Firstly, I understand from my time stalking weddingsonline that posts from first timers recommending suppliers are met with suspision so I have added pictures to prove my authenticity! I used this site religiously but as I did so from work (ahem) I was always afraid to post!I found it invaluable and so I have finally gotten round to writing up a report in the hopes that others mind find it of some use. Its almost a year since our wedding day! We were lucky enough to become pregnant straight away and had two gorgeous identical twin girls last October so life has been pretty busy and changed dramatically since March last year!!
Before I recommend the various suppliers we used I would just offer the following advice/tips to future brides:
1. Easy to say when the event is over but really dont sweat the small stuff - in the end nobody but yourself will notice! I cannot tell you how much time we spent agonising over invitations and wanting them to be perfect and in the end people smiled politely said they were lovely and probably threw them in the bin or stuffed them in a press!!Same with table centre pieces, mass scrolls etc!I think people notice the atmosphere and overall feel of a wedding more than anything else and being surrounded by friends and family who love you will create that.
2. Negotiate with your hotel early. Dont think we'll ask for some things now and down the road we can bargain for more. Maybe people arent as foolish as us but we left it way too late in the day when hotel knew they had our business to have any real bargaining power (We got a lot of extras included in our package but we should have bargained more in terms of actual price of package)
3. Get a video of the day if you can. My husband was insistent he didnt want camera in our faces for the day and honestly even he regrets not getting one now. All our planning for cermony, music etc and we can barely remember any of it!! Would love to have it to look back on and now we have two little girls can only imagine how much they would have loved seeing it!
4. We had a lot of mixed tables where people didnt know each other and got those paddy power betting slips and cameras for each table and they were a real ice breaker I believe.
5. Even if only once, practice your first dance!! Things were so hectic in run up to wedding we didnt give it moments thought til lights were on us and we were being called up by the band!! Dont get me wrong in grand scheme of things doesnt really matter but man I was sooooo awkward!
6. If you can, try to take at least a week if not more off before the wedding, no matter how organised you are, there are some things that can only be done in that week. I also found that friends were eager to meet before wedding for lunch etc so very hectic.
7. Have a drink the night before!! My lovely bridesmaid laid out champers the night before and i didnt really drink anything cos wanted to have fresh head. Didnt sleep a wink that night and Im sure a wee drink would have relaxed me and sent me right off to sleep.
8. Speaking of bridesmaids - choose carefully. So much is expected of them. My bridesmaids were great and so unselfish but especially my chief bridesmaid. She did so much for me but especially on the day itself. It was a crap day for her really because she spent it following me around helping me, applying make up even helping me to the toilet!! So make sure you pick someone who is going to give themselves up, get into the buzz of it all and be there for you.She made me feel very special and seemed to never get bored of me waffling bout weddings and thats exactly what you want.
9.Use the internet. I got great bargains on stuff for my sweet table, guest book, church candles and wedding cameras by shopping online.
10. Make sure you get on with person you have chosen for hair and make up because they are going to be with you for a large part of the morning and will help you to enjoy the whole process. I have such lovely memories of that morning and I think they put me so much at ease and kept everything so calm and relaxed that morning that I ended up being very relaxed getting to the church and definitely enjoyed the cermony a lot more because of it.
11. We got a vintage car as part of our package (we couldnt have afforded it otherwise) and in run up to wedding neither of us thought much about it but was actually so much fun and as we drove to hotel people were waving at us and we got great pictures.If you can afford it, definitely get it.
12. Honeymoon wise we had rough idea that we wanted to travel around France and Italy but didnt have itinarary as such. Big mistake! We were so wrecked after wedding that hitting big cities and planning and trying to do touristy stuff was madness, we werent able for it at all. Should have just found beach somewhere and flaked out for two weeks. No matter how organised you are weddings are exhausting so keep in mind when deciding on type of honeymoon you want!!
Right this was to be a short write up so I better get to my list of suppliers!!
