Meet Martina and Hujo, a beautiful couple who said ‘I do’ at The K Club! They got married on a Spring day over the Easter weekend. We love that they incorporated the season into their wedding, with tables named after Spring flowers and lots of colour.
Couple: Martina Cooney & Hujo Gunn
Engagement length: 15 months
Wedding date: 2022-04-16
Wedding location: The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare
Photographer and videographer: AK Photography
Engagement length: 15 months
Wedding date: 2022-04-16
Wedding location: The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare
Photographer and videographer: AK Photography
This modern day love story began when Martina and Hujo met on a dating site! Hujo planned a super romantic proposal which took place on Martina’s birthday during lockdown in 2021. This is the story from her perspective:
“Hujo cooked a lovely meal for me when the kids went to bed. He wrote the most romantic birthday card (as he always does) and gave it to me along with the flowers and chocolates. He asked me a couple of times during the meal if I liked my birthday card and I said ‘Yes of course, it’s lovely’ and I took it up and read it again and left it back down. Then after our dinner he asked me again about the card and I said something like, ‘Yes it’s great thank you, it’s very romantic’, but he said, ‘You haven’t read all of it yet!’ Then I looked closer and there, at the back of the insert I saw the message written in a big heart ‘Will you marry me? Please say yes!'”
They tied the knot over the Easter weekend with a colourful wedding. Because they got married in Spring, they chose a different Spring flower for each of the tables, with the top table named the Rose table.
Martina wore an ivory tea-length House of Mooshki dress called “Sarah”, made of lace with lots of tulle underskirts and a tie at the back. She got it altered to form a bow at the front and left the back plain (it had a row of buttons up the back already). Her shoes were T-bar shoes with diamante and lace that matched the dress perfectly!
Hujo wore a midnight blue suit with a double-breasted contrasting waist coat in beige/subtle check. He wore an ivory shirt and ivory brocade tie and handkerchief to match. It looked really smart (the ivory shirt was different and looked great against the navy and beige, and complemented Martina’s ivory dress too). To accessorise, he wore brown shoes and brown belt.
Martina’s sister was the matron of honour and she wore a fabulous strong coral coloured two-piece outfit that was a long diagonal tunic with matching trousers. She teamed it up with cream shoes and funky jewellery and it looked fabulous.
The best man and page boy wore matching 3-piece midnight blue suits and waistcoats teamed up with pink/coral ties and handkerchiefs to contrast the groom, and white shirts, brown shoes and the page boy had navy runners. Their boutonniere’s were pink roses and the groom’s was an ivory rose with a small pink contrasting one. The flower girl wore a gorgeous ivory satin dress from Monsoon and they got a dressmaker to change the bow on it from dusky pink to coral and it was perfect. She wore a bolero cardigan in ivory lace, again from Monsoon and an ivory hairband from the first communion range in Dunnes, teamed up with Ted Baker floral shoes. She was perfect and so cute!
Martina and Hujo describe their wedding ceremony as personal, loving and emotional. They took great care to write personal vows that were meaningful to them, and selected beautiful music that gave everyone goosebumps. This is what they said about their ceremony:
“Our readings were chosen carefully – we had three in total, one of which my sister read in dedication to my mother who had passed away recently. We also had 4 prayers of the faithful (even though it was a civil ceremony, but you can choose exactly what you like, which is the beauty of a personalised ceremony) read by our younger cousins, nieces and nephews. Our music would put goose bumps on a stone! Again, it was provided by our family and friends and it was absolutely beautiful. We were so lucky. We chose all our own songs, some not so traditional but sung beautifully by our family/friends. We chose to have the Rose ceremony at the end of our vows, which symbolises that if we ever have a disagreement, we place a Rose in a dedicated spot in the house to signify that we want to make peace! It was also the first gift we gave to each other as a married couple.”
They got married at The K Club in Straffan, Co. Kildare and describe the venue as “absolutely stunning”. We love that they chose the venue without Martina ever having set foot in it. Pretty crazy, but it was lockdown after all. Hujo assured her that the venue is stunning and the rest of the story from Martina’s perspective is awesome:
“…After a very warm welcome and virtual tour by Rachael the wedding coordinator, we put the date in the diary. The venue was fabulous. We got to visit in May of 2021 and had our menu tasting earlier this year. The grounds are stunning, with fabulous views of the gardens and golf courses. The staff were so accommodating, so friendly – nothing was a problem. The food the night before our wedding in the Palmer was fabulous. The cuisine on the day of our wedding was delicious and service was spot on. Everyone commented on and complimented the staff on their excellent service. We stayed in the Presedential Suite as we requested adjoining rooms for our children. Well, I was stunned when I walked in it was so fabulous. Like stepping onto a film set from Bridgerton. We had so much space and it was all necessary because there were so many people in and out all morning. We had the most beautiful view from the private balcony too… stunning.”
The amazingly talented Anthony Kane of AK Photography captured their wedding! He also provided the videographer for the day too. Martina and Hujo say the duo was professional, gentle, polite, unobtrusive and attentive to detail.
To treat their guests, they arranged a sweet cart containing Easter eggs, Easter egg-hunt packs, Lindt sweets and jellies galore for the children (and adults alike!). It went down a real treat with everyone!
Their favourite memory from the day was their ceremony, the music and being able to observe everyone from the top table and watching them interact, chat, laugh and having fun on the day.
Here’s some wedding day advice from Martina and Hujo:
Everyone says it, but it’s so true. Your day absolutely flies by. Do not sweat the small things. Do get to spend 20 mins or half an hour just the two of you if you can, in the room to relax and debrief before you are announced into the reception for dinner. Don’t forget to eat – I had only one canape, one, imagine! We were whisked away for photographs and didnt get to mingle that much with our guests at the drinks reception – but that is the way it is and it’s not a problem. So enjoy your meal ’cause you may not get another bite that day! Try to do your table plans well, give it a bit of thought and place people with things in common near each other where possible. We found that really worked for us and there were new friendships formed and numbers exchanged as a result of being at the same table. And just observe, soak it all in, watch peoples faces, reactions, interactions, enjoy yourselves and dance loads!”
Suppliers
Ceremony and reception venue: The K Club | Planner/coordinator: Rachael O’Brien | Photography and videographer: AK Photography | Band: The Bentley Boys | Hair: Vow2Wow Leanne Nolan | Makeup: Sarah Keogh | Couple’s outfits: Frilly Frocks, Drogheda and Dublin Formal Wear, Tallaght | Wedding party outfits: Dublin Formal Wear, Tallaght and Aine’s Boutique, Longford | Cake: Amazing Cakes, Bray | Celebrant/solemniser: Dave Russell | Stationery: Triest Press | Jewellery/rings: Courtville Matthew Weldon | Flowers: Celine’s Flowers, Tallaght
