“Our wedding had an unofficial theme of Peaky Blinders instigated by Tom and his tweed suit choice and pocket watches for him and the guys.”
The couple: Melissa Ryan & Tom Muldowney
Length of engagement: 23 months | Wedding date: 25th November 2017
Wedding venue: Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, Co. Carlow
Photographer: weddingsonline Awards 2018 Finalist Couple Photography
We met… in Melbourne, Australia in 2012 whilst we were both traveling. We were introduced by mutual friends at a house party and within 1 month we were living together – as you do. Little did we know where it would lead us to!
Our proposal… I came home from work late on a Friday night to be met by Tom at the door saying he had a bottle of champagne he got in work – let’s drink it! I went upstairs to get into my dressing gown thinking it was a quiet night on the couch but as I walked into the front room, all the lights were dimmed and he had candles everywhere. He sat me down as he had the TV on and he hit play on a video he had made – a collection of photos telling a story of our time together, which all lead to the last photo which said ‘Turn Around”. When I did, he was on one knee with a ring and a box asking would I marry him. After all the tears, and a mild heart attack on his part, I said “I do!”.
My hair and makeup… My hair was done by Maria Haberlin, from Berlin Hair Lounge, Carlow. I worked with Maria many years ago and she specialises in bridal hair so I knew I was in the best hands possible. Being a hairdresser myself I was quite fussy about the hair on the big day, but Maria is excellent at her craft and knew exactly what I wanted and how to do it. My makeup artist was Kate McCormack, the award-winning makeup artist from Carlow. Kate is exceptionally talented at what she does and I knew I was going to look my best on the day with her working her magic. Booking Kate was one of the first things I did after getting engaged so I was delighted to get her for my big day.
His suit… Tom and the lads went to Magee 1866 just off Grafton Street, Dublin to get their 3 piece tweed suits. He went for a winter tweed colour of dark blue with a hint of grey. They got their pocket watches from Etsy and he got his Tweed Cap from Donegal Tweed, Grafton Street.
My dress… My dress was a Morilee, a well known bridal brand by designer Madeline Gardner. I purchased it from Embrace Bridal in Gorey, Wexford with alterations done by Sew Perfect Bridal Alterations. My mam actually picked out the dress and I only tried it on to please her, but the moment I did I knew it was the one! Embrace Bridal were excellent to deal with and helped with any bridal breakdowns 🙂 I would recommend them to anyone! Sew Perfect Bridal Alterations worked day and night to accommodate any changes I wanted and they were extremely passionate about what they do! 100% check these guys out!
Our wedding theme/colours… Our wedding had an unofficial theme of Peaky Blinders instigated by Tom and his tweed suit choice and pocket watches for him and the guys. The colour scheme was warm seasonal berry seen through the girls dresses and rustic green and berry colours seen through the flowers and centrepieces.
Our ceremony…We got married in Ballinkillen Church, Carlow – my local church. Our ceremony was performed by Fr. Declan Foley who gave a lovely heartfelt and uplifting service which everyone talked about after. We had Gerry Cunningham playing a contemporary acoustic set of songs ranging from Jose Gonzales, to Ryan Adams to Kodaline – he was fantastic! I’d highly recommend him to anyone – His Voice!! We also had a choir in the form of The Park Singers, Dublin performing classical songs. We were exceptionally lucky to have them come to Carlow for us as Tom’s sister is a member of this international award-winning choir.
We chose our photographer because… We chose Ros at Couple Photography because I was doing hair at a wedding and Ros was the photographer. She just fit in so comfortably doing her thing and you would barely even know she was there. But when she spoke you could see she was extremely creative and contemporary with the shots she was getting and her ideas and I instantly liked her. She is an incredibly warm and friendly person to have around on the day and once me and Tom met her nearly two years ago, we both knew we had the one we wanted.
We chose our venue because… We didn’t want a typical hotel wedding and we felt Mount Wolseley would offer us this. The hotel itself and its grounds are amazing which also helped. We attended a cousin of mine’s wedding there and we loved it. We also liked the way the hotel is done up for Christmas and this played a big part. All of our guests commented on how amazing the hotel looked on the day.
We chose our wedding coordinator because… Our wedding coordinator was Gill Long at Mount Wolseley. I can’t speak highly enough of Gill and her team. From the first moment we spoke, we knew she had everything under control. She was so thorough with her planning and organising, it was very comforting knowing we had a coordinator who was so passionate about weddings. She gave us advice and ideas that would and wouldn’t work which were invaluable. It’s no surprise to hear Gill and her team have been nominated for national wedding awards this year – she deserves it!
Our honeymoon…We write this from Cancun, Mexico – our honeymoon destination. We booked 11 nights in the amazing city of Cancun, Mexico. We booked this last minute, 4 days before the wedding! We went though Abbey Travel as none of us had been here before and wanted advice and peace of mind. This so far has been the best holiday we have had. The food, service, people – everything has just been out of this world. We’d highly recommend Cancun to anyone.
My favourite part of the wedding day… Mel: For me it was the church ceremony. Walking up the aisle with my dad was an emotional moment for me knowing how much of a proud moment it was for him. Then finally getting to see Tom at the top waiting for me with his cheeky smile. Tom: My favourite part of the day was the dancing! Our band KIF, from Galway were unbelievable. They played everything and had the dance floor going for the entire thing! Me and Mel don’t normally go mad for the dancing but my God did we let loose that night! The DJ, David from Premier DJs was also brilliant and he had a full blown rave happening at one stage – a moment I won’t forget! I won’t lie, I also really enjoyed turning around to see Mel when she got to the top of the aisle!
My piece of advice for other couples… Trust the professionals. Know that these guys do weddings all the time so don’t be afraid to ask for their advice on things. I would also say to spend on the important things if possible like hair and makeup, venue, band and photography. These are the things that you will remember and that you rely on to have a fantastic wedding. You want to look your best, you want to be in a nice, welcoming venue for you and your guests, you want a band that will have everyone up dancing and you need a great photographer to capture all this. All the other things you can 100% save on!! Most importantly though – ENJOY IT and take your time. Take a moment to stand back with your partner and take it all in. Everyone kept telling us “The day will fly in!” and they were right! So take your time, don’t worry about anything on the day and have fun.
Suppliers
Venue: Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Carlow | Photographer: Couple Photography | Bride’s Dress: Morilee by Madeline Gardner at Embrace Bridal | Bridesmaid Dresses: Folkster | Groom’s Suit: Magee 1866 | Flowers: Mad About Flowers | Rings: Rocks Jewellers and CM Jewellers | Hair: Maria Haberlin of Berlin Hair Lounge | Makeup: Kate McCormack | Wedding Invites: Little Divils Illustrations | Church Music: Gerry Cunningham and The Park Singers | Wedding Car: Jason Kelly at Specialist Cars Ireland | Videographer: Brendan Joyce | Band: KIF | DJ: David Murphy at Premier DJs
