“We had mini fish and chip cones later in the evening which went down a treat.”
The couple: Jennifer Quinn & Shane Walsh
Wedding date: 30th December 2013
Wedding ceremony: St. Canices Church, Clough, Ballacolla, Co. Laois
Wedding venue: Castle Durrow, Co. Laois
Photographer: Weddings by KARA
We met…We sat beside each other on our first day of secondary school when we were 12 and were friends for years before getting together a few weeks before we left school (true childhood sweethearts – haha!)
Our proposal… On holiday in Cape Cod, we got a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and rented bikes. Shane cycled ahead and pulled into a small private beach, when I caught up he was waiting on his knee with the ring. It was a total surprise but made sense as to why he was minding his bag so carefully all week… He had asked my parents who were patiently waiting at home for the phone call.
My hair and make-up… I had Castle Durrow’s hair stylist and my make-up was done by my sisters. My sister-in-law is a MAC make-up artist and I knew she would make us look perfect for the day.
My dress… I found my dress by searching online – I fell in love with a picture, searched for a stockist and found Ciara Bridal in Powerscourt.
His suit… Shane bought his Groomsmen’s suits as their present and got them in Kildare Village.
We chose our photographer because… We searched online and fell in love with Karina’s (Weddings by KARA) photography style and after meeting her we had no doubt she would be the best person to capture our day. We were keen to have more candid, real life photos and were so happy with the result.
We chose our venue because… The weekend we got engaged, Shane’s brother had been to a wedding in Castle Durrow and told us how amazing the place was. It was the second place we looked at and we were sold. I knew we had made the right decision as every time we went down there I loved it even more.
Our menu… The menu tasting was the best bit of the planning! We enjoyed a night’s stay in Castle Durrow and tasted at least 12 different dishes and wines. We went with a simple menu of what we liked but we knew it would be a crowd pleaser; Red onion tartlet, roast pepper and tomato soup, a choice of seabass or sirloin of beef and apple and blackberry crumble. We had mini fish and chip cones later in the evening which went down a treat.
Our honeymoon… As we got married in December and had a lot of time off over Christmas, we spent a few days in a beautiful cottage in Skibbereen in Cork with our own private hot tub and jacuzzi and a night in Fota Island Hotel & Spa which was amazing. We are going on our proper honeymoon in May flying to San Francisco, driving to LA and Vegas and a stop in New York on the way home.
My favourite part of the wedding day… For both of us it was the moment the music started in the church and walking up the aisle to see each other. Everything from then on was perfect and there are so many favourite moments.
