“It’s a scary process buying a dress then watching someone cut it up and alter it but it was all worth it in the end!”
The couple: Victoria & Desmond Faller
Length of engagement: 18 months | Wedding date: 13th June 2015
Wedding ceremony: St Fin Barres Cathedral | Wedding venue: Castlemartyr Resort, Cork
Photographer: Tara Donoghue Photography
We met… We first met during the summer of 2012 in Inverleith Park in Edinburgh city where I was attempting to play touch rugby, very unsuccessfully. But we didn’t really get chatting till a month later when we bumped in to each other again on a night out with friends. From that point onwards we were rarely apart, moving in together four months later.
Our proposal… We got engaged on January 2nd 2014 on Five Fingers Strand in Donegal. Des wrote Will You Marry Me in the sand and got down on one knee with a gorgeous pear shaped diamond ring which he had designed himself. We had been at my family home for Christmas where he asked both my mum and dad’s permission, then after New Year’s in Derry he proposed.
Our bridesmaids wore… beautiful flowing gowns from The Princess Rooms in Cobh. Sarah from the Princess Rooms was absolutely outstanding to work with, I would highly recommend getting in touch if you are looking for some really special dresses for your much loved ladies!
My dress… My dress was bought in Edinburgh where I currently live. The gown is by Pronovias but it was completely altered by adding lace to the spaghetti straps, cutting out two layers and dropping the back. It was everything and more than I had hoped. It’s a scary process buying a dress then watching someone cut it up and alter it but it was all worth it in the end!
The suits… All the boys wore grey suits with black tails from Lapel 1865 in Cork. We dealt with Pat who’s fantastic as he had a large number of suits to oversee with the wedding party, dads and brothers in-law!
Our ceremony… Dr. Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross married us in St Fin Barres Cathedral. Paul is a cherished family friend and it was so wonderful to have him there residing over our special day.
Our wedding theme/colours… There was no real theme but I’ve grown up in a creative household where flowers were always an important part of the home. My Aunty (whom is also my God mum) made my hand-held bouquet masterpiece and the bridesmaids and men’s button holes which were all absolutely out of this world. My mum along with Yvonne’s Flowers of Midleton created the exquisite floral backdrop in the hotel and my family home for the Sunday garden party. As so many people were travelling, we had a two day wedding celebration.
We chose our photographer because… Tara (Tara Donoghue Photography) could not have been more helpful from the first second we got in touch. Her enthusiasm was in abundance and it was one of the easiest decisions we made throughout all the wedding organisation. I honestly cannot recommend her services enough, from start, finish and even still her helpfulness and talent knows no boundaries.
We chose our venue because… We chose our venue mainly because of the wedding planner, Jackie Day. Obviously we loved Castlemartyr Resort with all its magical charm but Jackie goes beyond all expectations. We are still greeted with the warmest welcome any time we pop in, we are 110% happy with our choice.
Our menu… Again Jackie Day was instrumental in helping us tailor our menu just for us, with his and her dessert to top off the delicious 5 course meal!
Our honeymoon… Southern California and island hopping around French Polynesia. Both Des and I absolutly love travel so the honeymoon took about as much time and thought as the whole wedding. I guess you could say though that it started in Cork as we took a week to relax at home after the wedding before jetting off to LA. Once we landed in LA, we took a few days to soak up the sights and get over the jet lag before hopping on another plane to Tahiti. We island hopped here before boarding a week long Paul Gaugain cruise around the islands of French Polynesia. We few back to LA where we hired a big American muscle car and drove down the west coast to San Diego, taking in wineries, beaches and all kinds of local fun.
My piece of advice for other brides… The day goes so incredibly fast so make sure you take time to just look around at your most treasured friends and family who have made the effort to be there for you today and always. It’s a very surreal feeling! But most of all just relax and go with it.
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Wedding venue: Castlemartyr Resort, Cork | Church: St Fins Barres Church | Wedding photographer: Tara Donoghue Photography | Wedding dress: Pronovias | Bouquet: Bride’s Aunt | Make-up: Glamour by Dawn | Hair: Hair by Marie Hickey
