Bride and groom: Pamela Donoghue, Scientist for Coca-Cola and John Hayden, Self-employed and manages Irish Fire and Flood Restoration.
Length of engagement: Five months | Wedding date: April 30, 2011
Ceremony: St. Joseph’s Church, Tinryland | Reception: Ballykealey Manor, Ballon, Co. Carlow
Wedding Photographer: Penry Photography
A Jenny Packham dress and headpiece, a yellow VW Bug, navy suits, yellow bridesmaid dresses and yellow billy ball flowers – it sounds like a wedding day made in heaven, and Pamela and John’s wedding day was! The style is die for, and it was all captured seamlessly by Penry Photography…
We met… John and I both played gaelic football for Carlow for a number of years so I did know who he was, but we were introduced by my cousin James on a night out in Carlow in 2004. James always says he got his two favourite two people together and he was the first person we called after we got engaged. I think he was more excited than we were!
First impressions of your John… They were really good as I decided on that night that he was the man I was going to marry.
John’s first impressions of you… All I’ll say is they were not as good as mine!
Our proposal… John proposed in the middle of a mucky field in Old Leighlin, Co. Carlow on the site where we plan to build our house. He had got me there under the false pretence of measuring the site for our architect. As the field was quite wet I was in my wellies – it’s not every day a girl gets proposed to wearing wellies! John had also hidden a bottle of champagne and some glasses and we sat looking out at our view of Mount Leinster. It was perfect.
Our wedding theme… We were trying to go for a vintage look with a bright summer theme. It started with the yellow 1950s style bridesmaid dresses and went from there. Mary Smith from Finesse Weddings pulled the theme together for us and dressed the venue on the day.
My weddings dress… My wedding dress was designed by Jenny Packham. I found it quite difficult to find my dress because I wanted something simple and comfortable with a vintage look. After a few failed attempts, a friend suggested the Jenny Packham website and I saw my dress there and I knew it was the one. I travelled to the London store and purchased it directly. John and I also had a lovely weekend in London before the wedding, when I picked up my dress, an unforeseen bonus!
The bridesmaid’s dresses… They were purchased online from Dessy.com. These were actually the first thing I bought. I loved the bright yellow colour, the style of the dress – they were very 1950s with the high neck,narrow waist and length.
Our flower girl and page boy outfits… My nephew Darragh and John’s niece Hannah were our page boy and flower girl. Both were very casually dressed from Next and Debenhams. Hannah wore a navy spotted dress with a yellow ribbon. While Darragh wore navy trousers, white shirt and navy waistcoat with a narrow blue tie. We wanted to keep both very casual and both have got loads of wear out of their clothes since.
Our first dance… It was was ‘True Colours’ by Cindy Lauper.
Our venue… Ballykealy Manor is a beautiful old country house with amazing grounds and gardens. It’s very close to my childhood home and I’ve always wanted to have my wedding there. It’s just a beautiful place to invite people and it also fitted in with our vintage theme.
My advice for other brides… Buy very comfortable shoes! Think about the kids you invite, keeping them happy can really add to their day and that of their parents. Hire a good photographer, I love looking over our photos by Penry Photography and I know we will so do for years to come!
Wedding Suppliers
Men’s Suits: Mac’s Menswear, Carlow.
Bouquets, buttonholes: Carlow Florists. Pat came up with the white camomile flower and the yellow billy ball. The groomsmen button holes were yellow roses and John’s matched my bouquet.
Hair: Laverne from Brides Unveiled – the finger waves in my hair pulled the whole vintage look together.
Make-up: Corrine Cleary from Mac in Dundrum – I loved my make-up it was very subtle and didn’t budge all day.
Headpiece: Jenny Packham
Jewellery and cufflinks: Douglas Jewellers, Carlow.
Shoes: All Kurt Geiger
Wedding Stationery: They were a gift from my very talented friend and graphic designer, Ciara Duggan.
Wedding car: It was a 1974 yellow Volkswagen Beetle owned by my best friend Laura MacDonald and she drove me to the church on the day! It’s one of my favourite memories of the day.
Cake: The cake was made by John’s mam Mary, his sisters Marie and Geraldine and iced by his niece Emma..
Wedding favours: Chocolate gold hearts from Lily O’Brien’s
Church music: Tracey O’Dea, she was amazing and learned ‘At Last’ by Etta James for my entrance.
Band: The Wondertones, an eight-piece band from Galway
DJ: Clara Hutchinson from Carlow, we had an 80s disco, it was great fun!
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