“And of course it’s a castle so I got my Disney theme ticked off there!”
Names: Donal & Kerry Norton
Length of engagement: two years
Wedding Date: 21st July 2018
Wedding location: Kinnitty Castle, Co Offaly
Photographer: Oliver J Walker
Videographer: Bride & Groom Films
We met… Donal and I met through his sister. I had been friends with her for a while, we had decided to meet up in England for a catch up. She asked if she could bring her brother along to which of course I agreed to. I was lead to believe that she had one brother who was married with kids. So when I asked Donal how his wife was, he laughed and said ‘That’s the other brother. I’m single and I live in the far east’. After blushing I continued to make a fool of my self by spilling curry down my shirt. After that night we spoke only through skype as he was working in Saudi Arabia and I was in England. We met up in Berlin two months later for a holiday and five years later here we are!
Our proposal… The proposal really was a dream come true. If you know Donal well, you will know that he is a perfectionist. He took me to the Maldives in the summer of 2016 and proposed to me over a candlelit dinner on the beach. Being the naive person that I am, I genuinely had no idea what was about to happen so when he popped the question and showed me the most beautiful ring, I cried with happiness and of course I said yes.
Our wedding theme/colours… I knew exactly how I wanted our wedding day to look like. We both love vintage antiques and I love the 1920s to 1950s. I am also a sucker for classic Disney movies so we wanted a venue with history and original features. Flowers were a huge deal for me because I love colour. I wanted a wild hand picked feel to my bouquet with bright pastels to compliment the neutral tones of the bridesmaid dresses. I collected lots of images and presented them to my wedding stylist Edel Cooney from Vintage Affairs. As we were living overseas, Edel was a perfect choice to help with the organisation and props for the day. She turned my vision into a reality.
My dress… I found my Eddy K dress in a bridal shop in England called TDR. Again I had a vision of what I wanted so the bridal shop were amazing at adding the personal touches. I had lace added to the wrists and lace detail to the bottom. I got my inspiration from the Twilight wedding!
My hair and make up… I had the best makeup and hair artist. Sarah The Hair Artist and Faye Miller. I am really fussy about my hair and makeup. Prior to the day I had never let anyone style my hair or makeup before. I didn’t want anything traditional or over the top. I knew I had to have my hair up because of the detail on my back but I hate my hair up. So I went for a high ponytail with my hair down at the front. The bridesmaids complimented my hair by having a bit of volume at the top. I felt really comfortable on the day. I went for a soft smokey eye, blush pink cheeks and a mauve lipstick to match my flowers.
His suit… Donal was also against the conventional suits. He wanted tweed to acknowledge his love for vintage and his Irish roots. He went for a mauve paisley tie and cravat and a pair of red soles to finish.
What our bridal party wore… The ladies wore a full-length lace sleeve to compliment my dress with a beautiful bow at the back. The dresses were the very first purchase two years before the wedding day! I saw them one morning on ASOS and had to have them. The flower girls dresses were from Monsoon and were customised by the mother of the brides dressmaker. I had lilac sashes added to match the groomsmen’s ties.
Our ceremony… We had a traditional Catholic ceremony in the quaint Kinniity village in Offaly. The ceremony took place at St Flannans church by Fr. Micheal.
We chose our photographer because… Oliver Walker is our family photographer who is amazing. We wanted someone who we knew and trusted to capture humble and honest moments of the day and he did just that. To complement the photographer we also invited Richard, a local videographer from Bride & Groom Films. He created a cinematic video that still captured natural and sincere family moments. I will be forever grateful to both Oliver and Richard for holding those memories for us. I can’t wait to fly home soon to show my family.
We chose our wedding coordinator because… We chose Edel from Vintage affair because she is one of the best wedding stylists in Ireland. She listened to our visions, was supportive and down to earth and as you can see by the photographs she really delivered on the day. It is really difficult to plan and trust suppliers when planning a location wedding. Edel is trustworthy and incredibly talented. She made me and my bridal party feel like princesses for the day and her flower arrangements are out of this world. As I mentioned earlier, flowers were the most important decoration for my day and Edel is an exceptional florist. I still love, love love my bouquet!
We chose our venue because… As we both live abroad it was important to have both of our families and loved ones feel at home so it was always going to be in Ireland. We miss Ireland so much so the venue had to encompass everything that resembles Ireland. Great food, drink, scenery and quaint villages. Kinnitty Castle was perfect. The surrounding grounds are beautiful, the hospitality and food is always exceptional. And of course it’s a castle so I got my Disney theme ticked off there!. We were lucky to have the whole castle booked out to ourselves for the weekend.
Our menu… We chose mozzarella and tomato taster, thai soup starter, Lamb shank and sea bass main and a trio of desserts served as afternoon tea.
Our honeymoon… We went back to where it all began… Komandoo in the Maldives.
My favourite part of the wedding day… The moment the church doors opened when I saw everyone I loved sitting under the white blossom trees and watching everyone laughing, eating and drinking over dinner.
My piece of advice for other couples… Try to enjoy the days leading up to the wedding. They are just as important. You will never get that time again with your loved ones. Don’t worry about tiny details, sit back, relax and remember every moment of your special day.
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Kinnitty Castle, Co Offaly | Photographer: Oliver J Walker | Planner/coordinator: Vintage Affairs | Videographer: Richard from Bride & Groom Films | Musician: Joe Petit and the dream band (Dublin) | Hair: Sarah the hair artist | Makeup: Makeup by Faye Sarah Miller | Dress: TDR west Midlands Eddy K dress | Suit: Online Warren & James | Bridesmaids dresses: ASOS | Groomsmen outfits: Online Warren & JAMES | Caterer: Kinnitty Castle | Cake: Bernie: House of Cakes Portloise | Celebrant: Fr Micheal St Flannans Church Kinnitty Village
