“Our wedding theme/colours… as it was Christmas time we had a Christmas themed wedding.”
Names: Natasha and Mark Fennelly
Length of engagement: 2 years
Wedding Date: 28.12.18
Wedding location: Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise
Photographer: Wedding Photography Laois
We met… 12 years ago in a pub in Athy. I was working and he was out with friends. He was wearing a top with a big star on the back and he still has it today, it’s his lucky top!
Our proposal… Mark proposed Christmas morning 2016. We were opening our presents and he told me that he had left one upstairs for me. When I went to get it his phone was on the bed with a note telling me to watch a video he had made highlighting all of the best things we had done over the last 10 years. At the end he told me to come back downstairs for my last gift. When I opened the sitting room door he was down on one knee with a ring in one hand and our little girl Ella was sitting beside him. I said yes straight away!
Our wedding theme/colours… as it was Christmas time we had a Christmas themed wedding. The flowers were silk flowers made by Darling Buds and they were amazing. They look so real and they will be used every Christmas to decorate. Our wedding cake was a Christmas present cake with baubles made by Laura at For Goodness Cake, we used a personalised Christmas decoration as a cake topper and we had Christmas crackers on all of the tables.
Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… Although the wedding theme was mainly a Christmas theme Natasha loves Harry Potter. For her hen weekend the bridesmaids made Daily Prophet posters announcing the wedding and various other
headlines, these were used at the wedding along with the Harry Potter themed sweet table complete with cauldron and brooms.
My dress… I bought my dress in Amara Bridal in Newbridge. It was the second shop we had gone to and I had tried
on a lot of dresses but when I tried this on I knew it was the one. It was nothing like what I thought I would wear but I loved it!
My hair and make up…this was honestly one of the best parts of the day. Karen from Eviva Beauty Kildangan and Eimear and Niamh from Mon Amie in Athy were the best craic. We had such a laugh. And they all went above and beyond when we had a disaster with the flower girl tights. The tights ended up soaking wet so Eimear and Niamh were blow drying tights while Karen drove to the nearest town to see if she could find another pair.
His suit…Manleys in athy.
What our bridal party wore… The girls wore port dresses from Smart Brides in Portlaoise. The little bridesmaids wore different styles, one wore the same as the other bridesmaids, another wore a port jumpsuit made by Freda McCormack in Newbridge and the youngest wore a dress with an ivory skirt and port top. While the flower girl wore
an ivory dress to match the bride (mother and daughter).
Our ceremony… We got married in Our Lady of Victories Church in Kildangan Co. Kildare as that is the brides homeplace. The priest is a cousin of the groom. The wedding ceremony was very intimate with only the wedding
party and immediate family. Everyone else joined us for the reception.
We chose our photographer because… I met Aoileann at a wedding fair at the Midlands Park Hotel and I really liked her work. She was a dream to work with and she made everything so easy. When our original photo location fell thru she was very helpful suggesting alternatives. In the end we went with the Rock of Dunamaise which we visit often as a family as it is near where we live. The pictures were amazing!
We chose our wedding coordinator because…Briona Farrel was our wedding co ordinator from the Midlands Park Hotel and she was a dream to work with. She was so helpful and a pleasure to deal with.
We chose our venue because…the Midlands Park Hotel was central to all of our guests, that is why we went to check it out. When we went to view the venue it had been renovated and we thought it was amazing. It is a beautiful hotel, from the banquet hall to the bridal suite this hotel is designed to a very high standard. It is fabulous!
Our menu…We had Chicken and Mushroom Voluvonts to start followed by butternut squash and sweet potato soup. For the main course it was a choice between braised featherblade steak and a seared fillet of seabass. The dessert was a selection of mini desserts.
Our honeymoon…for our mini honeymoon we stayed at the Lyrath Hotel in Kilkenny for New Years and then had a family trip to Portugal for Easter.
My favourite part of the wedding day… Everything, if we could do it all again we would!! Getting ready with our three year old Ella that morning was magical, we both felt like princesses!! The photos at the rock of dunamaise were brilliant, although the photographer and videographer were with us it felt like we had some time to ourselves and we had so much fun!
My piece of advice for other couples… take so some time just the two of you. Our photographer advised us to take a few minutes in the church when everyone left before heading to our photo location and it was lovely just to have a little chat and take a breath.
What is it that makes your wedding unique… Our wedding was very special to us because it was something we did as a family! Our little girl Ella was so excited and you couldn’t say it was ‘mammy and daddy’s wedding’ it was ‘all of us’ getting married! After we exchanged rings the priest called Ella up and we gave her a cladagh ring, we also had a special daddy daughter dance to her favourite Picture This song, she loved it. We all had a magical day and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Suppliers
Venue: Midlands Park Hotel | Photographer: Wedding Photography Laois | Planner/coordinator: Briona Farrel | Videographer: East Coast Video Productions | Band & DJ: Panic Animal | Hair: Mon Amie Athy | Makeup: Eviva Beauty Kildangan | Dress: Amara Bridal Newbridge | Suit: Manelys Athy | Bridesmaids dresses: Smart Brides Portlaoise | Groomsmen outfits: Manleys Athy | Cake: Laura Rainsford, For Goodness Cake Athy | Celebrant: Fr. Frank McEvoy | Flowers: Darling Buds
