I cant believe its my turn to do my wedding report. The last 18 months or so just flew by. I want to thank all the wollies for their help over that time, we got some great tips & advice from you all.
We had an unbelievable day, we couldn’t have imagined how great it would be. It definitely exceeded our wildest dreams. What made our day so brilliant & special though was our guests. We are so lucky to have the best bridal party, family and friends who beyond doubt made our day as special as it was
Lead up to Wedding
I finished work on the Friday exactly a week before the wedding. Our Best Man & 2 Bridesmaids had flown in during the previous few days from Oz, NZ & Cardiff so was looking forward to catching up with them in the coming week.
After work I went & got my hair cut & then met sister (CBM) for a pedicure in Pink Beauty Salon in Dundrum. It was lovely, they even had champagne for us.
Packed up the car on Saturday & headed for Cavan. Got emotional leaving the house for some reason
but had composed myself by the time I got into the car!!
H2B stays in my parents house when we’re down home so Sat we just chilled out & spent the night infront of the TV, the calm before the storm.
Our GAA club, which H2B plays for, had a Championship match on Sunday, unfortunately we lost. Everyone went back to our local after it to watch the Kerry Meath game and there we stayed till the wee hours of the morning.
From that day until, and including, the night before the wedding we were out every night, meeting up with different friends & family. We had a few bits to do over the week but it was all fairly relaxed and stress free.
Monday – Picked up a few last minute bits in Cavan & had a lovely lunch with H2B.
Tuesday - We finished the mass booklets with the help of our BM from Cardiff & got table plan finalised.
Wednesday - Our flowers arrived from Flowers 4 Florists so we prepared them. We finished decorating our cake too and had our mass rehearsal that night. My parents had everyone back to our house for finger food & a few drinks.
Thursday – Myself & BM’s got tan & manicure done that morning in Wards Urban Day Spa in Longford - 043 3347826. It looked really good, very natural for fake tan. Then with the help of my brilliant sister & her friend we did the flowers, bouquets, buttonholes & pew ends. We got all our bits & pieces ready for the hotel and H2B & I dropped it all down. Went for a family dinner that evening with my family. All our BM's and a couple of friends decorated the church for us, they did a magnificent job
Went for a few drinks that night in our local. When midnight was approaching H2B headed for his parents house. I went outside with him to say goodnight, we had a little smooch & said we’d see each other at the alter. I still didn’t feel like I was getting married the next day. Myself, sister, brother & BM’s headed home and it was about 1.30am when I was going to bed. The bed felt very empty so I let our dog (Sparky) up to the room & he slept across my feet for the night.
Day of Wedding (Friday)
Woke up at 6.45am and myself & the dog went downstairs. It was a lovely morning, no rain which was a relief after the days before being so bad. Dad was just up so the 3 of us had a nice peaceful breakfast together. One by one the household started to wake up. The hairdresser arrived at 8am & make-up at about 9am. The house was still very calm & relaxed. My Mum went to a local salon & get her hair & make up done, she’d decide in the lead up it might be a good idea so there was less chance of her & my sister annoying each other if things got any way stressful. The morning passed in a haze of hair & make up. My brother gave me a present from H2B, a beautiful photobook of our years together with some very funny captions on the pics
Photographer arrived about 12.20 and took a few getting ready pictures. At this stage the cars arrived along with some aunts & uncles who had travelled that morning. They were all surprised the house was still so relaxed.
Then time to get into our dresses. We had a few more pictures taken and the BM’s & my mum left for the church. The wedding was at 1pm so I was anxious to go as it was just after 1 and I’d promised H2B I wouldn’t be late. We got to the church at quarter past and the heavens opened. I sat in the car outside the church willing it to stop & my wish was granted. That was the only rain we had. We were blessed with the weather for the rest of the day.
I walked up the aisle 25mins late. This was the bit I was dreading, the thoughts of all eyes on me freaked me out but it was fine. I think I may even have enjoyed it, I smiled & nodded at various friends until I got far enough up to see H2B. I just focused on him the rest of the way. Dad handed me over and exchanged a few words with H2B. Our priest was fantastic. He was chaplain in our secondary school so we know him years and he had us at ease straight away by cracking a few jokes. Loads of people have come to us since saying it was a beautiful ceremony.
Before we knew it we were outside hugging & kissing everyone. We had the family pictures taken outside the church. My cousin brought our dog in for a few quick photos with his little tux on. He was so cute. He’s our pride & joy so we had to have him included somewhere. He went for a few days holiday then to The Happy Hound kennels, he was in his element!!
