A Stylish Bridge House Hotel Wedding by Darren Byrne Photography & Film

Real Weddings

“I loved the bag pipes entrance at the reception, I felt like a princess coming in and it was a nice moment to gather everyone together as we entered.”

The couple: Stacey & Diarmuid Cahill
Length of engagement: 2 years | Wedding date: 3rd June 2017
Wedding venue: Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, Offaly
Photographer: Darren Byrne Photography & Film

We met… we originally met in 2014 when we matched on Tinder. Both coming from strong GAA backgrounds, it was a perfect match! I was working for the GAA in Croke Park and I was down in Limerick for the week coordinating a GAA camp. After a few weeks of online chatting we decided we would meet up when I was down in Limerick. Diarmuid was a prison officer in Limerick so we decided to go on a cinema date after his shift to watch The Inbetweeners. This was our first date. We were instantly attracted to each other and we clicked straight away. We met up again the following evening for dinner. However, we didn’t go out until the following March in 2015… he did all the chasing for those few months to Dublin!

Our proposal…  Diarmuid purposed to me exactly 70 days from the day we officially were an item (March 27th). I knew we were going to get married at some stage but I didn’t think he’d make the move so quick! He proposed to me out in the front lawn of my home house in his prison officer uniform. It was on the 3rd of June 2015, the day before my 28th birthday. He handed me a card he had personalised for my birthday and when I opened it – it read – will you take my hand in marriage on June 3rd 2017. Once I looked up after reading the card, he was down on one knee with the ring. Very organised with the date set and lucky for me I can say I got married in the 20s, literally the day before my 30th birthday.

My look… I got my dress down in Aibheil of Adare in Limerick. I picked my dress with my mam and my aunty who was one of my bridesmaids. It was a bright white fitted dress with a lace top. Very simple but elegant. Sharon, Orla and Linda in Perfect Images (Kilcullen Co. Kildare) did my hair and makeup and my mam’s and all my bridesmaids too.

His suit… Diarmuid got his and the groomsmen’s suits in Jim McLoughney, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Jim was great and he also dressed my page boy and both fathers.

Our ceremony… Fr. PJ McEvoy did our ceremony in St. Mary’s Church in Edenderry and he didn’t disappoint. He was full of laughter and joy throughout the wedding ceremony and was a big hit with all our guests. We took beautiful family photos at the back of Fr. McEvoy’s house. He had a beautiful garden right beside the church and it was one of them special moments with both families and close friends. The sun shined and the champagne was flowing. I wasn’t expecting Fr. McEvoy to arrange something so nice and it was a special moment for all.

We chose our photographer because… I chose Darren Byrne Photography & Film as firstly I had seen he had a really good combo deal for video and photos. Then I went onto his site and I really liked his work. I then met up with Darren and instantly felt at ease with him, he spent two hours with me going through my options and samples. He was extremely professional from the get go and himself and Juliana make a really good team.

Our honeymoon… We went all out for our honeymoon and spent 3 weeks road-tripping in America. We hired out a convertible Blue Mustang and drove from Washington DC all way along the East Coastline all the way down to Orlando and Miami. It was an amazing trip full of both activity and relaxation. We hit big cities and oceanfront’s along the way!

We chose our wedding coordinator because… Antonia was our wedding coordinator and was very professional. She was also getting married in June so it was exciting for us both in the late planning stages of the wedding. No question was too big or small and she made me feel at ease the whole way through.

Our wedding theme/colours… were white, navy and salmon pink. It was fab for a summer wedding.

Our menu… We chose the Orchid wedding package which was outstanding price per person for what we got. From the canape and champagne/cocktail reception to the full evening buffet, everything was top class. It was honestly the best feed we ever got at a wedding and people still say this to us a year later. You cannot beat the wedding packages at the Bridge House Hotel and to top it all off, our beautiful vintage wedding car was also included!

We chose our venue because… We chose the Bridge House Hotel as Diarmuid had a really good relationship with Danny Corbett and he use to do a few DJ sets for weddings/parties in the hotel. As I was from Kildare and Diarmuid was from Tipperary, Tullamore was the most central point for all families. I was also getting married in Edenderry church and I didn’t want people travelling over a half hour to the venue.

When we went for our first visit to the hotel I was blown away by the staircase and the homely feel of the venue. The food was amazing and the choices we were offered were outstanding for the price we paid. The package was excellent value for money and to this day people still comment on how fab the day was put in particular the food and hospitality, especially the dessert buffet.

My favourite part of the wedding day… was the hour we had in Fr. McEvoy’s garden after our ceremony. The sun was shining and it was closed off for just the bridal party and immediate family. We got some great photos. I also loved the trip from the church to the Bridge House as it was just myself and Diarmuid and it was just a magical time. I also loved the bag pipes entrance at the reception, I felt like a princess coming in and it was a nice moment to gather everyone together as we entered. The whole day was just fab!

Outside of this, I had two favourite DIY parts – I developed a CD for our guests which fitted in the back of their mass booklets for the trip between the church and venue. It was full of uplifting songs and a mixed bag of tunes. This was handy as my husband is a DJ and I love music too, so it really brought out our personalities. I also developed a video of some special moments I captured over our two years of being engaged. It was 5 minutes long and I played it at the end of the speeches. It was a really nice way to wrap up our day and share our special moments with our guests.

My piece of advice for other couples… One thing I wish we did different was start the ceremony an hour earlier as I felt once we got to the Bridge House and after the bag pipe reception, the bell went off for dinner. I would have loved to spend that extra hour with our guests to chat and mingle and get to taste our cocktails and canapes. This was the only opportunity to really mingle with guests as the whole day just flies by… Enjoy every second and don’t stress over the small things!

Suppliers

Venue: Bridge House Hotel, Offaly | Photographer & Videographer: Darren Byrne Photography & Film | Wedding Dress: Aibheil of Adare, Limerick | Hair & Makeup: Perfect Images, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare | Suits: Jim McLoughney Menswear, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary | Wedding Cake: Priscilla Fitzharris | Band: Transmitters