“The theme for our wedding was shabby/chic we wanted it to represent both of our tastes. Ross is very gifted with his hands so there was a lot of rustic features throughout to represent Ross and all his wonderful crafts that he hand makes.”
Names: Michelle & Ross Lordan
Length of engagement: Christmas 2016
Wedding Date: 15 June 2018
Wedding location: Garryvoe Hotel
Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography
Our proposal… Myself and Ross have been together for a few years when we finally bought our house in 2016. Our very first Christmas in our new home we had decided to have all the family over for dinner. As you can well imagine it was all systems go that morning getting everything prepared for the arrival of our families and try to rush out the door for 12 o clock mass. I was upstairs getting dressed and ready to head out the door, when I walked down the stairs there was rose petals all over the hall leading into the kitchen where I found Ross on bended knee with a very important question to ask me….after saying YES the bubbles where popped and the celebrations began needless to say we didn’t make mass.
Our wedding theme/colours… The theme for our wedding was shabby/chic we wanted it to represent both of our tastes. Ross is very gifted with his hands so there was a lot of rustic features throughout to represent Ross and all his wonderful crafts that he hand makes. I’m definitely not a glitz kinda girl but I absolutely love the classic look of pearls so needless to say this was incorporated throughout the wedding also. I will admit I have slight OCD so attention to detail was very high on my list.
Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… Ross is extremely gifted with his hands, so DIY was a must for our wedding. Ross crafts things for the wonderful Sandra Looney who owns ‘To Have and To Hold’ a wedding store here in Cork so we got a lot of stuff of her such as the Love cake table, wedding post box and decorative arches through the wedding reception. Ross also hand crafted our wedding signs for the back of the church and throughout the hotel. He made each of our unique table names which where personal to us for the places we have travelled together. I made all our pew ends and other decor throughout the church.
And myself and my very talented brother in-law designed printed and pritsticked all our stationary from our invites, RSVP, place names, I dare you cards to our mass booklets. Thankful our family talents don’t end there and our absolutely amazing outstanding 4 tier wedding cake was made and decorated by my mom who we are so grateful to.
My dress… Believe it or not after years of planning my imaginary wedding on Pinterest, I actually found my dress on Pinterest. After hours of scrolling through thousands of dresses I finally came across this most amazing dress and instantly feel in love. After researching the designer I was happy to find out the ‘Rice and Roses Bridal Boutique’ here in Cork not only stocked Justin Alexander dresses but had the exact one I wanted in stock, when I tried it on I just knew this is everything I wanted and more. So didn’t give up on Pinterest girls it’s a most for anyone getting married.
My hair and makeup… Being a beautician, trusting someone else to do my makeup was going to be a challenge. after doing a few trials and feeling completely underwhelming I was absolutely over the moon when I finally found Ruthanna Crowley she is just an amazing person inside and out, so talented at what she does and completely listens to the bride, from my trial to our emails to the morning of the wedding Ruthanna had me at complete ease and was a dream to be around, my makeup was absolutely flawless the day of the wedding.
Hair colour for a girls wedding is so important and being blonde getting it right is so important and there is no one in the world I trust more with my colour then Patrick who owns ‘Edit hair Club’ on Mc curtain street Cork.
My up style was a no brainer Emma Fleming is a league of her own when it comes to up-styles I previously worked with Emma and was never disappointed with any up-style she ever done for me and my wedding day was no different from my hair, bridesmaids flower girls and my mom’s we were all absolutely thrilled with our up-styles
His suit… Ross suit was a 3-piece Navy Remus Uomo suit from Mick Murphy’s Menswear he absolutely loved the fit and because he doesn’t wear a suit every day to work this was important. We bought Ross’ full 3-piece suit and we also got the groomsmen the matching waistcoats Paul in Mick Murphy’s was so helpful and they done all the alterations in store.
What our bridal party wore… The Groomsmen suits and the Fathers suits were all rented from Toni’s Men’s wear in Cork City I have been going into Toni’s with my dad from when I was a little girl and Toni is a total gentleman and the quality of his suits are amazing. They all rent the same Navy suit the Groomsmen as a two piece because we already had their waist coats and the dads as a three piece.
My favourite part of the suits had to be the ties we didn’t go for the traditional floral ties but instead came across some quirky navy and pink flamingo ties that we just had to have Ross tie was also different with a Sherlock theme, you have to have a bit of fun.
My bridesmaids and my flower girls’ outfits where all from monsoon. I had seen the flower girls dresses and purchased them at an earlier date, luckily when I was in the store on a different day i happened to come across my bridesmaids dress the exact some colour, Blush Pink as my flower girls dress ON SALE!!!! they only had 3 sizes let and lucky for me 2 of the 3 where the sizes i needed after a quick Facetime decision was made and the dress where bought. Nothing like a little saving when it comes to a wedding and having an incredible bridal party is a most.
Our ceremony… Ross and I where together 13years the day we got married. We have been together since we were young and both living in Ballincollig.
Our Ceremony took place in St Marys and St Johns church in Ballincollig. We Love this church as it has been part of all family celebrations for years from Christenings to Communions it’s a Beautiful church. Fr Cian O Sullivan married us on the day, and we had Julie O Sullivan Nicholson singing for us at the church her voice is beautiful. My mom opened the celebrations with a reflection prayer my nan and niece also had very important reflections for us. Ross mom gave us the rings and friends and family all had prayers and readings throughout the ceremony it was very personal and a very special ceremony.
