“Ed told me he loved me after 30 minutes of meeting him… It was a little embarrassing for him when I was sitting in the lecture theatre beside him the next day!”
The couple: Gina and Edward Madeley
Length of engagement: 15 months | Wedding Date: 29th June 2013
Wedding ceremony: Holy Rosary Church, Greystones
Wedding venue: BrookeLodge Hotel & Spa, Macreddin Village, Aughrim, Wicklow.
Photographer: Brenda McGuire Photography
We met… in University in Cardiff, Wales. I left Ireland to study dentistry in Wales and Ed moved just 30 minutes from home to study dentistry in Cardiff too! We met on a night out during Fresher’s Week and not knowing we were on the same course Ed was fairly well on and told me he loved me after 30 minutes! I think it was a little embarrassing for him when I was sitting in the lecture theatre beside him the next day!
Our proposal… Ed had the ring for a good few months and waited until I finished my fellowship exams. He took me on a romantic night away to celebrate the exams being over to a favourite spot of ours – Sealfield Hotel and Spa in Wexford. We went for a walk on the beach and he got down on one knee. Complete surprise!
His suit… Ed got the suits in Bond Brothers in Goatstown. They were perfect for Ed’s build and he loved them. Bond Brothers were brilliant and very reasonable too.
What our bridal party wore… The bridesmaids wore pale pink dresses which I got online at www.lightinthebox.com and had them taken in when they arrived. Their bouquets were cream and pale pink roses with white gypsophila around them, and they wore cream shoes. The boys wore suits from Bond Brothers.
Our ceremony… was in a Catholic church. We had all parents’ involved lighting candles and our friends did the Prayers of the Faithful. ‘Musa’ did the ceremony music and they are amazing! Really, really loved the music in the church and again highly recommend them.
We chose our photographer because… We chose Brenda McGuire Photography initially because a friend recommended her. I went to meet her with my mum and she was very easy to talk to and knew exactly what I wanted. She showed us some of her previous work and we loved it and she knew our venue very well as well. Brenda was brilliant on the day. I barely knew she was there in the church although she managed to get so many nice photos and for the official photos she was very quick and efficient so we didn’t have to spend too much time taking all the photos! I would recommend Brenda to all of my friends!
My dress… I got my dress from Anne Gregory Design in Newtownmountkennedy in Wicklow. It had lace on the top and a sweetheart shape with a large skirt! I went full on bridal! Anne was amazing! I recommend her to everyone I know.
We chose our venue because… we loved the layout of BrookeLodge, Macreddin Village and the setting. It is beautiful and all the wedding staff and staff on the day were brilliant. I would highly recommend BrookeLodge for a wedding. They were amazing to us and our day went so well because of their attention to detail. The food was also incredible and every one of our guests commented on it.
My favourite part of the wedding day… was having all our friends and family together.
Our honeymoon… was in July. We went to the south of France for a week and then travelled through Italy. It was very romantic.
Our DIY wedding… We had a summer wedding with neutral tones. We made CDs with a personalised playlist with homemade covers as our favours and our centrepieces were large water jugs with summer flowers of similar colour in them and greenery.
My piece of advice for other brides… try not to get too stressed! It will all work out on the day but I do think what you put into it you get out of it! We had the best day ever!
