“We didn’t necessarily have a theme, but we did have some influence from Lord of the Rings for our beautiful ceremony music.”
Bride and groom full names: Caroline Griffin & Ken Kelleher
Length of engagement: 2 years
Wedding Date: 13th July 2019
Wedding location: Cliff at Lyons, Kildare
Photographer: Susan Jefferies Photography
We met… in Limerick (where Caroline is from) back in 2002.
Our proposal… in Cornwall whilst staying in the Driftwood Hotel.
Our wedding theme/colours… we didn’t necessarily have a theme, but we did have some influence from Lord of the Rings for our beautiful ceremony music (we’re both fans of the movies), our wedding ring dish (a handmade wooden dish with the tree of Gondor and a quote from Lord of the Rings “I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure”), and our party sign (“No admittance, except on party business”)! As for colours, Caroline’s bridesmaid wore a violet red dress (colour from True Brides bridesmaid dress range) and this colour was used for the dress sash of the flower girl. The colour complimented my Moscato (soft blush) coloured wedding dress.
My dress… Stella York, in a Moscato colour. Not a dress I immediately picked out but during my consultation with Denise in Moderne Bridal Cork she helped bring it to my attention!
My hair and make up… was done by Jenny Hennessy (EF Creative Studios). I wanted my hair down as I’m not a fan of updos with lots of uncomfortable hairpins! So I chose to keep it elegant but comfortable, swept to the side allowing the back detail of my dress to be seen. As for the make-up… Jenny worked her magic!
His suit… Gianni Féraud blazer and trousers with Gordon & Bros two toned shoes from Mick Murphy Menswear Cork.
What our bridal party wore…
Bridesmaid: True Brides “Rachel” dress in violet red
Flower Girl: Debenhams
Groomsmen: Remus Uomo suits with Gordon & Bros shoes
Our ceremony… humanist ceremony held outside at the Orchard in the Cliff at Lyons. Our celebrant was the very experienced Terry Hegarty with music by Bravura. Ken chose the music and with some helpful suggestions from Terry we chose a mixture of poems and readings that had meaning for us and made it very personal.
We chose our photographer because… Susan’s work is fabulous, natural not posed, capturing those special moments (when you’re not looking!). Having both Susan and John was great, two excellent photographers capturing different aspects, greater coverage, and for the morning prep it was ideal having Susan with Caroline and John with Ken.
We chose our venue because… we loved our stay in their sister hotel in Ardmore, Waterford (Cliff House Hotel) and when we visited the Cliff at Lyons in Kildare it offered everything – the opportunity to have everything in one place from ceremony to reception to accommodation. If the weather was good (and thankfully it was) our ceremony and drinks reception would be held outside in the sunshine. Beautiful gardens and grounds for photographs, including a waterfall, amazing food and service. As the Cliff is situated alongside the canal, we treated our guests to a barge cruise with a BBQ afterwards in the Cliff’s Dovetail Cottage on day 2.
Our menu… the Cliff at Lyons provided a fantastic range to choose from.
Our honeymoon… we took our friends’ advice who previously got married and honeymooned straight after their wedding to leave a gap before going abroad as you need a couple of weeks to recoup after the celebrations! So we waited and went on our honeymoon in September. We travelled the Pacific Coast Highway, starting off by flying into San Francisco before driving down the coast in a Dodge Challenger stopping off in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, LA and finishing up in San Diego. Ken had organised some really cool activities including dune buggying in Pismo Beach and paragliding off the cliffs in La Jolla!
Our favourite part of the wedding day…
Caroline & Ken: It is very hard to pick one part. It all went as we had hoped. If we must narrow it down… us dancing together, looking around at all our happy guests enjoying our big day and dancing the night away to some fab music provided by The Camembert Quartet.
My piece of advice for other brides… plan your wedding for you. Do what you and your husband want. It’s said all too often that “it’s your day” but a lot of brides try to please everyone!
Suppliers
Wedding Location: Cliff at Lyons | Photography: Susan Jefferies Photography | Brides Dress: Stella York, Moderne Bridal Cork | Hair and Makeup: Jenny Hennessy | Bridesmaid: The Princess Rooms Cobh, Cork | Groom & Groomsmen: Mick Murphy Menswear Cork | Flowers: Country House Flowers Celbridge | Ceremony & Drinks Reception Music: Bravura Cork | Band: The Camembert Quartet | Cake: Croquembouche which was made by the Cliff at Lyons | Invitations: Paper Bear Dublin | Caricature Guest Signing Board: James O’Donovan Cork | Ceremony Fan Paddle: LovePosy Weddings | LOTR Party Sign: TheDribblyYak | LOTR Ring Dish: StylineDesigns
