Traveler weddings operate on a whole different scale than events any of us could imagine. The culture calls for weddings to be an extravagant community celebration that blows typical weddings out of the water.
Chantelle Kielly, who grew up in an Irish Traveler community based in Rathkeale, dreamed of her wedding day for a long time. The 18-year-old's bridal dreams came true in a major way when she married her first cousin, Jim.
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While that might morally raise some eyebrows, marrying cousins is common in the Traveler community. It's also perfectly legal to marry your first cousin in the UK and Ireland.
Traveler communities spend about 10 months each year traveling. When they return home, they celebrate December as wedding season. The community can attend as many as 10 wedding ceremonies in a week.
Chantelle and Jim were thrilled to add their wedding to that schedule. First, the groom had to make things official with the bride's family, which involves a dowry that can be between €50,000 to €120,000 (about $54,000 to $130,000).
The whole town was invited to the couple's massive wedding, which had an equally enormous bridal party. While the bride kept it to a modest seven bridesmaids, the groom opted for 73 best men.
The wedding was featured on a Channel 4 reality show that focuses on the elaborate weddings Travelers celebrate. Chantelle and Jim also enjoyed a custom Barbie cake. Her dress, created by popular Traveler designer Thelma Madine, was adorned with over 20,000 crystals.
"The dress looked beautiful, she really does," the designer told The Sun.
"They are really nice people, the girls are very respectable. We always say the Irish travellers are like going back 50 years but the Rathkeale girls are like going back 100 years. They're all family and I think that's how they keep the wealth in Rathkeale because they just don't let it go out."
Chantelle shared her gratitude for the event in a speech on her big day.
"I want to thank my mother and father for giving me this big day, my sisters and all the people enjoying this wedding," she said.
