“I had a quiet reflective moment during the meal when I realised how many people had gathered in one place to celebrate with us. It was quite an overwhelming feeling!”
The couple: Sarah Kerrigan & Lorcan Kent
Length of engagement: 15 months | Wedding date: 15th July 2016
Wedding location: Barberstown Castle, Straffan, Co. Kildare
Photographer: Eric Molimard Photography
We met… It’s a very romantic story! I was in college in Dublin and Lorcan was in a different college in Dublin. A housemate of Lorcan’s was a year ahead of me in college (I didn’t know her) and she kindly got tickets for all the boys in her house to go on our ‘Mystery Bus Tour’ during Rag Week. The boys were only dying to go as my college was predominately made up of girls! We locked eyes on the bus and got chatting during the second stop off. The rest of that night is a bit of a drunken haze but we managed to exchange numbers before the end of the night and that was the start of a beautiful thing!
Our proposal… During a particularly blue January in 2015 we were sitting watching ‘The Restaurant’ on tv. It was being filmed in The Wineport Lodge, Athlone. I looked up The Wineport online and it looked lovely so I decided that we should treat ourselves to 2 nights away over Easter for no reason at all! Lorcan seized the opportunity and started planning a very romantic proposal. I didn’t suspect a thing as I had made the booking. We were enjoying a very romantic, private dinner overlooking the beautiful Lough Ree and as the sun set he proposed!
His suit… All the suits and shoes were bought from Richie Whelan Menswear, Naas. Lorcan’s suit was navy with a very subtle check detail. The boys’ suits were plain navy. The shoes were chestnutty in colour with cream laces. They were well looked after by Richie Jr! The ties by Jeff Banks (Debenhams) were a lovely pink colour.
My hair and makeup… I decided not to get my hair and make up done at home. Myself, three bridesmaids and two mothers descended upon Elle No 5 in Celbridge for our hair and makeup. They made such a fuss of us and kept glasses of prosecco topped up… I probably had too much! I can’t speak highly enough of the girls there. Nikki did my hair and Sasha did my make up. Both hair and make up lasted perfectly right through to the small hours the next morning! I would highly recommend going to a salon for hair and make up. It takes a huge amount of stress away from the house and the girls have every single thing they need to hand. We got there at 8 in the morning and everybody was done by 10.15.
What our bridal party wore… The girls’ dresses were Jenny Yoo for Dessy. I got them in Amarra Bridal, Newbridge. They wore their own shoes and their own earrings. I got them a present of a very simple silver bracelet.
Our ceremony… Was a traditional Catholic ceremony. It was in St. Finian’s Church, Newcastle and Fr. Aidan Kieran officiated at the ceremony. We picked all the readings, prayers, songs and the reflection. We had Maynooth Gospel Choir singing throughout and they were absolutely amazing. The flowers were done by Lorcan (not my Lorcan!) from AbFab Flowers, Celbridge. They were lovely and simple… A few arrangements on the altar, simple glass jar pew ends and two birch trees outside the doors of the church.
My dress… My dress was Mikaella by Paloma Blanca. I got it in Truly Bridal, Naas. The girls there were lovely and so helpful. It was the fourth shop I went to and I went to one more shop after but I knew I didn’t have to look any further. I made a few changes with the belt and the dress came with a matching lace bolero which I didn’t wear.
We chose our photographer because… We did a good bit of research online. I didn’t think it was too important to actually meet with a photographer before booking but I’m so glad that we did! We met a couple of photographers who just weren’t very personable people. You spend so much time with the photographer on the day of your wedding so a personable person is pretty important! We met a couple that we really liked and one of those was Eric Molimard (Eric Molimard Photography). We picked him because we really liked his work. From looking through his sample albums we could see that his style really suited us… There was nothing too staged or posed. He also had competitively priced packages to offer. He put us at ease instantly during our first meeting and he was a pleasure to work with from that point. We have our album and it is beautiful, we will treasure it for years to come!
We chose our venue because… We visited quite a few venues across Dublin, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare in search of the perfect place. The second we walked into the function room in Barberstown Castle we knew that it was the place for us. Every other venue we visited had some negative aspects but we found it difficult to find a negative to Barberstown. We really didn’t want the typical hotel function room. The stonework, fireplaces, grand piano, medieval chairs and tables make Barberstown such a unique venue. It speaks for itself as a venue and we had very few décor additions to make to the room. Anna Nugent was our main point of contact in Barberstown. She went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure our day was perfect. Her organisational skills and attention to detail meant that nothing was left to chance on the day. It also catered for our second day bbq (in the main hotel) which everybody really enjoyed.
Our wedding theme/colours… It took us a long time to actually have a theme/colour to the wedding… I wasn’t too concerned about a colour scheme or a theme. It was only when I went shopping with one of my bridesmaids for their dresses that I decided on a colour scheme. She tried on a beautiful navy dress and the colour scheme took off from there. There was navy and pale pink throughout various aspects of the wedding but there was nothing too matchy matchy and we also had a little bit of a ‘Lovebird’ theme throughout (invitations, mass booklets, candle etc.) but nothing too in your face.
Our menu…
Starter: Caramelized Onion and Bacon Tartlet, Aged Cheddar Crust and Balsamic Dressing
Soup: Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Curry and Coconut Milk
Sorbet: Summer Berry
Main: Roast Irish Sirloin of Beef, Baby Onion, Lardons and Button Mushrooms, Yorkshire Pudding and Red Wine Jus
Or
Fillet of Seabass, Artichoke Barigoule, Bouillabaisse Jus
Dessert: Summer Berries Meringue, Chantilly Cream and Chocolate Shaving
My favourite part of the wedding day… How to choose just one?? I had the best day of my life! If I had to pick a moment… I had a quiet reflective moment during the meal when I realised how many people had gathered in one place to celebrate with us. It was quite an overwhelming feeling!
Our honeymoon… We left 5 days after the wedding. We spent 10 days in an all-inclusive called Secrets Silversands in Cancun. It was a fabulous experience. We had never been on a holiday like it and probably never will be again! Everything was amazing… the room, the food, the pools, the service. We spent a few days in Las Vegas and that was also an amazing experience. We got a wedding present of a Grand Canyon helicopter trip which was out of this world Lorraine Costello from Travel Counsellors organised and booked the whole honeymoon for us. She did an amazing job.
My piece of advice for other brides… Relax!! I was very organised in the months leading up to the wedding. The last few weeks were busy but calm. The whole thing goes by so quickly so just remember to be present in the moment and not let the whole thing pass you by in a flash. Enjoy every last second. Don’t get caught up in minor details as they don’t matter in the greater scheme of things!
