“From the moment we got engaged we both wanted a Christmas wedding! We did not have any particular theme in mind. We just loved the elegance of a castle at Christmas.”
Names: Jenny Keane and Cian Coady
Length of engagement: 1.5 years
Wedding Date: 28/12/18
Wedding location: Ballyseede Castle, Tralee, Co. Kerry
Photographer: Syona Photography
We met… after being introduced by a mutual friend in the office pub in Limerick 7 years ago. We instantly clicked and the rest is history!
Our proposal… I bought Cian a trip to Rome for his birthday! He spent 3 days trying to get me to a particular spot in Rome overlooking the city! I kept refusing, as I hate walking up hills. Eventually on the last day, I reluctantly agreed and during sunset, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!
Our wedding theme/colours… from the moment we got engaged we both wanted a Christmas wedding! We did not have any particular theme in mind. We just loved the elegance of a castle at Christmas. We both loved the colour scheme of blush, navy and gold with loads of foliage. We incorporated these colours throughout the whole wedding. We had gold runners on the tables during dinner with flowers and foliage wrapped around the candelabra. Our wedding invites were a combination of navy, gold, blush and wine. They were one of my favourite things about the whole wedding. The groom and groomsmen wore a navy 3-piece suit and the bridesmaids wore blush dresses. I kept the flowers bouquets simple. Long stem roses with loads of foliage. All together the colours looked beautiful.
My dress… I bought my dress in Aibheil of Adare. I had the most wonderful experience! Anne and the ladies were so helpful and fun! I spent hours trying on loads of different dresses until I found the one. It was such a lovely day out with my mum and bridesmaids.
My hair and make up… Our hair and Makeup was done by Ciara in Park Avenue Hair and Therese Corless Makeup. I could not thank the two girls enough. We were all so happy with the finished result. Our hair and makeup stayed perfect into the early hours of the morning.
His suit… Cian wore a navy Ted Baker 3 piece suit with a navy dickie bow.
What our bridal party wore… The bridesmaids wore a blush dress from ASOS and the groomsmen wore navy Ted Baker 3 piece suit with navy dickie bows. Our puppy Joey also wore a suit – a tuxedo.
Our ceremony… Our church ceremony was held in St Johns Church, Cratloe, Co. Clare (the bride’s Hometown). It is a beautiful little quaint church. I could not imagine getting married anywhere else but home. Our wedding singer Lauren Sexton was incredible.
We chose our photographer because… Cian was a groomsman for our friend’s wedding and they had booked Syona photography. Cian was so impressed with how friendly and professional Paulina and Rafal were that we had to book them also. We were both so happy with our wedding photos. We feel they captured the day from start to finish and cannot thank them both enough.
We chose our venue because… We had been looking at venues near home around Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. My friend at work mentioned Ballyseede castle to me and we went to view it. From the moment we drove in the driveway we knew this was exactly what we were looking for. When we went inside, we fell in love with Ballyseede Castle even more. The bedrooms, the reception rooms and the dining room all blew us away! We knew at that moment the 1 hour and 10 minute drive from home was worth it.
Our menu… Outside the church, we had the Vintage Parlour who supplied tea, coffees and doughnuts for the journey to Kerry. At our drinks reception we had beers, Prosecco, mulled wine, gin and tonics, mince pies and canapés.
Our starter was a choice of a Trio of Meat or a Trio of Fish
Mushroom Soup
Champagne Sorbet
Fillet of Steak or Monkfish wrapped in Parma
Selection of Winter Desserts
The food in Ballyseede castle was AMAZING! It really lived up to its brilliant reputation.
Our honeymoon. We went to Cuba for 10 days after the wedding. We are going on our honeymoon in April to Colombia and New York.
My favourite part of the wedding day… The drive down from the church in Cratloe, Co. Clare to Ballyseede Castle, Kerry. It is a journey of roughly 1 hour and 10 mins. We just soaked it all in and drank champagne as newlyweds before all the fun and madness began.
My piece of advice for other couples… Enjoy the build up! It is such a special time with your family, friends and fiancé! On the day, enjoy every moment as it is over before you know it. Do not stress the small things. Everything will work out. The most important things for us was the food, drink and music. We can both honestly say we had the time of our lives! There is not one thing we would change!
What is it that makes your wedding unique? Our dog walked down the aisle as a pageboy. We had the Vintage Parlour after the church that supplied guests with tea, coffee, doughnuts and sweets for the journey to Kerry. After the ceremony, all the guests gathered outside the church drinking coffee etc. It was a great way to start the day. Our main aim of the day was good food, plenty of drink and good music. We made sure our guests were well fed and had plenty of drinks to party the night away into the early hours of the morning. The residents’ bar finished up around 8am.
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Ballyseede Castle | Photographer: Syona Photography | Videographer: Luminaire Weddings | Musician and DJ: Bentley Boys | Drinks Reception Music: Treble and Bass | Hair: Ciara in Park Avenue Hair and Makeup | Makeup: Therese Corless | Dress: Aibheil of Adare – Pronovias | Suits: Ted Baker | Bridesmaids dresses: ASOS | Caterer: The Vintage Parlour supplied doughnuts, coffees, teas and sweets outside the church | Cake table: Brenda Leahy | Cheesecake, chutneys and crackers by Supervalu | Celebrant: Fr. Tom Ryan
