“James wasn’t impressed when Fr. Gearóid didn’t do the ‘Now you may kiss the bride’ and when he questioned him on it, Fr. Gearóid responded with “You will be long enough kissing her!”
The couple: Sile Foley & James Leonard
Length of engagement: 8 months | Wedding date: 21st April 2017
Wedding venue: Inis Oirr, Aran Islands
Videographer: Kaper Video
We met… in Murphy’s in Tubbercurry, Sligo.
Our proposal… he surprised me at home after I had been away for two weeks.
My dress… was by Symphony of Venus – it was the complete opposite to what I had my eye on but deep down I always wanted a princess dress. Not very princess when it travelled in on the boat and kept falling on the floor!
My hair and makeup… my hair stylist was Laura Macfarlane and my makeup artist was Aisling Davey. I met Laura through my nail artist and from the get go she was an absolute pleasure to deal with. I have known Aisling 12 years, she is one of my closest friends and an amazing makeup artist.
His suit… He wanted to be different. He bought all of it individually in numerous shops.
What our bridal party wore… Once I decided on the colour I just wanted the girls to be comfortable in whatever style of dress they liked. The original plan was that they would all wear different dresses but the three girls liked the final dress and just got them in different lengths depending on their own personal preferences.
Our ceremony… I always dreamed of getting married in the church in Inis Oirr. Fr. Gearóid is a family relative and a lovely man but James wasn’t impressed when he didn’t do the ‘Now you may kiss the bride’ and when he questioned him on it, Fr. Gearóid responded with “You will be long enough kissing her!”
We chose our videographer because… We were in two minds about having a videographer firstly but once we got in contact with Rowan and Kaper Video we realised it was a no brainer and to this day it is one of the best choices we made.
We chose our venue because… to be honest with our numbers we had no other choice. We got married in the local hall (Coláiste Laichtín) which meant months and weeks beforehand involved of me (the bride) along with my aunts, bridesmaids and close friends painting, decorating etc. which was an added pressure but definitely worth it.
My favourite part of the wedding day… all of it!
My piece of advice for other couples… Relax and enjoy it. I loved every minute of it. Even the day before when things went wrong with decorators landing late and electricity going, just remember what it’s all for. There are certain things that on the day you cannot control so just let things flow and let your hair down and enjoy.
