“We embraced the Christmas tree, candles, gold, and my mum collected pine cones and sprayed them gold to decorate the tables.”
The couple: Jana Alexander & Benjamin Land
Length of engagement: 1 year | Wedding date: 19th December 2015
Wedding location: Carton House, Kildare
Photographer: Couple Photography
We met… at university in our final year of medical school. We had always been friends but didn’t get it together until we were about to be separated for our new jobs.
Our proposal… Ben booked us a weekend away at Wilson’s Promontory National park in Victoria after a long run of night shifts, he planned a long walk and had bought lots of supplies, and at the end of the walk on a secluded beach he proposed! We drank a bottle of Prosecco and pretty much planned out our whole day right there on the beach.
My dress… was bought in Australia. It was a simple design that I fell in love with after only trying on five other dresses. It was lace with a slip, and a sheer panel on the back.
What our bridal party wore… mismatched blush and pastel coloured full length dresses from Bariano. We bought them in Melbourne and I brought them home earlier in the year. The girls loved them!
His suit… was rented from Lucan. The boys went down the Thursday before the wedding and had last minute fittings and alterations.
Our ceremony… was in my family’s local church in Straffan (St Brigid’s), and the ceremony was performed by Father Douglas Zaggi, our parish priest from Nigeria who is a good friend of the family.
Our wedding theme/colours… we wanted a Christmassy wedding, so we embraced the Christmas tree, candles, gold, and my mum collected pine cones and sprayed them gold to decorate the tables.
We chose our photographer because… Ros (Couple Photography) had done the weddings of my brother’s sister and brother-in-laws and did a fantastic job. She also has a unique style, portraying the wedding from start to finish like a story, so no aspect is missed and you can re-live it when you look through the photobook!
Our honeymoon… was in Maui, Hawaii and it was the trip of a lifetime. We spent two weeks at Hotel Wailea in Maui, relaxing on the beach, watching the humpback whales and celebrated the new year as Mr & Mrs Land!
My favourite part of the wedding day… was walking into the reception room with all our friends clapping and cheering!
We chose our venue because… Carton House had a mixture of old and new, and was large enough to accommodate all our guests most of whom travelled long distances to be there (US, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia). It had two golf courses which was important to Ben as he wanted to play a round of golf with his brothers the day before the wedding.
My piece of advice for other brides… Pick comfortable shoes! I had to change mine halfway through the day!
