Meet Andrea & Paul! Our beautiful couple brought their wedding ceremony ahead by a year so that Andrea’s dad could walk her down the aisle, join us as we take a look back at their two wedding days.
Couple: Andrea & Paul
Engagement length: 10 months
Wedding date: 2024-08-14
Wedding venue: The Maryborough Hotel and Spa
Wedding photographer: Bismark Photography
Andrea and Paul originally met on Tinder;
“Would you believe we met on Tinder?? We often matched and unmatched before we eventually started chatting. To this day, we can’t agree on who messaged who first (though Andy definitely did!!). Coincidentally we both went to University College Cork, which was the only place we could see each other for a long time due to how busy we were! Plenty of coffees and dinners were had in the Main Restaurant!”
After 5 years together, Paul proposed in the main quad in UCC. Andy thought she was meeting her friends for dinner after a meeting (Paul even had a Speech & Language Therapy lecturer in on the plan).
“The ceremony was amazing! We had a personal ceremony on the 14/08/24. This was a year earlier than planned as we brought our wedding forward so my dad could walk me down the aisle and be there as he was battling terminal cancer. Alison Driscoll was our celebrant who personalised each aspect of our ceremony to us. We had music from Linda Sloan, which included This I Promise You by Ronan Keating as I walked down the aisle, Sweet Creature by Harry Styles (my second love) and Accidentally in Love. We had a mixture of readings from our friends, including Mo Anam Cara which we have since both gotten tattooed in each others handwriting.”
Andy wore an ivory gown with a beautiful silk train and beaded details all down the back with a lace bodice, which she then added custom lace sleeves onto for the main event a year later! It was complimented with a cathedral length veil and accessories from Rosie and Dott. Paul wore a light grey suit with salmon compliments, which he got from Simply Suits, where Andy’s dad worked. The bridesmaids wore burgundy dresses. They each chose their own style and Andy gifted them all gold jewellery for the day. The groomsmen wore grey suits with complimenting burgundy ties.
“We had our ceremony in the Midleton Park Hotel as this was where my mam and dad got married making it extra special given we had brought our wedding forward to celebrate with my dad. The big event was in the Maryborough Hotel, we chose this venue as it was the most serene and picturesque place we have ever attended, with a mixture of old style romance and modern decor. Plus the staff treated us like ROYALTY!!”
For the main reception wedding day the couple chose beautiful burgundy and neutral tones, with dried, bohemian style flowers that Andy purchased from Etsy. A lot of the day was DIY, from the place cards to the signs!
Our favourite memory:
Our favourite memory was being able to honour Andy’s dad’s last wish with our originally planned reception/ party a year to the date later – we can tell he was partying with us from above!
The couple had a beautiful first look on the staircase of the Maryborough Hotel before joining their guests on the lawn to start the party.
Advice for other couples:
It can be so overwhelming and easy to get wrapped up in the wedding industry and all the add ons to make a party the next big hit. Avoid falling in to the trap of adding things you don’t want, it’s your day and nobody else’s, remember why you’re doing this and enjoy the build up!
“Our wedding wasn’t a conventional one! Both dates were spectacular, with the sun beaming down on us.”
Favourite memory from the second day:
Our favourite memory is that we were able to capture some precious memories with Andrea’s dad Ken who is no longer with us. We also really enjoyed having a sweetheart table for our meal, it gave us the opportunity to take in all of the hustle and bustle of the day.
Our photographer:
Sheenagh and Barry from Bismark were exceptional. We had booked them before deciding to bring our wedding forward. I remember contacting Sheenagh explaining that my dad was sadly terminally ill and wouldn’t make it to our planned date of 14/08/25, and we were going to have a small intimate ceremony a year earlier. She was absolutely phonemonal and made sure she was there to capture the most beautiful and special memories of our wedding, including cherished memories with Andy’s dad (and all of no extra charge!). You simply wouldn’t get better, everyone couldn’t get over how kind they were and the professionalism they demonstrated. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldnt have captured such beautiful and precious memories with Andrea’s dad.
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