There’s an international feel to todays wedding – bride Tara comes from County Clare, groom Declan hails from County Kerry, and they now live in Yonkers, New York, which is where they met. Thanks to Tara for getting in touch and sharing their special day with us.
“Declan and I met at my best friends wedding in New Jersey. I was her Bridesmaid and Declan was a guest at the wedding. We ran into each other a few times after that in the local butchers Yonkers and then he finally called and asked me out on a date and that was that,” explained Tara.
A few weeks after meeting Tara knew for sure that she would marry Declan! She was so sure she told her friend and on March 31st, 2013 Declan made her dream come true by proposing on the City of Love, Philadelphia. “It was a Sunday morning and he was so nervous that he got down on two knees and not one!” added Tara.
From the very beginning of their wedding plans both Tara and Declan knew they wanted a big traditional Irish wedding with all their family and friends and so they began planning their day through telephone calls, emails and fax! Tara’s mum and sister live in County Clare and proved to be a great help.
Tara and Declan chose a pink theme with rustic touches of burlap;
“We chose the colour pink because we got married on Declans’ mom’s anniversary, she died of breast cancer 27 years ago. Instead of doing favours we gave a donation to the Marie Keating Breast Cancer Foundation and we had a pink ribbon or pin on each of our guests that they did wear on the day!” explained Tara.
“Our day went well, except for the rain of course! We didn’t get to take pictures outside and we had booked fireworks for that night but they couldn’t do that either as it was too wet and windy. I was very disappointed with that but it didn’t matter we still had the best day of our lives! My highlight was walking up the aisle and meeting Declan for the first time. I was so happy to see him and glad that much was done and now I could relax and get on with the day! Declan’s highlight was seeing me walk up the aisle,” added Tara.
“After dinner we got a big surprise, Declans sister arranged for two comedians to arrive. We didn’t know anything about it, they just walked into the reception and started roaring, shouting and telling jokes! They had got all the dirt on the Bridal party, which was very funny!” said Tara.
Tara’s Advice
What I found hard was that I was organising a wedding in West Clare and I was living in New York. That was hard with the time difference and doing everything over e-mail, text and phone. Looking back I wish I had hired a wedding coordinator to help.
Wedding Suppliers
Ceremony: St. Joseph’s Church Miltown Malbay.
Reception: Bell Bridge House Hotel, Spanish Point.
Wedding dress: Anne’s Bridal Emporium, Miltown Malbay.
Bridesmaids dresses: The Moderne Bridal, Cork.
Groomswear: Suit Select, Tralee.
Flowers: West Clare Flowers, Ennistymon.
Hair: Gloria Greer Hairstyles, Ennis.
Make-up: Radiance Beauty Quinn Co. Clare.
Reception decor: Grace Events, Miltown Malbay.
Photography: David Olsthoorn Photography, Lahinch.