My husband (so weird calling him that) and I along with our bridal part did a round of the town beeping the horns & then went off to see my granny in Cavan. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to make it to the wedding but it was great seeing her on the day as I’m her 1st grandchild to get married. She was quite frail but she did tell me I had a beautiful frock so I was made up
This was a comical part of the day. My uncles vintage car is quite slow so we figured we’d be quicker going to see granny in my parents car and meeting my uncle closer to the hotel on the way back from Cavan so after our spin around town we hopped in with my parents and off to Cavan. When we got there my Mum remembered that their overnight bag was still in the hallway of our house, they’d meant to call back in for it after the church
Our wonderful photographer said he’d bring us to meet my uncles car & we’d have all the other photos taken at the hotel by the time Mum & Dad would get there. We pulled up at the side of the road a few miles from the Slieve Russell & hopped into uncles car. We got a few funny looks from the cars that passed us at the side of the road 
We rang our bridal party to tell them we were nearly there and they all met us at the door of the hotel. We were given champers and taken in the function room & it took our breath away. We were in the Cranaghan Suite and it looked amazing
with the lighting, the chair covers, the candles, etc. Took a few pics in there and then outside for a few more, the grounds of the hotel are just beautiful.
We had the speeches before the meal & they were very enjoyable. We had the Paddy Power Speech Sweepstake Kits which I’m told went down well at all the tables. My Dad & hubbys dad said some lovely things, hubby was a tad emotional during them and nearly couldn’t finish his own. I spoke myself then. I wasn’t sure if I’d have the courage to get up but the few glasses of champagne must have helped me. I thanked the various people I wanted to & then moved on to hubby, I’d written a poem about out time together, starting from the night we got together to our wedding day. The last verse was a toast to our guests & I got such an applause when I finished I was delighted I’d done it. Hubby was openly crying at this stage. He couldn’t believe I’d written it for him, he said it was brilliant. Our best man did us so proud too, his speech was great, he’d been so worried about it but he was brilliant and very funny.
Our meal was absolutely beautiful. The service was fantastic. Hubby & I made our way round a good few of the tables between courses. I highly recommend doing this if you can as we wouldn’t have got talking to half the people if we hadn’t do it because from the minute the music started we were nearly always on the dance floor.
Our band & dj were just brilliant. They gauged the crowd so well and I doubt there was anyone that didn’t dance at some stage of the night. We had cant take my eyes off you as our first dance song, I’m dying to see it on the DVD cos I’d say its hilarious, neither of us would be that good on the dance floor. Nobody noticed the changeover from band to dj, I cant praise them both enough.
When everything was finished up some of the lads from the local GAA team hubby plays for suggested a team photo on the stage so about 40 of them piled with me in the middle. Next thing they started singing. We started off with some hymns and moved on to anything & everything after that. People had been getting ready to leave the function room but when this started they retook their seats. They were taking pictures & recording it with their phones & cameras. We sang for over half an hour I’d say. It was the best end to the best day. We went to the residents bar for a while & it was after 6am before hubby & I got to bed.
I have to say it was just a brilliant day from start to finish. It all went to plan and I cant think of anything I’d change about the day, except maybe get my parents to remember their bag but even that added to the day. There’s not too many couples who can say it took 3 different cars to get them to their wedding reception
The whole way through the day I felt extremely happy and I’m smiling in practically every photo I’ve seen from the day but I didn’t feel like I was at MY WEDDING. I cant really explain it but even though I was the one in the big dress I had to keep reminding myself it was our wedding day
If you made it through all that well done. I was planning on keeping it short but as you can see that didn’t happen, I could have written loads more but I’ll spare ye.
Now to our suppliers:-
Hotel: Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell http://www.slieverussell.ie/
I cannot recommend this hotel enough, they were just so great to deal with from start to finish. Shauna our wedding co-ordinator couldn’t do enough for us. Everybody complimented the food & the empty plates going back to the kitchen were testament to that. They went round with seconds and possibly even thirds to some tables!! The girl we dealt with on the day (Julie) was super aswell, she spotted a few things we’d missed/forgotten like leaving our priest off the table plan but she had it sorted with zero hassle. From the first day we went to the hotel we were so well looked after, they were excellent to deal with.
Band: Whiskey River Band http://www.whiskeyriverband.ie/
These guys kept the floor full the whole time. They played music that suited everyone and there was a great mix of people on the floor. One of our suppliers I’d have no hesitation in recommending them.
DJ: weddingdjs.ie http://www.weddingdjs.ie/index.html
John was amazing. He played some great music. We couldn’t leave the floor cos every song was one you just had to dance to. He did a little ACDC medley which the guys are still raving about. It was brilliant. He got them up on stage and they were giving it socks with all us girls trying to outdo them on the dance floor. If you want a disco to remember then John is your man. He was great to deal with and more than helpful.
Photographer: Enda Sheehan Photography http://www.endasheehan.com/
Enda went above and beyond the call of duty on the day bringing us in his car. I’d highly recommend him. We got to see a good few of the photos he took on the day and the CD of all the photos is on its way so I’m really looking forward to getting it and putting our album together. I wasn’t looking forward to the photos, I prefer to be behind the camera, but it was pain free. The time flew & it ended up being fairly enjoyable.
