An Intimate, Laid-back Conyngham Arms Wedding by Couple Photography

Real Weddings

“A lot of our guests hadn’t been to a humanist ceremony before and let us know how much they enjoyed it which was lovely to hear.”

The couple: Deirdre & Mike Walsh
Length of engagement: 2.5 years | Wedding date: 16th September 2016
Wedding venue: The Conyngham Arms Hotel, Slane
Photographer: Couple Photography

We met… through a mutual friend in a local pub in Swords some 11 years ago and eventually started going out the following summer while on a J1 in San Diego.

Our proposal… Mike was working in Poland on and off for a few months and I went out for a few days while he was on a week-long trip. He popped the question one night before going out for dinner to my absolute shock. We didn’t tell anyone until the following weekend when he was home so we had a lovely few days of celebrating by ourselves!

My dress… Was from Alexanders Bridal on Parnell Street, it took an awful long time to find and get right but it was worth it! The staff were great and made sure I was 100% happy with it.

Our ceremony… was a humanist ceremony in the hotel. The celebrant was Joe Armstrong, he completely put us at ease and made it very relaxed and personal which is exactly what we wanted. A lot of our guests hadn’t been to a humanist ceremony before and let us know how much they enjoyed it which was lovely to hear.

We chose our photographer because… We were impressed by Ros’ work (Couple Photography) from seeing it online and reading great reviews. When we met her we thought she’d be a great person to have around on the day with her bubbly personality and this was indeed the case. We were absolutely delighted with the results!

Our menu… the food was a big deal to us being big foodies! We had tried lunch at the hotel before the wedding and it was excellent, we loved our menu tasting and we were really happy with the food on the day. We had: Baked Goats Cheese and Carmelised Onion Tart or Salmon & Cod Fishcake with Chorizo Crust. Main was Roast Sirloin of Beef with Smoked Bacon Gratin Potatoes or Baked Fillet of Hake with Bubble & Squeak. Finally dessert was Baked Raspberry, Vanilla & Espresso Cheesecake.

We chose our venue because… we loved the charming cosy style of the The Conyngham Arms Hotel and it felt so perfect to have the small relaxed wedding that we wanted. Louise – the wedding coordinator – was fantastic throughout the planning and especially on the day itself. She really looked after us and never made us feel like we were just another wedding couple. Both Louise and Barth (the general manager) couldn’t do enough for us.

My favourite part of the wedding day… It’s hard to pick a favourite moment, we both loved the whole day from start to finish- it really was the perfect day that we had imagined.

My piece of advice for other brides… Don’t get stressed about the small things, when everything is booked leave it up to the suppliers; they’re the professionals. Enjoy the build up, it’s such a lovely few days before the wedding and on the day itself just relax there’s no point in being stressed or worried about anything, you’ll never have the day back so enjoy it!

Suppliers

Wedding venue: The Conyngham Arms Hotel, Slane | Photographer: Couple Photography | Wedding dress: Alexanders Bridal, Dublin | Groom’s suit: Strellson, Arnotts, Dublin | Hair: Michelle O’Halloran | Make up: Clare Hogan | Bridesmaids’ dresses: Biba in House of Fraser | Groomsmen’s suits: Dorian Black, Dublin | Flowers: Divine Wedding Decor | Band: The Hitmen Trio | Celebrant: Joe Armstrong