Johnstown House Hotel: Excellent, really excellent. I genuinely can't say enough good things about them. The wedding cordinators Tanya and Louise were so lovely to deal with. They were great at getting back to me and just giving me general wedding advice, nothing was too much trouble. We were treated like royalty on our overnight stay to taste menu which we werent expecting and was, I think, a good sign for the day itself. The Head chef came out and spoke to us that night to make sure we were happy with everything and nothing was too much trouble including changing wine that came with our package to a wine we preferred at no additonal cost. The day itself was just unreal. The food was amazing, they made us feel so special. Everyone kept telling us how great the food was and how lovely the staff were. They looked and acted so professional which I loved. I was in such a mad rush the day before that I dropped over an array of sweets for candy buffet with no instructions as to how I wanted it laid out. I had great intentions of raising some jars and lowering others but hadnt got round to it and they did all of that without me even asking...amazing!A bunch of us stayed the next day and had meal in small function room and service and food was out of this world. Really Im trying to think of something negative to say to balance out all the above but honestly cannot!
Bridal corner, glasnevin: Went to a lot of dress shops before here where I was either put in wrong style of dress and in one shop was even told I had time to go and lose a bit of weight (no joke!). The girls were lovely, super professional and oh my god did I love my dress. They picked it out for me and I would never have given it a moments notice but minute I tried it on knew it was 'the one'!
Bridesmaid dresses: My dear friend and neighbour who is very skilled dressmaker made these. They were fabulous, really stunning Pm for details
Mens suits: CT2 Blanchardstown: So professional, suits were really good quality and perfect fit (impressive considering we had the very tall and much smaller to be catered for). Everything was as it should be and very competetive price wise.
Band: Sax and the city: These guys were brilliant! Got crowd going, great mix of tunes. Just funky and cool and again had guests telling us how great they were for weeks afterwards. Also very nice to deal with in run up to the wedding. Did DJ set for us as well and kept the party going. Didnt want any gimmicks or irish dancing type stuff just good music and thats what we got.
Pre dinner entertainment: Manilla rhythm: Aw these guys were just brilliant played in lobby area and then few songs at the meal doing requests for each table. Loved loved loved them!! So much fun and sounded great. Big hit on the day and created great vibe.
Church music: Musa: three girls playing flute and guitar and they were just stunning. I think really made cermony for me (apart from obviously marrying the man of my dreams!!).Really, the harmonies and sound from the three of them was beautiful.
Make up: Deborah Curran: Lovely woman and fantastic make up artist. Spent so much time at trial going through everything with me to make sure I got what I wanted and did great job on the day itself. I felt like myself but not...in a good way! shes wonderful and so nice that it was a pleasure to have her around that morning
Hairdresser: Local lady (Meath) who I have been going to for sometime and who I think is excellent. I loved my hair for the wedding and she is great craic and again was pleasure to have her there that morning.Pm for details
Flowers: Giselle at weddingflowersireland: Again was just so blessed with suppliers I got, this lady was wonderful. Ridiculously competitive and yet put so much effort into getting it right. To be honest kept thinking she has to be too good to be true but nope, she really was amazing and I loved my flowers and those in the church. Husband said she was lovely in church helping them to organise things like church candles etc cos they were all over the place (nerves or a bit hungover im not sure!!)
Fairy light backdrop and petals for tables: Grace covers. Shopped around and they were chepaest by miles but with no sacrifice on quality. backdrop and table skirting was fab. Also lovely lovely woman. Packed up the next day and never came looking for payment as said we were probably wrecked and not to worry and just post it down. How nice is that?
Photographer: Nicky Mcdonnell: Lovely to deal with and very professional on the day itself. Would barely have noticed she was there yet captured all the important shots.
Invitations: Lantz: Great quality, reasonably priced and professional
I hope the above is of some use and if you want any more info on any of the above please do not hesitate to mail me. Happy planning, such a special time and its really only when its all over that you appreciate that so try to enjoy it for what it is xx
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