Falling in Love & Stepping into Forever
“Love is like tending to a flock of sheep – it requires dedication, patience, and a watchful eye. And just like a well-kept flock, a marriage thrives when nurtured with care.”
Ruth Potts a Farm Meats Counter Assistant from Portadown met Haulage Driver Jamie Stephens also from Portadown knew each other through friends from a young age, they got talking on nights out and then started to meet up until Jamie finally built up the courage to ask Ruth out. Their love story continued when a surprise proposal took place, Ruth told us more “It was Christmas morning when we were opening our stockings with our little boy on his first Christmas and it was at the bottom of my stocking. It was very special and it was our first Christmas with are wee boy and in our house together! I couldn’t believe it as I always said if we got engaged it wouldn’t be on an anniversary, holiday or an occasion, I was over the moon! It was from Ernest Jones”
After being together as a couple for over 10 years and a beautiful proposal it was time to plan the wedding. A date was set for 28th July 2023, Milltown Parish Church was booked and a reception was arranged at Roe Park Resort with a ‘sheep’ theme. Jamie is a sheep farmer at heart so how else would you theme the wedding. Ruth told us “Jamie is into farming and has his own sheep so had our table plan and tables named after different breeds of sheep. Our flowers were coral to blend with the bridesmaid dresses which we then followed with our invites, table plan, and place cards with the flowers on them. We chose this because Jamie is a sheep farmer and we needed him to put some sort of input in lol!”
Ruth knew there was only place to go when she was looking for her gown, to see her aunt who owns The Bridal Barn in Loughgall, Ruth told us “She had just got new dresses in, when I went up to look she said she had the perfect dress for me and as soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one, short and sweet two dresses is all I tried on. I just knew it was the style I had been looking for”
The bridesmaid dresses also came from The Bridal Barn for sisters Rebekah, Allison and Victoria along with sister in law Laura and flowergirls Annie and Emily (nieces). Telling us about their dresses Ruth said “My auntie made the Bridesmaid and Flowergirl dresses. I chose the colour from a dress she had made on display and then went for a different dress, I had it narrowed down to 3 dresses and a jumpsuit for them and then we all chose it together”.
Suits came from Statement Menswear for Jamie and his groomsmen Wiliiam (best man and friend) Lewis (brother in law) Ryan (brother) and Michael (friend).
Ruth loved planning their wedding and was quite chilled through out it all, the stressful part was doing the table plans and the order of service making sure there were no mistakes and no one was missed out.
They had the most perfect day, the weather was great and everyone had a brilliant day from start to finish, they were worried about their little son looking for them in the church but they needn’t have, he was having a fabulous time as well.
No budget was set for the day, they had both agreed that it was their day and they wanted to make it really special, Ruth said “Jamie didn’t really have much of a say I just booked and let him know what was happening”
There was an ice cream bicycle outside the church to cool their guests down on a warm day, the couple agreed it was a great idea and that it was so lovely to see all of the guests staying and enjoying a wee ice cream. A highlight of their day was spending it amongst their family and friends and having their little boy be part of their special day. Ruth and Jamie both said they wouldn’t do anything differently, it was exactly as they wanted.
They are currently planning to take a honeymoon later in the year when it is a bit cooler so they can take their wee boy with them. Ruth and Jamie gave this advice for couple planning their own days “Don’t stress as it all works out and only you will know if anything doesn’t go to plan. Enjoy every moment of your day because it’s over before you know it”
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO:
Reception location:Roe Park Resorty
Wedding Dress from: The Bridal Barn NI
Bridesmaids dresses from: The Bridal Barn NI
Groomswear from: Statement Menswear
Make-up by: Michelle Diffin Makeup + Brows
Rings from: Ernest Jones
Cake by: Christine Wedding Cakes
Stationery by: Epiphany Designs NI
Photography by: Williams Studio
Videography by: Barry Porter Videography
Entertainment by: Ritchie Remo
