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Daily Record
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Ewan Gleadow & Hannah Mackenzie Wood

Teen bride marries cousin in huge ceremony attended by 73 best men

An Irish traveller married her first cousin in a huge wedding ceremony attended by 73 best men.

Chantelle Kielly, 18, tied the knot with first cousin Jim in Rathkeale, south west Ireland - with the entire town invited to celebrate the couple's big day.

Traditional travelling families are away for ten months of the year before returning home in December for wedding season, the Daily Star reports.

During this period, loved ones prepare wedding receptions and events for couples, with as many as ten ceremonies taking place in a single week.

Chantelle and Jim's lavish affair was documented in a recent episode of Channel 4's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

The wedding was secured after the bride's family paid the groom's family a dowry ranging between £41,000 and £99,000.

Marrying your cousin is still legal in the UK and Ireland, with concerns over the morality raised, although the marriage of two cousins is perfectly commonplace in traveller communities.

Chantelle, 18, married her first cousin Jim at a ceremony in Rathkeale. (Channel 4)

Chantelle and Jim wanted to put on a wedding everyone will remember, with Chantelle's dress adorned with 20,000 crystals in a traveller favourite design.

The bride opted for at least seven bridesmaids, while groom Jim went all out and added a staggering 73 best men to the wedding list.

Chantelle's dress was covered in 20,000 crystals. (Channel 4)

The couple featured on Channel 4's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, with The Sun reporting the pair celebrated with a party the whole town was invited to, featuring a bespoke Barbie cake.

Dressmaker Thelma Madine, who featured on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding frequently, said: "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."

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