Well in the week leading up to the big day there had been rumours of snow but to be honest I didn’t believe it, but I was secretly hoping it would be true!
Because we were having a humanist ceremony at the venue on the Saturday, we did the legal stuff in the registry office on the Friday. In our minds Saturday was the real day, so we wanted to make Friday as low-key as possible. In the end it was a fantastic day. It was just the two immediate families, which made it really intimate and special. The ceremony was super-short, but still actually really nice. Then we went to dinner in La Mere Zou (yum!!) and even after going for a drink afterwards, we were still home before 10pm. So the two of us stayed together at home that night.
We were woken at 3am by a massive thunderstorm and what sounded like lashing rain (which I was very disappointed by). But then when we woke up the next morning there were loads of texts on our phones saying ‘white wedding!!!’ so when we opened the curtains we literally couldn’t believe our eyes – the city was covered in snow!! I’d had over 7 hours sleep so felt great, raring to go! Hubby-to-be dropped me over to my parents house and went on his way.
Had a really nice morning getting ready with the bridesmaids, all very relaxed. Then at 1pm I got dressed and all the neighbours came around for a glass of prosecco. It was a bit overwhelming cos the house was packed, but in another way it was great because everyone was SO excited, and these were all people I’d known since I was a kid. Got some lovely photos with the family in our snow-covered garden!
We decided against going for fancy cars, so my brother drove me and my parents to the venue, which was really lovely. The drive was a bit nerve-wracking as the roads were fairly slippery! We knew everyone else would be late due to the weather so we didn’t feel rushed at all. When we arrived at the venue (only 10 minutes late after all, which I guess for a bride is on time) we were told that a few ‘key players’ had not arrived yet, so myself, my father and the bridesmaids went into the hotel bar for a while! I tried to get a message to my h2b not to be stressed, and that we were all very happy to wait! After about 20 minutes we were told it was time!!
I had fully expected to cry when I walked up the aisle, but whatever happened on the day I was just SO happy I couldn’t stop smiling!! It was amazing to see himself up there smiling at me! My cousins did the singing and they were spectacular. The carriage suite in the Station House is lovely and small so I felt I could look everyone in the eye!! And unlike a church wedding, our seats were kind of at an angle so we didn’t have our backs to the audience, which meant I could grin like an idiot at everyone through the whole ceremony! I don’t really remember the beginning of the ceremony cos me and the hubby were just whispering in each other’s ears and giggling.
All in all our ceremony was brilliant, and was probably my favourite part of the day. Everyone commented on it all day and said they had never seen anything so personal and sincere. We had three readings read by friends and family, as well as a candle lighting ceremony and a ‘blessing of the hands’ ceremony. We also wrote our own vows, which was SO emotional. I cried through mine, and then when I looked around afterwards, EVERYONE was crying!! Even the men!
After our ceremony we had the photos outside in the snow!! I wasn’t feeling the cold at ALL but I’m sure everyone else was! The samples I’ve seen so far are really beautiful.
We did it fairly quickly, so were able to join everyone in the drinks reception and have a mingle (although I’d missed the drinks and snacks and was starving at this point!). Then when everyone was brought over for dinner, hubby and I were left alone in the cosy room with the fire for about 15 minutes, which was really lovely. We were then announced into the room and danced around the place before getting to our seats.
OK I’m going into too much detail now, time to speed things up...!!
The food was fabulous, really delicious. The speeches were brilliant. We had the two dads, then the chief bridesmaid, then me, then my husband and then the best man. I didn’t prepare anything (because I was too nervous! Even though preparing something would have helped with the nerves!) but when I stood up to speak you couldn’t shut me up hahaha!! I cried again, everyone cried again (for every speech I think), and there was just a lot of good feeling in the room.
Then we were brought outside where some of our friends had prepared a surprise for us – 200 helium balloons with sparklers attached, which we lit and then released into the sky – it was pure magic, I swear, I was totally overwhelmed by it!!
Then the dancing started, and didn’t stop till 3am!! The band were absolutely mindblowing, can’t say enough good about them, more below...
We had a sing-song in the residents’ bar, and then rolled to bed at about 6am, completely and utterly shattered, but in another way totally buzzing.
So in conclusion – BEST DAY EVER!!!
