A Winter Wedding With Lovely Burgundy Flowers

Real Weddings

“I always knew I wanted burgundy for our bridesmaids and flower arrangements as it was a winter wedding.”

 

Names: Edel and Stephen Gormley

Length of engagement: 2 Years

Wedding Date: 7th December 2018

Wedding location: Cabra Castle, Kingscourt.

Photographer: Paul Callaghan

 

We met… Myself and Stephen went to secondary school together. For the last 2 years of school we saw a lot more of eachother as we were in the same class. We then got together after the leaving cert exams in 2007 and we have been together since.

Our proposal… Stephen proposed to me on the 3rd December 2016. We were up in Dublin on our annual Christmas shopping trip. That year we decided to stay for the night and make a weekend of it. So we went up early on a Saturday morning and done the tour of the Guinness Brewery. We then went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and that’s when Stephen surprised me and got down on one knee.

It was such an exciting time with the lead up to Christmas and planning our big day.

Our wedding theme/colours… We never stuck with any theme as such.  I always knew I wanted burgundy for our bridesmaids and flower arrangements as it was a winter wedding.  Our flowers were done by Cedar flowers in Cavan. Aoife was amazing to work with. I told her I wanted the burgundy theme and she went with it.

Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… Myself and Stephen would not be very artistic but I did decide to make up the table seating plan cards on the week of the wedding with the help of my lovely bridesmaids. My cousin and was also one of my bridesmaids Annette made our cake for us which was amazing and we were so happy with it. My dad also made our lovely cake stand and our ferrero rocher tree stands for our candy table.

My Dad first made the cake stand for my brother’s wedding in 2012 and it has since been passed down through the family.

My dress… I purchased my dress from Brummel & Co in Athlone. It wasn’t what I thought I’d go for at all. I always had lace in my head and it was my Mam who told me to try it on and Ruth in Brummel was so helpful as she told me all the changes I could make to the dress, which I did. My dress was created by an Irish designer Margaret Moreland called the Amy dress. I did make the dress my own as I changed the waistband, the back and the neckline. It was nice to put my own touch to it as I knew then it would be different.

My hair and make up… My hair was done by Michelle Smith from Halos hair salon in Bailieborough. I worked with Michelle for 7 years and she now is a great friend to me so I was delighted she could style us for the morning.  My make-up was done by Clare Cooney from Make-up and Beauty by Clare.

Clare is a neighbour of mine also so it was great she was so close to us.

His suit… Stephen got his suit from Louis Boyd Menswear in Newry. Liam and Jacqueline were so helpful when we went up to look. We went for navy suits for the lads and Stephen went for the navy and grey suit.

What our bridal party wore… The girls wore True Bride dresses which we purchased in Creative Ideas Bridal in Armagh. The dresses and colour was so elegant on the girls we were very happy with them. The girls in Creative Ideas were so helpful in choosing the dresses.

Our ceremony… We got married in St.Annes Church Bailieborough.  The priest was Fr Michael Router joined with Fr Eamon Lynch. I was one of Fr.Michael’s first baptisms when he was ordained so he made the whole experience feel personal.  The ceremony music was from weddingsinger.ie. Naoise & Simon were the two singers accompanied by David (piano) and Katie (violin). The music was amazing and everyone has been complimenting them since on the lovely music.

We chose our photographer because… I loved his style of photography. Paul was amazing to work with and so easy going. His wife Margaret was with us on the day. We had so much fun with them and they both made us feel so comfortable and relaxed for the photos. Paul knows Cabra castle so well and when I saw my photos it definitely shows. He captured the beauty of the castle and its surrounding in every photo.

Our videographer on the day was Cathal Patrick Farrelly. He too was so good to work with and easy going.  I haven’t got my video yet but I know it’s going to be amazing. He had a drone to capture the beautiful grounds of Cabra and our entry into the castle.

We chose our venue and wedding coordinator because… Cabra is an amazing venue. From you go through the gates right into the castle and throughout, it gives such a warm and friendly feeling.

We went to view at Christmas time and we knew once we seen the castle decorated, this was our venue. We only looked at Cabra and booked it straight away.

We first met with Johnny who was more than helpful to us. Anything we asked for was delivered. He even made suggestions to us that we would have never thought off.  Coming up to the day they were only an email away and always answered promptly. On the day we had Johnny, Emma, and Rose who were so good. From start to finish they were so attentive and couldn’t have done any more for us.

Our menu…We had 4 courses:

Savoury Bouchee

Vegetable Soup

A choice of Fillet of Beef, Chicken or Seabass

Apple crumble for dessert.

Our honeymoon… We went away the week after the wedding to the Galgorm Spa in Ballymena. It was amazing and so relaxing. Just what we needed.  We are building a house at the moment so our focus will be on that for now. We are going to organise our honeymoon for maybe March 19. We have nothing booked yet but we will definitely get away to some sun.

My favourite part of the wedding day… Was walking down the aisle with my Dad and seeing Stephen at the altar.

My piece of advice for other couples… The day goes by in flash. Enjoy every minute and take in everything.  There is a lot of planning for this one day so just enjoy it.

Suppliers

Wedding venue: Cabra Castle | Photographer: Paul Callaghan | Planner/coordinator: Johnny, Emma & Rose | Videographer: Cathal Patrick Farrelly | Musician/ DJ : Bently Boys (6 piece band) | Hair: Michelle Smith Halos Hair Salon Bailieborough. | Makeup: Clare Cooney from Make-up and Beauty by Clare | Dress: Margaret Moreland Dress from Brummell & Co | Suits: Louis Boyd Menswear | Bridesmaids dresses: True Bride design from Creative Ideas Bridal Armagh | Cake: Made by my cousin/bridesmaid Annette. | Celebrant: Fr. Michael Router and Fr.Eamon Lynch.