Real life wedding time and what better to have in December than a December wedding! I joined this couple last year to ring in 2016 and was delighted to join their celebrations. I met the bride at another hen (which you can read about here) and we were all in Spain together for a wedding last year (catch that post here) so it was lovely of them to invite us to their fabulous afters. Here is all about Marian & Maurice’s big day!
The couple: Marian Dee & Maurice Costello
Ceremony Venue: St Peter and Pauls Church, Ballyduff, Co Kerry
Reception Venue: Listowel Arms Hotel
Date: New Year’s Eve 2015
Dress: Pronovias from Áibhéil of Adare
No of Bridesmaids/Groomsmen: 4 of each
Bridesmaids Dresses: Max & Lola from Pamela Scott
Grooms suit: Ryle Menswear, Tralee
Photographer: Francis Bennett of BennettsPhotos.com
Cake: Provided by Listowel Arms Hotel
Flowers: All Seasons Florist, Kilflynn
Band: Heart & Soul
Hair: Sandra’s Hair Salon, Listowel
Make-up: Eileen’s Beauty Salon, Ballyduff
Anything unusual that you want to promote the supplier: Brian Mulcahy from www.silentdisco.ie
Length of engagement: Almost 2 years
How did you find planning your wedding?
As we had gotten engaged almost 2 years before hand, we had lots of time to plan our big day. I thoroughly enjoyed the dress shopping. I had my mother, sisters, bridesmaids and friends watching endless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and traipsing around the country with me before I did say yes to the dress!
Was your groom/bridesmaid hands on?
My bridesmaids were my cousin Michelle Leen, my sister Margaret O’Sullivan and my two school friends Michelle Gaynor and Maura Reidy. They were absolutely fantastic in the lead up to the wedding and on the actual day. They organised a great Hen Night in Kilkenny, they lent a hand with the invites and with the endless dress shops I decided to visit! Maurice was great. He really had an input when it came to the big decisions like venue, band, DJ etc. It was his idea to go and check out the Listowel Arms. He also dealt with the band and the DJ.
Were there any hiccups on the day of the wedding?
Everything went off without a hitch. I was surprisingly very calm on the morning of the wedding and utterly enjoyed every moment. As everything had been so well planned before hand, it all went without a hiccup. Patrice and her team were fantastic in the Listowel Arms at ensuring everything ran like clockwork. When we met Patrice before the wedding, she put us totally at ease and we were confident that we had chosen the right venue. The team really went above and beyond to make sure our day went smoothly.
Favourite moment of the day?
Ringing in the New Year with all our family and friends around us was definitely a highlight. It was very special to us that so many of our family and friends had travelled to celebrate our big day with us. We also had a surprise for our guests towards the end of the night. (We even kept it from our bridal party!) We organised a Silent Disco. The reaction from all the guests was brilliant and one that we thoroughly enjoyed!
What do you wish you had known when planning your wedding?
I was lucky in that I had great help from family and friends who had planned their own wedding days previously so I had lots of advice. It’s the little tips from family and friends that are helpful in the lead up to the big day.
Do you wish you had done anything differently? E.g. booked something earlier, different supplier, invited more/less, etc?
We would change absolutely nothing! It was a fantastic day from start to finish. There were so many people who helped to make the day such a memorable one. Maurice’s aunt Sr. Claire had visited the Holy Land in the year prior to the wedding and had brought back Eucharistic wine for the wedding ceremony from Cana. It was such a special thought. Our pageboys, my nephews Bobby and Kaelan were so cute along with our flowergirl Chloe Horgan. They really stole the show!
Thank you for sharing your day with me Marian & Maurice! And it’s almost time to say Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary!
Love from my world,
Lisa x