Now to the suppliers
Make up: Marie Joseph. She was wonderful. We all looked amazing!! My mother never wears make-up, but when she saw how natural mine looked after the trial she agreed to have Marie do hers too, and was delighted with it. After all the crying in the ceremony and during the speeches, and the serious sweating from 5 hours of dancing, I literally couldn’t believe how I still looked practically the same at the end of the night as I did that morning. Dunno how she did it. She was also a pleasure to work with on the morning!
Hair: Cathy McNulty. Wow, A miracle worker. She gave me gorgeous vintage-style curls, which stayed put ALL day (and the next day actually) despite the snow and (again) the sweating and dancing!! Usually if I have a curly blow dry or anything like that, it tends to fuzz up completely if conditions aren't exactly perfect!! She was also great fun in the morning! My only gripe with her was that she was pretty bad at responding to calls and texts in the lead-up to the wedding, but in the end that didn’t actually matter (and she always got back eventually!), so I would highly recommend her.
Outfit: My dress was from White Orchid in swords, who were great. I got it in a sample sale, so it was a bargain!! Because of the bargain, I splashed out on a bolero from Bonzie, an online shop based in Waterford I think, and to be honest I think that was what made the outfit, it was absolutely stunning! And was great for keeping me warm! I didn’t go for a veil, instead got a little mini-hat/hairpiece thingy at a vintage fair, from a milliner called Rebekah Patterson, which was beautiful and added further to the vintage feel. Hopefully I’ll put up photos when I get them...
Hotel: I can’t say enough good about the Station House – I LOVE THEM!!! They were just so wonderful throughout the whole planning process. Every email I sent them, they replied with something that made me feel instantly relaxed. I felt able to leave loads of stuff in their hands, confident that they would do a good job on everything! It is just such a beautiful venue, perfect for our numbers (just under 120) and they really looked after us on the day. Also, I do love that bridal suite!!
Band: The Ratzingers! Amaaaaazing!! Just so much fun, so funky, such a performance, such high energy. Not a typical wedding band at all. We went for the 6 piece and were so glad we did!! The brass section really added to it.They actually seemed to be really enjoying themselves, and Katie the front-woman was great fun. She had brought inflatable instruments and had the kids up playing with the band which was hilarious. And her voice is STUNNING! Last night I watched a video of our first dance (make you feel my love) and her voice gave me shivers! I literally cannot recommend them enough. Along with the hotel, they are absolutely our top suppliers!
DJ: Al Killian – he was great, played all our special requests and others we hadn’t even thought of, but exactly suited the crowd. The dancefloor was heaving till the very end!!
Decor: Decor is not something I’m hugely into, so most of it was just what the hotel provided, but was gorgeous (especially as they had their Christmas decorations up!). In a last minute impulse buy (the day before the wedding!) I decided on a fairylight backdrop, which was provided by Kate at Perfect Details and was gorgeous. We had silk flowers by Michelle at All About Weddings which did the job perfectly!!
Ceremony: We had Emma Sides from the Humanist Association of Ireland and she was brilliant. She had sent us loads of sample ceremonies and loads of sample readings and really encouraged us to do our own thing. We had her over for dinner to discuss the ceremony a couple of months before, and then again the week of the wedding to do a rehearsal, so we really felt we knew her by the time the day came around, which made it even more special.
Photographer: Magda Lukas – I LOVE MAGDA!! She is such a pleasure to work with, such a sweet person, everyone was talking the next day about how lovely she is. She has sent me the initial samples (45 pictures) and they are just stunning. She has a real knack for capturing special moments. Most of her photos are reportage shots rather than formal shots, which is exactly what we wanted. Her service is absolutely unbelievable (especially for what she charges!), she was there from first thing in the morning till well into the dancing!! An absolute STAR!! If you’ve booked her, you won’t be disappointed. If you haven’t, do it!!
Videographer: Rory from DC Media. Obviously I haven’t seen the video yet, so all I can comment on is the fact that Rory was a pleasure to work with, a really sound bloke, and he was very unobtrusive throughout the day, I hardly noticed him. I anticipate it’s going to be a great video, but obviously I don’t know yet!!
So that's all I can think of for now, but I think that's long enough!
Thanks for reading if you made it this far!!
