perfect wedding day with their family at their ranch. I'm pretty sure they were two of the happiest newlyweds in the world as they rode off into the sunset…together…finally!