“I picked things because I liked them with the hope that they would all work together in some way at the end, which I think they did.”
The couple: Louise Carry & Brendan Culleton
Length of engagement: 13 Months | Wedding date: 3rd March 2017
Wedding venue: The Millhouse, Slane, Co. Meath
Photographer: Jialin Long Photography
We met… Online through MaybeFriends.com. After months of chatting online we finally bit the bullet and arranged a date and never looked back.
Our proposal… was on Christmas Eve 2015. I had been out doing some last minute shopping and when I returned home, Brendan met me at the door. Everything seemed normal until I went into the living room to find it covered in candles, a huge bunch of flowers, champagne and a Christmas cake with candles spelling out ‘Will You Marry Me’. Brendan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, he then called in our little dog Woody who came running in with the ring tied with a bow around his neck. Brendan had called out to my parents’ house earlier that week to have the chat with Dad, so of course my Mam and Dad were waiting impatiently in my Aunt’s house next door for us to call over with the news. Little did I know that my Aunt had been minding the ring for weeks beforehand and knew all about it.
My hair and makeup… My makeup was by Michelle T and my hair was by Vicky Gorman from Glamaholics Ireland. Both did a super job.
My dress… I got my dress from The Bridal Studio in Drogheda. The girls were just lovely and really put me at ease. We made some minor alterations to the dress, picking a different belt and taking off the train. I wanted as little fuss as possible.
What our bridal party wore… Their dresses were from LindyBop.com. I wanted dresses that all three girls felt fabulous in but at the same time comfortable. We added matching pink sashes to the bridesmaids and flower girl’s dress. The groomsmen wore dark navy suits, tan shoes and matching ties. The page boys’ suits were from Next.
Our ceremony… was beautiful, Eileen from Spiritual Ceremonies did an amazing job. We chose Spiritual Ceremonies as we could decide on the format and style of the ceremony to make it as relaxed and personal as possible. We wanted to have as many people involved as we could. My brother read a poem written by our great grandmother over 100 years earlier. We had a ring warming as part of the ceremony, the rings were passed among the guests with an invitation for everyone to make a silent blessing for our marriage. We also had a hand-fasting, an old Celtic tradition for Irish wedding ceremonies, where Brendan and I joined hands and each of our parents placed a ribbon over our hands and finished with tying the four ribbons together. Eimear Carroll sang and played guitar, she has a beautiful voice and was so helpful with song choices.
We chose our venue because… I had always loved The Millhouse and when we went to see it, we knew it would be perfect for us. From the ceremony in the old mill to the dinner in the pavilion, it has so much to offer. The Millhouse did a fantastic job for us. On the day Aidan and Tina look after you so well, you don’t have to worry about a thing.
We chose our photographer because… I had entered a competition on weddingsonline, Jialin contacted me a couple of weeks later to let us know we had won. We met with Jialin (Jialin Long Photography) to talk through both our styles and knew we would be a great match. We also did an engagement shoot with Jialin a few months before the wedding which helped put us at ease for the big day.
His suit… Was from Gentlemen’s Quarters, Cork.
Our wedding theme/colours… We didn’t really have a set colour scheme, I just wanted everything as bright and fresh as possible. I picked things because I liked them with the hope that they would all work together in some way at the end, which I think they did.
Our menu… The food from The Millhouse was excellent.
Starter: White Onion Tartlet with Gruyere Bachmann Cheese Sauce & Caramelised Onions and Petite Salad
Main Course: Pan-Fried Fillet of Beef with Glazed Shallots, Parsnip Crisps with Peppercorn Sauce
Baked Cod with Thyme & Parmesan Crust, Sweet Potato Mousseline and White Wine & Garlic Sauce with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Dessert: Glazed Lemon Tart with an Elderflower & Raspberry Sorbet and Raspberries & Mint Coulis
My favourite part of the wedding day… Everything, from the morning getting ready with my family to seeing Brendan at the top of the aisle, dancing all night with friends and family. My Mam made all the flower arrangements for the ceremony and the tables, my Aunt made lovely colourful bunting to decorate the pavilion and a family friend handcrafted the ring pillow. It was great to see all the hard work over the last few months coming together.
Our honeymoon… South Africa. We flew into Port Elizabeth and spent the next two weeks making our way over to Capetown where we spent the final 5 days of our honeymoon. South Africa is a beautiful country and I would highly recommend it.
My piece of advice for other brides… You can’t control everything, least of all the weather. It never stopped raining the entire day of our wedding but the rain cannot stop you from having the most fantastic day surrounded by your friends and family, making memories that will stay with you for a lifetime. So embrace the rain and go with it.
Credits
Venue: The Millhouse, Slane, Co. Meath | Photographer: Jialin Long Photography | Stationery: The Wedding Scribblers | Wedding Dress/Veil: The Bridal Studio | Bridesmaid Dresses: Lindybop.co.uk | Headpiece: Azure Jewellery, Cork | Makeup: Michelle T Makeup | Hair: Vicky Gorman Glamaholics Ireland | Cake topper: Etsy | Wedding Video: Head and Heart Films | Honeymoon: GoHop.ie | Wedding Band: The Enemies