Videographer: Big Apple Video http://www.bigapplevideo.ie/
Eamon was very easy to deal with, he made it all very relaxed. It was only when looking at some other peoples photos I realised how near he was to us during the day. I didn’t really notice him at all. Cant wait to get the DVD
Dresses: My Dress: RK Bridal. BM’s Dresses: Gownsales. Saved a fortune by getting the dresses online. They all arrived before they were due to. I’d highly recommend both sites.
I used Abbey Alterations & they had my dress done within a week which impressed me as I’d lost weight from I got the dress & there was a good bit of taking in to be done.
Veil: Pure Bliss http://www.purebliss.ie/
Hugh is great to deal with. My veil was stunning. I think I’d kinda left it late to order a veil but I still had it on time and it came in the most beautiful presentation box.
Accessories: Wendy Louise Knight http://www.wendylouisedesigns.ie/
A fantastic lady recommended to me by another wollie (Bijou) to whom I am eternally grateful. Wendy made Mine & BM’s jewellery, my hairband, my mums hair piece, my mil’s hair piece and some of the auntys went to her too. I cant praise her enough, she made every item from scratch exactly as we described. My mum & mil got theirs the exact colour of their outfits, a perfect match.
Suits: E&M Stores Cootehill 049 5552224. Really good to deal with and reasonably priced. I’d definitely recommend them. The suits were great quality and the guys in E&M were very accommodating for fittings.
Make Up: Vanessa Ellis 087 9587950. Nessa is a qualified make up artist, she uses mac or if you prefer she can use your own make up, she worked wonders. Hubby reckoned she made me look 10years younger
I was so happy with the make up and loads of people were telling me how great it was.
Hair: Glam Madam Mobile Hairdresser Tracey Kelly - 087 7768252. The 3 BM's hair turned out fab but unfortunately the curls half fell out of my hair. It was quite windy when we came out of the church so that was the cause of most of it. It still looked good though. The 3 girls hair stayed perfect the whle day, infact it was still perfect at 6am in the residents bar
Church Music: Therese McCartin 086 3914693. I can only half remember the music from the day so dying to get DVD. Other people have told us it was lovely. She had 2 other people with her on the day and between them they can play basically any instrument. She was good to deal with when I could get her, she's not great for answering the phone!!
Flowers: Flowers 4 Florists http://www.flowers4florists.com/
Got them delivered to the door of the house. They were in perfect condition & between us we made up the bouquets, etc ourselves. Again this was another good way to save money. The cheapest quote I had for flowers was €600. The amount of flowers & greenery I got for €200 and the satisfaction of doing them ourselves & seeing our handiwork was so worth it.
I wasn’t confident enough to do the alter arrangement in the church so we used Cedar Flowers in Cavan – 049 4362593. Aoife was a pleasure to deal with. She matched in with the flowers I was using for the bouquets, pew ends, etc. She delivered the arrangement out to the church on the morning aswell.
Cake: Hubby & I decorated 3 dummy cakes ourselves. We were so pleased with the outcome. We made a choc biscuit cake & his aunt made a fruit cake which we just went straight to the kitchen to be cut up on the day
Cake Topper: Huff & Puff Stuff http://www.huffandpuffstuff.com/
We got a personalised cake topper. I sent Liz photos of everything, us, dress, suit, flowers, jewellery and our little doggie. The cake topper was excellent. Well worth the money & we have it as a keepsake now. We even got a miniature bottle of our fave beer with 2 straws in it in hubbys hand behind his back.
Cars: Used my uncles vintage car for hubby & me, my friends husband drove the BM’s and my brother used my car for the boys.
Favours: A wonderful lady called Ann Fagan from Armagh made yummy chocolates for us. blackberrycottagecrafts@yahoo.com I sent her a picture of the couple from our wedding invitation and she used it for the cover of our chocolates and also a little thank you tag to tie onto the favour bag. We were very impressed with both the chocolate & the wrapper
Caricature Guestboard: Niall O’ Loughlin http://www.caricatures.ie/wedding-guest-boards-i-13.html
This was a great talking point on the day. Everybody was drawn to it and thought it was very funny so they ended up signing it and now we have a lovely memento for our wall.
Personalised Number Plates: Donegal Signs - Peter McLaughlin mclaughlinpeter@eircom.net . Another thanks to a wollie who recommended Peter. We sent the picture of the couple from our invitations and he used it as the motif on the side of the number plates. We were delighted with the finished product and I’d def recommend Peter.
While i'm waiting on the CD of professional pics i'll put up a few we got from other people at the wedding
My Daddy & Me with my very own Franc in the background!!
Yay, Husband & Wife
Our Beautiful Bridesmaids
Edited to add the youtube link to some of the singsong. Be warned - your ears may bleed listening to it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfXVHARvjHQ
Some of the photos from our Photographer
http://picasaweb.google.com/elainecully/OurWeddingPhotographersPhotos#
