“It took everything in me to not start bawling when I saw Jamie standing at the top of the ‘aisle’ but I managed to hold myself together.”
The couple: Sharon Doyle & Jamie O’Connor
Length of engagement: 2.5 Years | Wedding date: 30th July 2016
Wedding venue: Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort, Kildare
Photographer: Konrad Kubic Photography
We met… We met back in 2006 when we were still in school. We were introduced through mutual friends and became best friends straight away. We had our first kiss on Jamie’s 18th birthday and the rest is history.
Our proposal… Jamie brought me away to Rome for my birthday as we had always wanted to go to Italy. He had a whole night planned but the night of my birthday the weather was awful and I was in such a bad mood that I moaned the whole way back from the restaurant in the rain and was adamant that I just wanted to go back to the hotel. He managed to convince me to stop at the Trevi fountain to make a wish and when I closed my eyes to throw the coin in the fountain I heard a lot of screaming and clapping, when I opened my eyes again, Jamie was down on one knee with a ring in his hand.
My look… I had bought a dress in a boutique in Dublin but when I tried it on in the lead up to the wedding I just knew it wasn’t the right dress for me. I turned up at Smart Brides in Portlaoise in a panic with two months until the wedding but Kelly was lovely, she kept me calm and helped me find my perfect dress. It was exactly what I wanted. My hair and makeup was done by the lovely Susan Peggs and Rhona Cullinan from The Powder Room Girls.
His suit… Jamie’s suit was bought from Love Suits in Old Bawn in Tallaght and we rented the groomsmen suits and our fathers’ suits from there to match. My page boy’s suit was from Paul Costello in Dunnes Stores.
What our bridal party wore… My bridesmaids dresses were from the brand Little Mistress and I bought them in House of Fraser in Dundrum. The colour and cut of the dress was exactly what I wanted and the girls looked stunning. My flower girls dresses were from Paul Costello in Dunnes Stores.
Our ceremony… We had a humanist ceremony in the Stone House at Moyvalley and our celebrant was Philip Byers. It was really relaxed and personal which was exactly what we wanted. It was the first time a lot of our guests had been to a humanist wedding ceremony and they all still rave about it. For music during the ceremony our good friend Chris Keeley sang for us with Liam McDonnell on Acoustic Guitar.
We chose our photographer because… The photographer was one of the most important decisions for us as your wedding photos are the one thing you have when it’s all over to keep the memories alive. We were both blown away by the photos on Konrad’s website (Konrad Kubic Photography) and loved his photography style.
Our menu… It was so hard to choose the menu because all the food at the tasting was amazing. We decided on Caesar Salad for the starter, a choice between turkey and ham and beef for the main and a lemon tart for dessert. We are still getting compliments on the food.
Our honeymoon… We are both big kids and love Disney so we spent three weeks in Disney World in Florida for our honeymoon in October. We also had a ‘minimoon’ straight after the wedding in Kerry and stayed at The Ross Hotel in Killarney and Parknasilla Resort & Spa in Sneem.
We chose our venue because… Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort was actually the first and only wedding venue we went to view. We knew from the moment we saw it that this was our venue. It was the perfect mix of vintage and modern and we loved that they had a separate building for the ceremony itself instead of just a room in the hotel. Our ceremony was in the Stone House, our drinks reception was in Balyna House and then the meal and reception was in the main hotel. Orla and all the staff went above and beyond for us to make sure the whole day was perfect.
Our wedding theme/colours… We wanted a rustic style theme for the wedding so we had a lot of burlap, lace, jam jars and hot glue. We used different sized jars for holding tea lights, we filled mini jars with sweets for our favours and had a jar on each table with photo props and a selfie stick to keep our guests entertained. Instead of a candy cart we decided to have jars filled with savory treats during the drinks reception and also had a lemonade stand. There was a lot of DIY on the run up to the wedding and the house was covered in bits and pieces but it was worth it in the end.
My favourite part of the wedding day… My favourite part of the day was the wedding ceremony. It was just perfect. It took everything in me to not start bawling when I saw Jamie standing at the top of the aisle but I managed to hold myself together.
We chose our wedding band because… Our wedding band was The Panoramics and they were absolutely fantastic. We saw them playing at a showcase in Brady’s Pub in Castleknock and knew straight away we had to have them playing at our wedding. They had everyone up dancing the whole night.
My piece of advice for other couples… Don’t stress over the little things and try to give yourself some time to enjoy the build up to the wedding. The day itself goes by so fast so relax and enjoy every minute of it.
Credits
Wedding Photographer: Konrad Kubic Photography | Wedding Venue: Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort, Kildare | Wedding Dress: Smart Brides, Portlaoise | Hair Stylist: Susan Peggs – The Powder Room Girls | Makeup: Rhona Cullinan – The Powder Room Girls | Wedding Cake: Amazing Cakes | Flowers: All About Weddings | Band: The Panoramics | Bridesmaids Dresses: Little Mistress | Groomsmen Suits: Love Suits | Wedding Singer: Chris Keeley | Jam Jars: Alpack.ie (bought in bulk) | Celebrant: Philip Byers
