Meet the latest couple in The Chupi Wedding Series: Marta & Sebastian. Having met over 10 years ago, Martha and Sebastian have been on an incredible journey together. Martha tells us about her empowering proposal to Sebastian and their beautiful wedding day set in Bellinter House, County Meath.

We met at my 15th Birthday Party over 10 years ago, I invited a mutual friend who brought Sebastian with him. We kissed at the party, but we didn’t start dating until 2 and half years later. However, we never lost sight of each other as we have mutual friends and got along really well from the start.

A few years ago, I had planned to give Sebastian a watch, which he coveted for quite some time, for when we would get engaged. I actually broke up with him after 6 years and we were separated for over a year.

We started dating again and one day he decided to buy the watch and I could not stop him, but I prattled away: “Now you‘ve ruined your engagement present!” I said. We both had to laugh and ended up talking about our hopes and plans for our future together the rest of the day. We had invited guests over to our place before going out that night and needed to rush home as we lost track of time. Later that evening, I could not hold back. I asked Sebastian to marry me – in District8 of all places!

My proposal to Sebastian was such an empowering moment for me as a woman and for our relationship.

Beforehand, Sebastian was unsure if  I was ready for such a commitment and actually ditched his plans of proposing the month beforehand in order not to pressure me. My proposal to Sebastian was such an empowering moment for me as a woman and for our relationship. While District 8 is the least romantic place for an engagement, we still love our story as it was was entirely unplanned, but came straight from the heart.

By chance, we had booked a mini holiday for three days starting the day after after our engagement. We went to store in the morning and chose my Grey Diamond You, Me & Magic engagement ring together and then embarked on our mini-engagement-moon.

We got married on 17 September 2019 in Bellinter House, Co. Meath . Three years ago when I moved to Ireland, I stayed in Bellinter House with my mum and aunt for two nights. During our stay, Bellinter House had two weddings taking place. The three of us said it would be a magical place to get married! I fell in love with the cute library. Once Sebastian and I decided to have a mini civil wedding with immediate family only, we visited Bellinter House together. We loved it so much, we ended up extending our stay last minute for one more night and immediately booked the venue for the wedding day.

The ceremony itself was so intimate and unique, we laughed a lot and had the best time.

We’ve always wanted a destination wedding as we think this makes all the guest really come together. However, we were aware that it can be really expensive for guests to travel, so we decided to have our civil wedding in Ireland with only 7 guests from Germany attending. Next year, we’re going to host a big Summer party back in Germany in my parent’s back yard to celebrate.

The day was perfectly imperfect. In all the excitement of the wedding planning, I forgot to book our hotel rooms for the night before and after the wedding. As luck would have it, there was a conference the day before our wedding and they were fully booked.

Bellinter House staff squeezed us in their last available rooms with shared bathrooms, so that we could get ready for the wedding at Bellinter House on the morning of the wedding. It was a bit different than our imagined luxurious pre-wedding sleep, but we ended up having so much more fun! Also, we then really appreciated the nice suites on the day of the wedding.

The weather was so beautiful on the day. The guys enjoyed some pre-ceremony beers in the sunshine while the ladies got their make-up done. The ceremony itself was so intimate and unique, we laughed a lot and had the best time. We opted for afternoon tea in the beautiful library instead of having a wedding cake. However, the weather was so nice, that we went to enjoy the sun in the backyard for most of the day.

With all the excitement beforehand, Sebastian and I went to bed really early, but both our families partied without us until late – our goal of merging the families was achieved while we were already tucked up in bed.

Sebastian: The moment Martha gave me her wedding present was the moment that stood out to me on the day. She made me a book with reasons why she wanted to marry me, starting in 2014 up until 2019; there are well over 500 reasons in it and was a heartwarming trip down to memory lane.

Martha: The moment after we were pronounced husband and wife was the most memorable moment of the day for me. We chose “Stand By Me” from Ben E King for this moment, but by accident our brother-in-law played the next song in the playlist: “When the rain begins to fall” by Jermanine Jackson. What was planned as a romantic end to the ceremony turned out to be such a fun moment full of laughs and dancing. Quite fitting to my engagement proposal in the end!

I personalised the blazer with different buttons on the halter neck: one button from my family, one from my mother-in-law, to represent the two families merging together.

There was no dress. I opted for a white jumpsuit and a vintage peach blazer. I felt really comfortable in it – more like myself than in any wedding dress I tried on beforehand – plus I can wear it again when styled down, which is more sustainable. I personalised the blazer with different buttons on the halter neck: one button from my family, one from my mother-in-law, to represent the two families merging together.

The jumpsuit cost €360 and I had already owned the blazer for over 10 years, which gave me room to splash on my shoes. I opted for two pairs throughout the day. As my mum said: “You don’t gain weight on your feet”, so I know I can wear them both for years to come.

As I proposed myself, my engagement ring makes me feeling empowered and loved at the same time.

Sebastian: For me personally, this day was not about our guests, but predominantly about us. If I have to choose one thing that we wanted from our wedding day, it was just for our guests to be relaxed and have fun. We wanted it to be a family gathering, two families merging together.

Martha: We put a lot of thought and effort into the day being stress-free for everyone. We also planned a nice cultural activity for the day after the wedding, so that our families would get to see more of the country we now live in. We went to Slane Castle for a tour and a visit to the pub there.

Sebastian: I opted for a polished golden wedding band . I found the idea of wearing a ring terrifying at first, so I wanted to have something special.

Martha: I wore my Chupi Grey Diamond You, Me and Magic Engagement ring and we both had Chupi wedding bands . My parents-in-law actually gave me matching Chupi jewellery as my wedding gift. They chose September’s birthstone black sapphire for the Lucky Star earrings and necklace.

What we both love about Chupi is her wonderful customer service and sustainable approach to her jewellery: using conflict-free diamonds, recycled gold and recyclable packaging.

I discovered Chupi on a holiday to Dublin four years ago, it was just a small stand in Powerscourt Townhouse. To mark my holiday I bought myself a Twice as Strong ring. Getting engaged and married in Ireland, we also wanted to mark these moments with Irish jewellery.

What we love about Chupi is her wonderful customer service and sustainable approach to her jewellery: using conflict-free diamonds, recycled gold and recyclable packaging. These things are important and matter as much as style to us. With us living in Dublin, we went to store to order our pieces. We actually ordered them with Chupi herself. As I proposed myself, my engagement ring makes me feeling empowered and loved at the same time.

Moreover, our engraving is really personal to us: My ring says: “Never Easy”, and Sebastian’s says: “Always Difficult” – First of all, it is important to remember that marriage is also a lot of work, it is never easy. But if you mix the words in our rings together they say: “Never difficult, Always easy”. Our reminder, to always work Hand in Hand together.

Photography: Weddings by KARA
Flowers: @Fernwood.Flowers
Makeup: @odharnait_com