Caroline and Shane met in 2010 when they were playing tag rugby. After a surprise proposal during a trip to Australia in 2015 the couple held a stunning early December wedding at Clonabreany House with the super talented Carol Sweeney on hand to capture the day.
“We started to talk about the type of venue we wanted and how we wanted the day to go, so sorting that out then left us with a particular budget for everything else. We spent money on our venue as it was important to us. We were very opposed to white chair covers and swirly hotel carpets! Clonabreany was perfect for us and it accommodated the majority of our guests,” explained Caroline.
By keeping their day simple, Caroline and Shane were keen to give their day a natural festive and wintery touch.
“We decided not to go for a band in the end and we don’t regret it as we hadn’t found a band that we loved that were available so rather than spend all that money on a band we only thought were ok, we decided to put the money into a really good DJ and some entertainment for the drinks reception in the form of illusionist Shane Black. He was fantastic and went down a right hit with everyone! We also used a friend of mine’s brother as our videographer. He is a student so his prices were great and he did a perfect job. He went completely unnoticed and produced a beautiful video that we love!” added Caroline.
Caroline visited Alice May Bridal in Kilternan during her wedding dress search. “The dress was designed by Raimon Bundo, I didn’t even pick it out to try on, it was Alison who owns the shop asked me to try it after a few “ok dresses” and I fell in love! Alison is fantastic, she has such an eye! I fell in love with it straight away. I then brought my sister to see it when she was home from UK and she cried! Once she cried, I knew it was the right one!” added Caroline.
Apart from their little Page boy, Kian deciding half way up the aisle he had had enough, their wedding day was perfect.
“The ceremony was the highlight of the day. We had Shane’s sister and her husband performing at it, all our friends and family doing very personal readings and plenty of laughs throughout. Exactly what we wanted from our ceremony – for it to be about us and our friends and family enjoying the moment,” concluded Caroline.
Caroline’s Planning Advice
Don’t sweat the small stuff because even some of the big stuff won’t matter. The day goes ahead swimmingly regardless. Just relax and enjoy the build up, you don’t get that again. Also, take some time out during the day to just sit together and take it all in, just the two of you because you remember such little detail of the day as it goes by in a flash! Also, if budget allows, a good photographer and videographer will be all you will have left to look back on. Luckily for us, both were absolutely fantastic and produced some beautiful shots for us to cherish.
Wedding Suppliers
Venue: Clonabreany House, Crossakiel
Wedding & Bridesmaid dresses: Alice May Bridal, Kilternan
Accessories: Thomas Sabo
Grooms wear: Magee, South Anne St, Dublin
Photographer Carol Sweeney Photography, Dublin
Cake & flowers: Bride’s Mum
Videographer: Conor Foran
Hair: Nikki Kavanagh
Makeup: Nicki Buglewicz
Illusionist: Shane Black
