A Cute & Casual Wedding at The Millhouse, Slane

Real Weddings

“He used to tease me… he’d say ‘this would be the perfect place to get engaged’ before getting down on one knee to tie his shoe lace!”

The couple: Sinead & Erich
Wedding Date: 25th of April 2015 | Wedding venue: The Millhouse, Slane

Wedding photographer: Linda Clarke Photography

We met… At the fresher’s ball in Maynooth college. I found Erich annoying at first. He kept coming up to me that night and I repeatedly told him to come back later. His persistence paid off though as my friend Aideen was so frustrated at his reappearances that she told me to kiss him so he’d leave us alone. I did and I thought “he’s alright actually” so we went on our first date a week later and have been together ever since!

Our proposal… We were together 13 years before Erich decided to propose. I had a feeling he was planning it. He liked to tease me about a couple of months before actually doing it. Like when we went to Venice and he’d say ‘this would be the perfect place to get engaged’ before getting down on one knee to tie his shoe lace! Needless to say I was not impressed. In the end he finally did ask me on my 30th birthday. He brought me away to the gorgeous Village at Lyons in Kildare because it was close to where we had first met. He arranged for my family to be there as a surprise after he had proposed, and we all went out for dinner to celebrate. It was perfect because I’m really close to my family and my sister Caitriona had just come back from Edinburgh.

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My hair and make-up… The amazing Inga Cuzin did my hair and make-up. Inga was so lovely and she’s so talented. I knew how I wanted my hair to look and she did exactly what I asked for. I have no clue about make-up but I knew I wanted a natural look and that’s what she did. I wouldn’t have changed a thing!

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My dress… I loved dress shopping! I started looking straight after we got engaged and bought my dress over a year before the wedding day! I got it in The Bridal Boutique in Fairview. I had seen so many dresses and I knew that I wanted a strapless fishtail dress with a sweetheart neckline so when I tried on the dress I knew it was perfect. It was a Mikaella dress. My aunty Colette did all the adjustments on it. She’s amazing and so patient! She changed a couple of details to make it even more perfect.

What our bridal party wore… I didn’t really have any colour in mind for the bridesmaid dresses. We didn’t want our wedding to seem too formal so I knew I didn’t want the girls to wear floor length dresses. It was also really important that the dresses were comfortable and that they suited the girls. I got the dresses in Debenhems and the accessories were from Dorothy Perkins. I was really pleased with how they looked and the girls said they loved them! The lads wore suits from Youngs.

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Our ceremony… It was really important to me that we got married in our local parish church, St. Mochtas. It’s such a quaint and beautiful church. Our parish priest Fr. John Daly married us. He performed such a lovely ceremony. Our close family and friends all took part in the ceremony which meant a lot to us. We chose to have a string quartet called Appassionata perform at the wedding. They were amazing and so accommodating. They even learned the ‘Final Countdown’ for us because we wanted it played before I walked up the aisle. It was the perfect ceremony for us.

Our wedding theme and colours… We didn’t really have a wedding theme. Although Erich did want to use some Bavarian decorations because of his German heritage and I wanted a simple vintage type look so we used both when decorating! We incorporated a pink colour throughout to match the bridesmaid dresses and blue because of the Bavarian flag. When it came to decoration, we didn’t need a lot as The Millhouse is so beautiful as it is. So we just had a big Bavarian flag and some bunting hanging up. We used candles and baby’s breath flowers on the tables. Even though it sounds like a bit of a mish mash it worked for us and we were so happy with how it all looked on the day.

We chose our venue because… We had our reception in The Millhouse in Slane. It was absolutely perfect for us! It has such a gorgeous location along the River Boyne. It has a real vintage feel and didn’t feel too formal, which was important to us. The staff were so accommodating at catering to the style of wedding we wanted. Aidan was our coordinator on the day and he was fantastic! He couldn’t have done more to help us and made the day flow perfectly.

We chose our photographer because… We chose to have Linda Clarke as our photographer. The moment we met LInda we knew she was the one for us! Not only are her photos gorgeous, but she is such a lovely person. On the day of the wedding, Linda was fantastic! So discreet and professional. What we loved most about her was that she put us at ease and was so patient and friendly with all the guests.

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Our menu… I think choosing the menu was Erich’s favourite part of the whole wedding preparation! He was in his element at the food tasting. We wanted a menu that would accommodate everyone. We chose soup for the starter, beef or salmon for the main and Eton Mess for dessert. So many people at the wedding commented on how delicious the meal was. We were delighted with it! Yet another plus point for The Millhouse!

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My favourite part of the wedding… Without a doubt my favourite part of the wedding was the dancing!!! I always think it’s the most important part of any wedding because it’s what the guests remember the most. We were so happy with our band After Dark. They were amazing! The dance floor was full all night. Erich’s grandmother was up dancing even! Erich had organised a flash mob style dance that I didn’t know about and I loved it! I could see both our families enjoying themselves and it meant so much to us both.

My piece of advice for other brides… I know everybody says it but I would advise other brides to just relax on the day. Enjoy every single second! Do what you both want and don’t worry too much about everybody else! I also loved being able to tell my sisters what to do for once without them being able to complain! Oh and don’t go mad on decorations because they are very stressful to organise and they can be very expensive. We organised a lot of decorations that I didn’t even notice on the day! Just have fun because it will be the best day of your life!

Suppliers

Wedding venue: The Millhouse, Slane | Wedding photographer: Linda Clarke Photography | Hair, make-up: Inga Cuzin – IC Studio | Wedding dress: Mikaella at The Bridal Boutique Fairview | Bride’s shoes: Debut at Debenhams | Bridesmaid dresses: Debenhams | Groom’s suit: Youngs | Ceremony music: Appassionata | Wedding band: After Dark