One Happy Couple, Two Wedding Dresses And A 10 Month Engagement

What’s better than one gorgeous wedding dress? Two! We love that Mary chose two beautiful wedding dresses to wear on her Big Day. Mary and Patrick planned their Big Day in just 10 months and incorporated all the things they love, including lovely touches of dusty pink and navy blue!

Couple: Mary & Patrick
Engagement length: 10 months
Wedding date: 2023-08-24
Wedding location: Virginia Park Lodge
Photographer: David McLean – DMC Photography

Mary and Patrick met in September 2017 at a bar in Dublin and got engaged in October 2022!

“Abbeyglen Castle was the perfect hotel for Patrick’s Proposal. We already experienced fond memories of the Castle from staying there a few years previously. Patrick planned his proposal extremely well. So much so that he had a member of reception staff videoing the proposal on their phone from a distance unbeknownst to me. Patrick proposed to me in the beautiful porch of the castle. As soon as I said “Yes” to the proposal the excellent staff brought in Champagne for us to celebrate. Pre organised by Patrick.”

Their wedding colours were dusty pink and navy blue – which you can see beautifully in their wedding party outfits. These seasonal colours extended into their floral arrangements, with dusty pinks, neutrals and some lavender! We love that they brought their colour scheme into the wedding invitations, mass booklets and reception flower arrangements too.

Mary chose a classic traditional style for her wedding dresses. The first dress for the wedding ceremony had lace while the second dress had lace aplique and had a mermaid hem with slight a line style.

That’s right! Mary wore two dresses on her wedding day!

“In November 2022, a couple of weeks after the engagement, I started wedding dress shopping. I always had imagined what type of wedding dress I would choose for my special day. I was delighted that when I looked for a particular style of a wedding dress online. The exact style that I was hoping for was in My Fair Lady Monaghan. As soon as I tried on the Mori Lee designer dress, I was delighted with it. As the saying goes “Once you know, you know”. I loved the high neck, long sleeves, and the classic sequin embellishment within the lace to add some sparkle. My second wedding dress also by Mori Lee was for the dinner and dancing part of the evening. The second dress was a very different style from the first dress but still beautiful. It was a slight a line wedding dress with lace aplique and mermaid hem with a dip low back.”

The suits for the groom and groomsmen were purchased from Pat O’ Byrne based in Trim Co. Meath.

Patrick and his groomsmen wore navy blue suits. Patrick also wore an ivory wedding tie to complement the ivory in Mary’s wedding dresses. The two bridesmaids wore dusty pink floor length dresses from Ever Pretty. They had bell sleeves and diamanté encrusted belts, to add a touch of sparkle.

Mary and Patrick had a traditional, religious wedding ceremony at St Patrick’s Church.

“As a native of Shercock, I was delighted with the concept of having my wedding in my local Church and at a nearby reception venue. It was important to us as a couple that the Church and Venue were relatively close by in distance for ourselves and our guests.”

“Our wedding venue was Virginia Park Lodge, Virginia Cavan. This is an award winning country house by chef Richard Corrigan. It is an 18th century estate set in 100 acres of beautiful countryside overlooking Lough Ramor.”

After attending a wedding showcase at Virginia Park Lodge, they knew it was the perfect venue for them! They loved The Pavilion with its floral arrangement and fairy lights, as well as the surroundings of the Lodge, including the stunning views of the lake.

“The wedding coordinators, Ciaran and Deirdre, and the staff were excellent. Virginia Park Lodge is a Richard Corrigan estate with plenty to offer not only regarding the beautiful interior and exterior of the Lodge but in terms of the exquisite food which the Lodge is famously renowned for. We were delighted that the Church and Venue were available for our specified wedding date.”

“We were delighted that our photographer David McLean of DMC Photography was available for our wedding day. David is highly professional and a talented photographer based in Meath. David captured our most magical moments from the wedding day.”

For the wedding ceremony and drinks reception, they chose local musician, Barry Hughes. They loved his excellent singing voice, his versatility and musical ability. As a big fan of country music, they invited Cliona Hagan to sing the first few songs at the wedding reception. She sang their First Dance song, ‘The woman in me needs the man in you’ by Shania Twain. This was followed by their band, Pink Champagne!

Mary says, “As the bride, I planned the entire wedding myself. Advice I would give to other couples is to shop local. From my perspective this was very important to us as a couple. There are much better packages offered when you shop and support local.”