A Magical Frosty Day at Trim Castle by Inspired by Love Photo

Real Weddings

Bride and Groom: Breeda Gorman  Pilates instructor and studying Physiotherapy in Aberdeen, and Ollie Lewis, sales account manager.

Length of engagement: 7 months | Wedding date: 16/12/11

Wedding ceremony: The Church of our Lady of the Nativity Newtown, Co. Kildare

Wedding reception: Trim Castle Hotel

Wedding photographer… Our photographer was Inspired By Love – Photography by Sona. Sona was so easy to work with and to be around, there was no fussing or bossing, she just fit in, went with the flow and did a brilliant job!

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We met…  We knew each other to say hello to, but were officially introduced by my uncle Oliver in our local pub.

First impressions of Ollie… Cute and persistent!

Ollie’s first impressions of you… Stubborn but cute (we didn’t even consult on this!!)!

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Our proposal…  I walked into our apartment on my way back from teaching a Pilates class and there was a runway of candles along either side of the hallway, they made a path into the sitting room and there was Ollie at the end of it on one knee! He proposed with a cute little pink, plastic heart-shaped ring and had flowers and champagne at the ready! I was shaking like a leaf afterwards – it was such a surreal moment!

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Who were your bridesmaids/ groomsmen… My bridesmaid was my younger sister Regina and Ollie’s men were two of his childhood friends – Ed Mulligan and David McCormack.

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Our ceremony…  It was really lovely! My father and my brother walked me up the aisle, I had a bit of trouble trying to hold off the tears but I got myself under control eventually! Our priest is a friend of my family’s and I used to babysit and play camogie with the three girls who sang, so we really knew everyone involved –  our violin player had been coming to my Pilates classes for a year or so as well! We only had about 60 friends and family at the church so it was pretty intimate, we had candles and flowers around so it didn’t seem too big and empty.  It was a relaxing ceremony and we included some Christmas carols in the music, which I really loved. Regina wrote our wedding reflection, it was really lovely and suited us perfectly – I was so delighted about that.

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My dress… It was pretty simple. I bought it in Monsoon so it couldn’t have been easier! I was originally hoping to get my dress in Barnardos, I wanted someone to benefit from the money I was spending, but it just didn’t work in the end.  My dress was strapless with beading just under the bust and then it fell straight to the floor. It was very light and easy to move around in – I loved wearing it!

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Our wedding theme/ colours… We didn’t have a theme as such. We just wanted to keep things simple and relaxed.  I suppose navy and red were our colours but that was really just the way things turned out rather than a definite plan!  I picked the flowers for my hair from one of my mother’s potted plants just as the hairdresser was getting me ready on the morning of the wedding – I wasn’t the sort of bride who got too worked up about themes!!  We did have a football/camogie theme for our invites and table names though! Also, it was near Christmas so we wanted plenty of red and green around to play up the festive feeling. Ollie and Regina wore navy, mainly because it just really suited them both!

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Our favourite wedding picture(s)… Oooh, that’s a really hard one! There is a brilliant one of Regina, my bridesmaid, and my uncle Oliver (who introduced us) in the pre-reception area that I really love – their expressions are just caught perfectly!  I also love the black and white ones of myself and Ollie walking out of the church and into the reception room in the hotel, the one of us looking at his wedding ring while everyone else is up for communion in the church, the one in the back garden at home of us looking up and the one of our shoes!

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Our venue… We chose Trim Castle as our wedding venue. The staff were lovely to deal with when we first went there so our first impressions were really good, it was lovely to feel welcomed!  It was also just 20 minutes from our church and we were conscious of people travelling at that time of year so we didn’t want a venue too far away.  The setting of the hotel just beside the castle was a big draw for us.

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Our first dance song… Imelda May’s Kentish Town Waltz

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My favourite part of the wedding…  For me it was the ceremony and Ollie’s speech! The dancing was great fun too!  I’d love to do it all again!

My advice for other brides…  Don’t try and make things more complicated than they need to be, it can all be done so simply. And don’t do things just because everyone else does them or you think you have to, because that is way it is ‘supposed’ to be done. It’s your day and your choice!  The most important part is becoming husband and wife, everything else is just an extra and pales in comparison to that moment.

Vendors

Dress: Monsoon

Shoes: Aldo

Suit: Abrahams, Dublin

Bridesmaid Dresses: House of Fraser

Flowers: Toddy’s Florist, Kilcock – she did our bouquets and centrepiece for the altar, the rest of the church we decorated ourselves

Music: Hazel Alexander on violin, Sarah, Louise and Catherine Nealon singing in the church; Superstition were our band in the hotel

Cake: My mother and my aunt – between them they baked and iced it!

Make-up: Maria Salley, Cadamstown, Kildare

Hair: Helen King, Cadamstown, Kildare

Stationary: Myself and my sister designed the invites and I did all the printing at home, I bought the paper, wax and stamp seals in Daintree paper on Camden street.