We chose our photographer because… Our wedding photographers where do we even begin………Laura and Benny are the two most incredibly amazing people you could EVER meet. we were lucky enough to meet them at our very first wedding fair in the Cork City hall just after we got engaged and without even having a date in mind, we knew we had to have them. I started to follow them on Instagram ( if you don’t your missing out please do) and knew we had to book a date soon cause we had to get them booked, after finally booking a date we finally got Laura and Benny booked!!!
Every single thing after that was just incredible from responding to random questions in emails to our meeting, they were great. The day of the wedding was NO different, Benny went to the Boys house the morning of and Laura came to mine. They kept us moving the whole day having us where we needed to be when we needed to be there AMAZING!! Laura became my personal handbag carrying everything from my lipstick to her own hairspray and clips, just in case!! they were everywhere but nowhere at the same time truly an amazing duo.
They will literally do anything for you on the day of your wedding including getting into the sea, yes i said that right to get a shot of you and your groom in the water. still can’t believe you did that Laura THANK YOU. Our guests loved them and wouldn’t stop talking about them. They stayed with us well after the meal and lucky for us ……. on one of my touch up breaks up in the bridal suite I noticed how amazing the sky looked on at the beach and thought O MY GOD that would be an amazing photo so after a quick call to reception Laura and Benny where found car keys in one hand Groom in the other piled 4 of us plus one large dress into their car and drove us over to the beach to capture an incredible shot and had us back to the hotel in all for the first dance. So as you can see there is absolutely nothing they won’t do for you on the day of your wedding. we could not recommend Laura and Benny enough the attention to detail, the care they gave us was 5 stars. Laura and Benny sent us sample photos the very next day to share with our family and friends and seeing what they have captured is just outstanding. They both are an extreme talent. Thank you both so much. 10/10
We chose our venue because… Choosing the wedding Venue was a pretty easy task to be honest, both myself and Ross love the sea and after renting a house for a number of years down by Garryvoe it was an easy choice. The Garryvoe Hotel is a family run hotel that I have been going to with my grandparents since I was a little girl and it never disappoints. We meet with our wedding Coordinator on New Year’s Eve and booked the hotel there and then. The Garryvoe Hotel could not have done enough for us absolutely nothing was a problem. The staff are incredible kind and welcoming to both us and our families. They really make you feel like royalty on the day of your wedding. The food at The Garryvoe is out of this world it was easy to say all our guests were extremely satisfied. The Attention to detail and the customer service for our day and throughout our entire stay was second to none. A truly wonderful location with an amazing view of the sea.
Our honeymoon… The Honeymoon, we can’t wait……. we have not yet gone on our honeymoon we will not be going till the end of the year but we are heading to South Africa for 2 weeks soaking up culture in Cape Town, sampling vino in the wine regain before exploring the garden route as we drive to our final destination in South Africa a safari where we are hoping to get an up close glimpse of the big 5 before hopping on a plane to the Maldives to relax in the sun and swim in the reef for a week of complete R&R.
We booked this trip with Trail finders in Cork, we have previously used them for out trips and could not recommend them enough, they are great to work with and will help you get the most out of your holiday within the budget you want.
Bon Voyage Irish winter.
My favourite part of the wedding day… This is by far the hardest question people will ask you it is so hard to pick just one part because the whole day is just so amazing.
But after a lot of thought myself and Ross have decided that walking down the aisle was that moment that will always stand out to us when you finally lock eyes and know that this is for real you are finally about to marry the love of your life in front of all your family and friends.
Another moment that stood out for us as one of our favourites was having time together on the drive to the venue when it is just us two, and ye finally got to have a moment together.
My piece of advice for other couples… My Piece of advice is to just live in every moment, everyone will tell you the day goes so quickly I didn’t think this I took a moment during every part of the day to just sit back and be in the moment. Your wedding day is full of Love for each other, for your families and from your families and friends so make sure to remember every second. And don’t forget it is we’re day so make it a day about ye choose what you want wear, what you want to eat, listen to the music you want. This day is about celebrating ye as a couple so let that shine through in everything. and above all else have FUN don’t stress and Dance like no one is watching.
What is it that makes your wedding unique?
- Our wedding day was on our 13-year anniversary, unlucky number for some but not us.
- We crafted a lot of the decor throughout the wedding.
- We had a surprise singing chef after dinner which really took the guests by surprise.
- We travelled in style in a VW camper van.
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Garryvoe Hotel | Photographer: Laura and Benny Photography | Planner/coordinator: Sandra Looney at To Have and To Hold | Wedding decor: Groovy Gains Woodwork (Groom) | Videographer: Chris and Joanne from 2potfilmhouse | Musician: Julie O’Sullivan Nicholson | DJ: J90 | Hair: Emma Fleming and Patrick Murphy | Makeup: Ruthanna Crowley | Dress: Justin Alexander bought in Rice and Roses in Cork | Suit: Mick Murphys North Main Street Cork | Bridesmaids and Flower girl dresses: Both from Monsoon | Groomsmen outfits: Tonys Menswear | Cake: Gina G’s Cakes (Bride’s mom)
