“I am a big lover of all things Disney and as we were getting married in a Castle we decided to use this as a starting point.”
Names: Joe and Ashling Nangle
Length of engagement: 2.5 years approx
Wedding Date: 2 August 2019
Wedding location: Waterford Castle
Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography
We met… At a friend’s house party when we were 18 but it took a few years before we started dating. Thankfully Joe was very persistent!
Our proposal… We always head away around New Years and in 2016 we decided to go to Cork. On New Years Eve we spent the day wandering around Cork city and Joe spent the day trying to find a place to propose! He suggested we got in a Ferris Wheel (to which I uncharacteristically said No cause it was cold), in a park (but there were too many people around) etc. Eventually giving up he suggested we go for a drink before heading back to our hotel. Joe then planned to do it outside the Hotel but a wedding was talking place and the guests were hanging around outside. As we were heading out for dinner that night I insisted we went back to the room so I could have a shower, and when I came out of the bathroom Joe was on one knee in our hotel room. While it was not the proposal he planned – it is typical us – it didn’t go to plan but we got there in the end!
Our wedding theme/colours… When we spoke about a theme we both agreed we wanted whatever we chose to be subtly incorporated throughout the day. I am a big lover of all things Disney and as we were getting married in a Castle we decided to use this as a starting point. Joe loved Nintendo growing up so we ended up bringing that in as well. The robes and hangers for the bridal party were Disney themed, and the lads all got small Nintendo related gifts on the morning of the wedding. Our table names were all Nintendo or Disney castles, and our cake had both Disney and Nintendo featured. We think it worked well on the day.
Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… While Joe is very handy around the house and always willing to turn his hand to anything, neither of us are very creative. Joe made the frame we used for people to hang polaroid pics (instead of a Guest book) but it was actually our family that did most of the DIY for us. We wanted to give our guests goodie bags for the lodges they were staying in in Waterford Castle. My sister with the help of her fiancé and my family, made the bags and ordered breakfast food to go in each bag for all the lodges our guests were staying in. Each guest arrived to a brown bag with a welcome message and breakfast rations for the morning to help nurse the sore heads!
My amazing aunt Teresa asked could she do the decorations for the ceremony and the tables for the meal. She went above and beyond making signs with Disney quotes that lined the walk way to where we got married outside. I had no idea she had done this and was overwhelmed as I walked down to get married!
My brother in law to be also arranged our favours which were beer bottles from McGargles with a personalised label with cartoon versions of myself and Joe. They made awesome keepsakes for people – as well as tasting awesome! We are so grateful we have talented and generous family members who were willing to help.
My dress… I got my dress in Kathy De Staffords in Howth. When I tried the dress first it was too small and while I knew I liked parts of it I couldn’t imagine what it would look like in the end ( as well as not being creative – I have little imagination!) It was my mum, sister and aunt who convinced me and I am so glad they did. When I went for my first fitting I was delighted at how well it looked! The staff in De Staffords were great and happily tweaked the dress for me until it was perfect!
My hair and makeup… My hair (as well as the bridesmaids and mams) was done by the wonderful Marie Hickey! I has seen great reviews and from first meeting her she put me at ease and I knew she would be really great on the morning of the wedding – and she did not disappoint! She kept us all smiling that morning and the up styles she did for the girls were incredible! I loved how my hair turned out and everything she recommended from extensions to the timings on the day were perfect. She was such an asset on the day and I can’t recommend her enough!.
My original makeup artist let me down before the wedding so as I scrambled to find a replacement one of my bridesmaids recommended a family friend – Nicki Fanning. Nicki was fantastic and really listened to what we all wanted on the day – we have never looked better. I really loved how she spent time when she arrived in the presidential suite looking for where the best light was to set up – a true professional. She was also on hand for touch ups when I got teary eyed as my Dad arrived to walk me down the aisle
His suit… Joe and all the lads (including my Dad) got their suits from Louis Copeland on Capel Street. Jason was a gentleman – not afraid to give his opinion – which was truly appreciated. The lads all looked smashing on the day and have great suits that they can keep.
What our bridal party wore… I let the girls choose their dresses and they all agreed on the dress we ended up with from RioStyled in Naul. In terms of picking colours we went for something muted and subtle and honestly I don’t think they could of looked better! To this day I can’t accurately describe the colour – people all suggest something different – but the majority say mauve! We got their shoes in New Look and paired it with simple pearl jewellery. I was very proud to have them standing beside me. As we didn’t want to go ‘matchy matchy’ we went with ties for the lads that complicated rather than matched the colour of the bridesmaid’s dresses (thank you for that one Jason!) and it worked out really well.
