“We couldn’t wait for everyone to see Ballymagarvey Village and experience what myself and Mark fell in love with.”
The couple: Aoife Lynam & Mark Kinchin
Length of engagement: 2.5 years | Wedding date: 18th September 2014
Wedding location: Ballymagarvey Village, Co. Meath
Photographer: Michelle Prunty
We met… nine years ago. I was doing my leaving cert and my mam sent me to my friend’s for a break away. Mark was there that night and we hit it off. We hadn’t seen each other again for six months when I plucked up the courage to ask Mark as my date for my Debs and we have been together ever since.
Our proposal… was on Christmas morning on the first year in our new home. Mark had our sitting room covered in candles and I thought he had done all this to make the first year in the house special. So I was very shocked when Mark got down on one knee and popped the question! So much so I nearly hyper-ventilated but in the end I said yes!
Our wedding theme/colours… Starting off we didn’t really have a theme or specific colours in mind. Looking back now the key colours were pastels and nudes. We kind of just wanted everything to tie in with the feel of Ballymagarvey Village.
My hair and make-up… It was important for me to look like myself on the day. Caoimhe Bannerman did my make-up and I was delighted with it. She really was such a calming influence on the morning of the wedding.
My headpiece… I knew I didn’t want to wear a traditional veil so with the help of my sister Sarah I chose a Jenny Packham headpiece which complemented my dress perfectly.
The suits…. Mark wore a three piece navy slim-fit suit with a navy and ivory polka dot tie, bought in Dorian Black. The Groomsmen wore the same suit as Mark but with a different tie and waistcoat.
The bridesmaids dresses… I got the girls dresses in Monsoon and Oasis. I wanted them to look and feel comfortable on the day so they had three different dresses but a similar style. I really think the girls looked fab!
Our ceremony… took place in the beautiful Rathfeigh Church in Co. Meath. It was a traditional church ceremony. My local priest from Clondalkin, Fr. Des Byrne, celebrated our mass and he made it both beautiful and memorable.
My dress… I discovered that I am not the kind of girl that enjoys wedding dress shopping. I found it a very daunting experience until I found my perfect dress in Bridal Couture in Arklow designed by Manuel Mota for Pronovias. I would definitely recommend visiting Bridal Couture. The girls are very helpful, in particular Bernie who has a great eye for detail.
We chose our venue because… from the beginning we had a vision of what we wanted and Ballymagarvey Village made this happen. The staff are truly AMAZING and they made everyone feel at home on the day. We couldn’t wait for everyone to see Ballymagarvey and experience what myself and Mark fell in love with.
We chose our photographer because… We love photos but not so much being in them, so picking the right photographer was very important to us. When I came across Michelle Prunty, I knew she was exactly what we wanted. She made us feel relaxed on the day and we didn’t even notice she was there half the time! I was so excited to receive the photos and when we did we were definitely not disappointed! She really captured the ‘moments’ of our day perfectly.
Our menu…was one word – delicious! And everyone commented on how the staff even went around with second servings! Later in the evening we had fish & chips – a favourite of ours.
The décor… I really wanted to have a hands on approach to the wedding and everybody was very willing to help! My sisters Sarah and Nicola and my best friend Gillian all helped with the jars/table numbers/invitations and mass booklets. My dad and brother were happy to make the crates that we used to hold the flip flops. We had all our family and friends collecting corks and jars for our table centrepieces and photo screen. We wanted a piece from our wedding that we could have in our house for years to come. We came up with the ‘photo screen’. It was a lot of work but it paid off in the end and we were able to pin all our favourite photos from the past nine years on it. We put a lot of time into the DIY side of things as we felt it was putting our own stamp on the wedding. It was also a lot of fun having everyone involved.
Our dessert table… We both really love desserts and from the very start of the planning we said we would really love a cake table. With the help of Lisette Ui Laigheann (Scrummy Mummy) we had the perfect dessert table on the day, with everyone commenting on how great the cakes looked and tasted.
My favourite part of the wedding day… There are so many memories, I can’t pick one but here are a few… Walking down from the aisle with Mark ready to begin our new life together, making memories with family and friends, arriving into Ballymagarvey Village and seeing how all our preparations and hard work came together with a few extra surprises along the way. We loved every minute of it. It was by far the best day of our lives!
Our honeymoon… well, Mark wanted to go to America and I wanted to go to Thailand. So we had to meet somewhere in the middle. We ended up on a two week west coast of America fly-drive and a week in Mexico. It was by far the best holiday ever! We booked it with Trailfinders who I would highly recommend.
My piece of advice for other brides… Add some personal touches to your day as these are the things that will make it special and memorable for you both!