“Our wedding was in October, so I went with beautiful autumnal red dresses for the bridesmaids from Wed2Be. I wanted a splash of colour with the flowers, so I had sunflowers with red roses and a little splash of purple and some greenery. I just loved them. They were so colourful and happy! The atmosphere was so relaxed and fun and that was the most important thing to us on the day.”
Couple: Ashleigh O’Neill and James Murphy
Engagement length: One year
Wedding date: 2019-10-11
Wedding location: Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort
Photographer: Tadhg Nathan – Photographic Memory
Videographer: Ger Boland – Carlow Wedding Films
James and Ashleigh met at the RTE All Ireland Drama Finals gala dinner in the Raddison Blue Hotel in Athlone in May 2013. They had both seen each other on stage before that, but were officially introduced that night when their two drama groups were competing for the All Ireland trophy. Neither of their groups won the drama finals in 2013, but in 2018 they finally took the trophy in a play together. They also won a slot to perform on the Peacock stage in the Abbey Theatre. On the final night of the show in the Abbey, during the bow, James asked the audience to stay for another minute. Ashleigh thought he was going to present flowers to the director and was wondering why no one had told her. She wasn’t really listening to what he was saying until he dropped to one knee in front of a full house. She said yes to a standing ovation!
“Our wedding was in October, so I went with beautiful autumnal red dresses for the bridesmaids from Wed2Be. I wanted a splash of colour with the flowers, so I had sunflowers with red roses and a little splash of purple and some greenery. I just loved them. They were so colourful and happy! The atmosphere was so relaxed and fun and that was the most important thing to us on the day.”
Ashleigh really wanted to feel like a princess on the day, and being involved in drama and theatre she’s worn quite a few wedding dresses over the years. She thought it would be really hard to find the perfect dress. Together with her mam and sisters, she went to Truly Bridal in Naas and found her dream dress in under an hour! She chose a beautiful dress with lots of tulle, lace and a little bit of sparkle.
“I felt so beautiful and comfortable all day! I did splash out on the Jimmy Choos. If you can’t do that on your wedding day, when can you! My Mam, my bridesmaids and I felt so pampered by Tara Makeup and Ramona from Tangles hair salon in Clane. James and the groomsmen were so handsome in their suits. They scrubbed up very well!”
The girls wore beautiful flowing dresses in a deep red from Wed2Be and the boys wore very dapper charcoal suits from Suits You in Dublin.
“We had a church ceremony officiated by our very good family friend Bishop Paul Dempsey. Music was by more family friends, the Farrell family from Galway and Donal Noonan who is based in Atlanta Georgia. It was so special and personal from start to finish. There was so much love and happiness in the church and it was just perfect. We were so lucky to have the people we love most in the world with us.”
“Our reception was held in Tulfarris Hotel in Blessington. It ticked all the boxes for us. It was beautiful and private but it also had enough accommodation for our family and friends so no one had to worry about how they’d get home. Honora and her team were fantastic from start to finish. Nothing was too much trouble. They even indulged my weird request to have chips served with the fancy dinner and pizza for the evening food! The big old part of the house was gorgeous for the drinks reception, so classy and cosy and welcoming at the same time. The food was perfect and there was plenty of space for all our guests and LOTS of dancing!”
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“Ger from Carlow Wedding Films was our videographer. If anyone is debating having a video- Do It!!! It is so magic being able to listen back to music and speeches from the day and just seeing everyone we love so so happy. Ger captured some magic moments, and watching the video just brought the day back to us! It’s so vivid and real and so so worth it! Ger was also so subtle and never once did anyone feel uncomfortable.”
They had a fabulous Saxophone player called Tom Clarke at the drinks reception. He created a great atmosphere and was so brilliant! The guests really enjoyed it!
They also had a photo booth from photoboothcompany.ie and they are so glad they did. It was such a laugh and the pictures they got from it were classic!
“Our band were the AMAZING Men In Black. The dance floor was full all night, the lead singer Sandy has so much Charisma and such a sense of fun that you can’t help have a great night when he’s in charge of the celebrations!”
Ashleigh can’t pinpoint one memory that stands out from the day. Everything was just so magic. But the thing that stood out for her is the immense feeling of love and happiness on the day. Everyone was just so happy and the well wishes were almost overwhelming. It really was the best day of their lives!
“Our advice is to organize as much as you can, but on the day relax and enjoy every minute. You have the professionals in place so leave it to them to worry and run the show! Your only job is to enjoy the day with the love of your life!”
Suppliers
Ceremony venue: Church of St Patrick and St Brigid, Clane | Wedding reception venue: Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort | Photographer: Tadhg Nathan – Photographic Memory | Videographer: Ger Boland – Carlow Wedding Films | Planner/coordinator: Honora Carberry of Tulfarris | Band and DJ: Men In Black | Sax: Tom Clarke | Hair: Ramona from Tangles Clane | Makeup: Tara Make Up | Couple’s outfits: Truly Bridal Naas, Suits You Dublin | Wedding party outfits: Wed2Be, Suits You Dublin | Cake: Lisa Harney | Celebrant/solemniser: Bishop Paul Dempsey | Stationery: Rosslyn Art | Jewellery: Applebys Dublin | Flowers: Joan Weld Moore | Photobooth: Photoboothcompany.ie