Our ceremony… We spent some time trying to decide on our ceremony and whether it should be in a church or not. After much thought we decided we wanted something more personal and focused on us so we decided to have a Spiritualist ceremony. Once we decided that we knew we wanted to have as many people involved as possible and tailor it to us and our family. Vincent Whelan from Spiritualist Ceremonies is without a doubt the best person we could of asked for. One of the first things he said to us was that he wanted to make the ceremony fun and from then we knew he understood what we trying to achieve. He is professional and organised and left nothing to chance and kept us laughing through out the ceremony – honestly we couldn’t of asked for better.
We tried to include as many friends and family as possible and keep everything easy going and about us and we were glad when we got a few laughs during our vows! We have been together nine years yet getting married was still very important to us. That being said we didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t true to us. Special shout out to my brother who read the lyrics from the Wedding singer ‘ I wanna grow old with you’ – it summed up our relationship and intentions for married life perfectly!
We chose our photographer because… honestly – how could you not choose Laura and Benny! These guys are the dream team and from the minute we met them at a Wedding Fair in the RDS we realised they have a great dynamic and amazing talent – the photos we saw of previous wedding were incredible. In the lead up to the wedding they were so helpful and when we met them before the wedding we were put at such ease… the questions they even thought of asking made us realise they had us – and we had nothing to worry about.
On the actual wedding day, we had so much fun with them – they were like our friends hanging out with us and having a laugh! That being said they are so professional and will literally do anything to help. For example we were so lucky to have a lovely warm and sunny day and they made sure we were hydrated and refreshed while doing our photos – something we didn’t even think to look for. All our family commented on how fantastic they were and I am not sure how the day would of ran without them. So much so that my sister who is getting married in 18 months has also booked them following our wedding and I can’t wait to hang out with them again! Our photos are everything we could of wanted – they are so unbelievably talented, Thank You so much – Laura and Benny – ye are honestly awesome people and photographers!
We chose our venue because…Waterford Castle is the perfect wedding venue – period. It is the first venue we saw and we fell in love immediately. We kept looking at other venues because we have big families and we thought we needed a bigger venue. But no matter what venue we looked at we couldn’t shake Waterford Castle and we decided that it had to be there and we would work around the numbers – and we have NO regrets. Gillian and the staff at Waterford Castle are world class – nothing was too much for them and they made our guests and us feel so important all weekend. The place is incredibly beautiful and the food was amazing – our guests are still commenting on it. For us having somewhere exclusive to us on the day was important and it made for an amazing day. Also having enough accommodation on the island for all our guests made it feel like a holiday with our friends and family. Waterford Castle is a hidden gem and Gillian and the whole team made or wedding Day a fairy-tale!
Our honeymoon…We went on a mini-moon to Greece for 10 days straight after the wedding but have delayed our honeymoon to next year so we could attend friends weddings that happened after ours! We spent the time in Greece, eating, sleeping, drinking and lying down and it was incredible. We are hoping to do our honeymoon next year and are currently arguing whether to got to the west coast of America or Asia! Either way we can’t wait!
My favourite part of the wedding day… That is such a hard question! We are obviously biased but we loved our entire wedding day! After discussing it, for me I think it was watching my mother, and bridesmaids walk down the aisle with the help of my brothers and ahead of me and my Dad – I am so proud of my family and seeing them all walk out in front of my friends and our wider family that day made all the wedding preparation worth while! For Joe it was taking a step back during the band and seeing everyone dance and laugh and sing along – that’s all he wanted – for people to have fun!
My piece of advice for other couples… Trust all the planning you have done and the suppliers you have hired. They do this every day and if you’ve picked well they know what they are doing!
We think if you have fun , everyone will have fun, so don’t be afraid to do what you want, eat what you want, play the music you want. And when it’s over your married – and then the real fun begins!
What is it that makes your wedding unique?
- I think my aunts decorations and signs made the walk to ceremony so personal – thanks again Teresa and Dermot!
- We played a MR and MRS game with shoes – the photos are awesome and we would highly recommend!
- Our cake – people loved the mix of Disney and Nintendo
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Waterford Castle | Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography | Planner/coordinator: Gillian O’Dea – Waterford Castle | Wedding decor: Bride’s Aunt Teresa | Flowers: Flowers by Lucy | Musician: Wedding Music by Rachel and The Trips | DJ: The Trips | Hair: Bridal Hair by Marie | Makeup: Nicki Fanning | Dress: Kathy De Stafford | Suits: Louis Copeland | Bridesmaids and Flower girl dresses: RioStyled | Cake: Creative Cakes
