Not all marriages are built to last . . . but artist Taryn de Vere has found the unconventional key to a happy relationship: marrying your partner again and again.
Taryn has been married to her husband Andrew Galvin for ten years - and they share an incredible bond, having got married again and again - while continuing to live in separate homes.
While Taryn lives in County Donegal, Andrew lives in County Galway, meaning they see each other once a fortnight - proving you don't have to be joined at the hip to be happy.
Over the past decade, they've got married seven times - each time, surrounded by strangers they've met while holding the ceremony in parks and public spaces.
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Taryn says the unconventional nature of their relationship is what keeps it fresh - with the couple repeatedly re-marrying when they feel they've changed as people.
Writing for the Mirror, Taryn explains why she has married Andrew seven times - and how it all works.
"I've been married eight times. The first time was a conventional affair and conventional marriage.
"It’s fair to say that the experience turned me off the idea of ever marrying again. Not that my ex-husband was a bad person, more that I didn’t enjoy the trappings of marriage, the loss of freedom and the loss of independence.
"When I met my current husband we had many conversations about marriage and weddings. We shared similar criticisms of the institution.
"This led us to imagine what a marriage could be like, were we to start from scratch, and mould marriage around us and our needs and desires as opposed to us being moulded by it.
"We wrote a ceremony that included vows that enshrine our freedom, independence and growth. We don’t live in the same house, out of choice.
"Over our ten years together we’ve spent years living in different counties.
"We see each other once a fortnight for a few days, which means that we always look forward to seeing each other and get excited about it.
"We value and treasure our days together, and then we happily part for a few more weeks. Our finances are and always have been entirely separate. The only way we’re connected is via the heart.
"Some might ask why get married at all, which is a fair question. We felt that our love was so big and wonderful that it deserved to be celebrated and shared.
"The ceremony we created is designed to impart the love we have for each other to anyone who witnesses it. Part of the vows we make is a commitment to learn, grow and change as people.
"Over the years we’ve both continued to work on ourselves, re-creating who we are on a regular basis. When we change as people we ask ourselves and each other if we still choose the relationship and if so, do we still choose the marriage.
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"This practice was widespread in Ireland under the Brehon laws, which were a kind of legal system in place before the Norman invasion.
"In a sense, we’re returning to old ways with our version of marriage, though with the modern twist of full independence.
"We repeatedly re-marry when we both feel we’ve changed enough as people that the new version of ourselves wants to marry the new version of the other.
"Our weddings are very simple affairs, they don’t cost anything, we don’t have food or cake, just a ceremony usually held in a public place like an art gallery or a park.
"We walk the streets of wherever we’re getting married and invite the strangers we meet to be guests at our wedding. We ask one of the people who attend to be our celebrant.
"Both I and my husband do not believe there’s any power higher than ourselves who can declare us married. We don’t recognise religion or governments as having any place in our love for each other. We’ve re-created marriage to suit us.
"Often the strangers who come to our weddings get emotional and tell us they find our ceremony moving. One guest who stands out for me was a 16-year-old girl who told us, “I thought I knew what love was before, but now I know I was wrong.”
"Others have told us that it’s made them question the traditions of weddings and the need for large expensive celebrations.
"Getting married in front of strangers removes all sense of obligation from the wedding. The strangers are asked only to be present. They don’t have to dress up, spend money, or bring a gift.
"They are people who have chosen to be there, and the only thing we ask of them is that they stand witness to our love."
