A pretty purple wedding which took place at The Ardilaun Hotel.
Names: Dervla O’Reilly and Michael O’Connor
Length of engagement: 18 months | Wedding Date: 02:09:2016
Wedding location: The Ardilaun Hotel | Photographer: Sarah Connolly
We met… in university. We are both from Galway and I worked with Mike’s best man John. He introduced us on a night out in CPs nightclub and the rest is history!
Our proposal… I had surprised Mike with a trip to Berlin for his 30th birthday with our friends John and Dee. The surprise was turned around on me when he proposed on a bridge in Berlin with a Love Lock with the date and “Will you marry me?” engraved. Turned out he knew about the trip all along!
Our wedding theme/colours… I went for light purple with the flowers and bridesmaids dresses.
My dress… was Novia D’Art and I got it in Belladona Bridal
My hair and make up… Hair – Louise, Bliss Bridal Hair. Makeup – Pauline Fletcher.
Both were amazing and kept us all relaxed on the morning.
His suit… Aston Formal Wear.
What our bridal party wore… Lavender multi-wrap dresses from Coast. They really flattered all of the bridesmaids’ shapes.
Our ceremony… St. Marys Church the Claddagh.
We chose our photographer, Sarah Connolly, because… I had seen photographs of a friends wedding that Sarah had done and I loved them. When I spoke to Sarah she advised me on the best places to take pictures and we discussed the type of pictures I wanted. Sarah was dressed like a guest so she was able to mingle in between our friends and family taking pictures that captured our guests in very natural shots which are really beautiful. Sarah was also great for keeping us all on time and on schedule for the day!!!
We chose our venue because… being from Salthill I always loved The Ardilaun Hotel and knew it was where I wanted to get married. We had been to weddings there in the past and always had a great night. Maureen and all the staff were fantastic not just on the day but in the full run up to the wedding.
Our menu… we had a 5 course meal with choices on the starter and main. The food and the wine were an important one for us and there was plenty of both supplied by the hotel!
Our honeymoon… we spent a few days in Monart after the wedding and then went to the USA and Mexico the following year.
My favourite part of the wedding day… getting out on the dance floor with all of our friends and family after all the formalities had been done.
My piece of advice for other couples… enjoy the run up catching up with family that were home for the wedding. These are people you might not get to spend much time with on the day so enjoy the time before.
Don’t stress out on all the little touches (cute signs and chalkboards etc) half of the things I had bought never made it out on the day and I didn’t notice at all.
Suppliers
Photographer: Sarah Connolly | Venue: The Ardilaun Hotel | Band: Carouse. Fantastic band and DJ that covered all ages. Everyone was up dancing for the night. | Wedding dress: Novia D’Art, Belladona Bridal | Hair: Louise, Bliss Bridal Hair | Makeup: Pauline Fletcher | Groom’s suit: Aston Formal Wear | Bridesmaids dresses: Coast |
Wedding Jewellery – Blacoe’s Jewellers Galway. Robert Blacoe made my engagement ring and wedding band to match. Robert spent a lot of time with us when choosing our rings and explained everything diamond-related. After the wedding, he took my rings back and had them soldered together to make one ring which I love!
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