I’m so excited for this month’s Real Life Wedding as I know the bride is super excited about being featured and when I received the photos I went WOW! In this feature the Dublin couple go West for their wedding. Here’s Eimear & Ian’s big day.
The couple: Eimear O’Connor & Ian Early
Ceremony Venue: Keadue Church, Keadue, Co. Roscommon
Reception Venue: Kilronan Castle, Ballyfarnon, Co. Roscommon
Date: 26th October 2013
Dress: White Rose, from The Town Bride, Powerscourt, Dublin
No of Bridesmaids/Groomsmen: 2 bridesmaids, Eimear’s sister Niamh & friend Kate; 2 groomsmen, Ian’s friends Karl & Alan; a page boy, Ian’s nephew Jack & 2 flower girls, Ian’s nieces Ellie & Ciara.
Bridesmaids Dresses: Mori Lee
Grooms suit: Tango’s Dress Hire, Dublin
Photographer: Memento Photography, Derek O’Rourke
Flowers: Drumsna Garden Centre
Cake: Cannaboe Confectionery, Sharon Sweeney
Band: Camembert Quartet
Hair: Sinead McGoldrick
Make-up: Annette Smyth
Length of engagement: 16 months
How did you find planning your wedding?
I really enjoyed the wedding planning. It seemed daunting at first, as I wouldn’t be the world’s most decisive person, but once we made decisions on things they were just ticked off the list and moved on to the next thing. It does consume you, it’s all you want to talk about and it’s always on your mind but I loved it! Both of my bridesmaids are currently planning their own weddings so it’s great now, to still be involved in everything but from a different perspective!
Was your groom/bridesmaid hands on?
Yes, Ian & I made most decisions together, particularly on the big things like venue, band, food, honeymoon and then Ian organised the cars (although I think with his sister’s help!) He left some of the smaller details to me but I was more than happy to do them. My bridesmaids were also great, always on hand and gave any help I needed. They were great to run ideas by too.
Were there any hiccups on the day of the wedding?
None that I was made aware of!
Favourite moment of the day?
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the ceremony itself. It had been raining heavily all morning but then the sun came out when the ceremony started and it lit up the church. The church music was sang by my friend Siobhan O’Connor and she was accompanied by her friend Rebekah Robertson, they were really wonderful. Whenever I hear any of the songs they sang I instantly think of the wedding.
What do you wish you had know when planning your wedding?
We really brought the second day into our decision making with venues. I probably wouldn’t do that again. Our second day celebrations were great fun but I totally underestimated how exhausted I would be after the wedding!
Anything unusual that you want to promote the supplier?
My hairdresser Sinead McGoldrick was brilliant. She travelled from Dublin and throughout the trials (multiple!) I didn’t really know what I wanted with my hair but she never lost her patience with me! Our band Camembert Quartet were excellent.
My sister-in-law had told me about the Paul Costello dresses in Dunne Stores for the flower girls. They were really gorgeous on the girls and were great value, especially when compared to the prices of some flower girl dresses in the bridal/bridesmaid shops.
We went with a lot of suppliers that were local to the hotel. At the hotel’s wedding fair, we organised the make-up artist, flowers, cake and invitations. All of which were really great to deal with.
Do you wish you had done anything differently? E.g. booked something earlier, different supplier, invited more/less, etc?
In general we were fairly relaxed through the planning process because we were well organised. There were still little things I worried about that in hindsight just don’t matter on the day! As an example, I remember I spent a lot of thought on how not to get false tan on my dress! I even bought some very heavy duty deodorant! Sure enough after all that, there were some small marks on the dress by the time the dancing started, but by then I couldn’t have cared less!
Doesn’t it sound like a perfect day? Thanks so much to Eimear and Ian for letting me share their big day!
Love from my world,
Lisa x