“I went to see my wedding dress and pretty much cried for the evening thinking I had made the worst decision of my life! But just one week before the wedding, the dress was everything I wanted”
The couple: Aoife Murtagh and David Wright
Length of engagement: 16 months | Wedding date: 11th of July 2014
Wedding ceremony: St. Patrick’s Church, Celbridge | Wedding venue: Castleknock Hotel & Country Club
Photographer: Trish from Insight Photography
www.insightphotography.ie
We met… We grew up together in the same village, we hung around the same places and played in the same GAA club as kids. However we didn’t actually start going out until we were 21. I was away in Boston for the summer and David emailed me to see how I was getting on – it just kind of went from there! The emails became more frequent and when I came home we randomly met in Celbridge GAA after a football match. David asked for my number and soon after that I realised I had fallen head over heels for someone who had always been there, right in front of me! Madness!
Our engagement… Is not a romantic story! It’s a story of David being David and not being able to keep the excitement, or the ring, to himself (in case he lost it!) He collected the ring on Good Friday (not the most romantic day) with the plan of hiding it in an Easter egg on Easter Sunday BUT that wasn’t to be! We were about to go into the shop to get food for dinner when David said that he had “lost his wallet”?! He said he must have lost it when he was playing with his niece and nephew down in the forest at the side of my parent’s house. So we had to head back up to my parent’s house. I was not impressed and wouldn’t get out of car to help him at first. When I did – not in the best of moods – I found David walking around in circles. I actually remember looking at him thinking what is he at? He didn’t appear to be looking for any wallet so I started to turn for the house – I was ranting at this stage! He called me, but I kept walking, he shouted at me and I when I finally turned around, he was down on one knee with the ring! I can’t remember what he said or how I responded, but it turned into the most happy and exciting evening and I wouldn’t have changed it for anything!
My dress… I spent a month looking at dresses. I had no idea what style or shape I wanted so it was a bit of a disaster. In the end I found two dresses I liked, one in Kathy de Stafford Bridal in Dublin and the other in The White Room in Mullingar. Both were gorgeous but in the end I went with the one I thought I would be more comfortable in on the day. That was in August and the dress came in in March. I went to see it and pretty much cried for the evening thinking I had made the worst decision of my life! However I had an amazing seamstress Ingrid (who was recommended by The White Room) who explained that my dress didn’t fit and when it did I would change my mind! It took until the week before the wedding and my final fitting that I felt the butterflies I had been waiting for since March! The dress was everything I wanted, elegant and simple, nothing glitzy!
His suit… We decided to hire French Connection suits from Moss in Liffey Valley. They were very helpful and there was no problem when it came to a few last minute adjustments. Davie wore an ivory cravat, the groomsmen wore green cravats and the fathers wore green ties.
Our wedding theme/colours… We didn’t really have a theme. When we went shopping for bridesmaid dresses (they were Eliza and Ethan dresses which we bought from The White Room – they have amazing dresses, with so many different colours and styles!) the girls tried on a jade green colour and it looked fabulous on them so we decided to link everything in with that green!
Our ceremony… Fr. Patrick Hennessy did a wonderful job on the ceremony in St. Patrick’s Church, Celbridge. He made the whole Mass very personal to both myself and David. It was very laid back and he was very helpful when we were choosing our readings, prayers and songs for the day.
Our ceremony music… Our music was by Alan Brereton and Linda Connolly (they were from the wedding band we booked The Black Knights) and they were amazing! Any song I asked for was not a problem and they set a lovely private atmosphere in the Church. A lot of friends who are planning their own wedding actually looked for Alan and Linda’s details after the wedding!
Our church décor… Lorcan from Absolutely Fabulous Florist in Celbridge who also did a fantastic job on the floral set up of the church. I actually only realised that lately upon looking back at photographs. He has an amazing eye for the minor details and made the place look amazing.
We chose our photographer because… I was so pleased we chose Trish from Insight Photography to be our wedding photographer. She completely exceeded all our expectations for our wedding photographs. Trish was so warm and friendly and I loved that she made the whole photography experience good fun. I was absolutely thrilled with our wedding photos; Trish beautifully captured all the emotions of the day, the beauty of the landscape where we had our photographs taken and all the little details that made it so personal to us. She produced an amazing slideshow before the first dance. It was a collection of all the photographs from the morning and at the church and it was fabulous – some very funny as well as moving shots. Every time we look through the photos we commented on how she got an expression or a stolen moment – they really tell the story of the day in the best way possible. Trish provided an excellent service from start to finish and on the wedding day many of our guests commented on what an amazing job she was doing. We would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for an incredibly talented, imaginative and personable wedding photographer.
We chose our venue because… It was actually complete luck that we came upon Castleknock Hotel & Country Club. I was looking up hotels near where we lived and decided to book a meeting with the wedding co-ordinator. Gael was so warm and professional when we met her and nothing seemed impossible. They were catering our wedding for us and we honestly felt like the only wedding the hotel had ever booked. It seemed so well run and every one of the staff we dealt with were so welcoming and a pleasure at all times that we didn’t have to think twice and pretty much booked it straight away! Following on from the wedding, we were so well looked after on the day that there was nothing to fault! It is a well run hotel, with excellent staff and amazing food!
My favourite part of the wedding day… I honestly can’t pick a particular part. The morning was lovely with my family. It was so relaxed and had so many special moments. It’s a time I will never forget. Others were seeing David in the church and saying our vows – it’s such a surreal and emotional time. Celebrating with our family and close friends that night… Really every part played a special part in making our wedding day the most special and unforgettable day of our lives. It was everything I dreamed it would be and so much more…
Our honeymoon… We booked with Gael in Travel Counsellors. She did a great job putting our itinerary together. We flew into San Francisco, hired a car on the fourth day and drove to Yosemite. We loved the national park! We stayed two nights there and then headed back to the coast road where we stopped over in Monterey, Cambria, Santa Barbara, L.A. and San Diego. We then flew down to Cabo in Mexico for a week before flying home. It was such an amazing trip; a perfect end to our perfect wedding.
Menu
Starter:
Baked Crottin of Goats Cheese with Herb Crust, Braised Cranberry & Orange
Soup:
Roast Root Vegetable Soup
Sorbet:
Raspberry & Fresh Mint Syrup Sorbet
Main Course:
Braised Shank of Lamb with Orange & Cardamom, Plum Tomato & Thyme
Roast Salmon Fillet with Crushed Potato and Basil Salad and Salsa Verde
My piece of advice for other brides… Try to have everything done as early as possible. This is to avoid disappointment of not having churches, hotels, bands, photographers etc available. It will also avoid last minute stress! I had everything booked and although I got so much slagging for being so organised it meant that I enjoyed the whole week in the lead up to the wedding. Enjoy every minute because as soon as you wake up that morning the day flies and you don’t get to re-live it! Things happen, things get lost or misplaced, just don’t stress. You’re getting married and nothing else matters so don’t let anything ruin it for you!
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