Nadine and Neil, both from Armagh, grew up across the street from one another but it was only when Neil returned from living in Australia that they began to see more than a friendship evolve. When he came home, the pair spent almost every day together and just a few years later, they were engaged. Nadine tells us, “We went to Poland over Christmas 2016 for 5 days. On the last day which was New Years Eve Neil took Nadine to ‘lovers bridge’ where he had a lock engraved with our names. After we attached the lock to the bridge Neil proposed. It was so romantic as the sun was setting and there were loads of swans swimming in the canal below us.” Neil had picked a ring from H Samuel and it was the perfect end to the year.
The couple began their wedding planning and found that they worked well together as a team with Neil providing his ideas and input alongside Nadine’s. The ceremony was held in St Mark’s Church and they chose to have their reception for 119 people in the Four Seasons in Monaghan. It was here that their fairytale theme came to life through the decor and details provided by Lily Annabella. “We had churns with ‘Our love Story’ printed onto them at the church. Our cake was a on moss ring stand with a large fairy tale book as a backdrop behind it. The cake was decorated to look like a tree with our initials engraved into it. Our Supplier Lily Annabella did a great job at decorating the room to look how we wanted.” Nadine, who is a playgroup deputy leader, said, “ I like the love story element and as I work in a playgroup with children I think it suited us.”
Nadine’s stunning dress with it’s beaded and tulle detail, and cathedral length veil was from Creative Ideas in Armagh, “I felt no pressure to buy from their store and Kerri was so helpful and full of knowledge she helped me find my dream dress.” Keeping it local, Neil’s suit was also found in Armagh at Robert Paynters. He chose to wear a navy blue three piece suit with cream tie to compliment his bride’s classic style. The bridesmaids wore purple full length dresses incorporating more beaded detail on their necklines and sleeves.
Nadine admits that they found the run up to the big day itself a little stressful as one of their suppliers let them down. Also, “just trying to please everyone which is hard. People say the table plan is the hardest part but we had no problem with that as we had ours done in an hour with no disagreements.” However, she added, “Waking up on our wedding day was the best feeling knowing all that hard work was going to pay off that day.” For both the bride and the groom, their highlight of the day was meeting each other at the top of the aisle. “Walking up to the aisle to Neil was the best feeling in the world. I wasn’t even nervous, just excited to see him and be his wife.”
From then on, everything went smoothly and stress-free. They even had their cute dog, Elsa come along for some photographs after the church ceremony. It was only later they realised that a few of their suppliers had had some bad luck. “Our Harpist had a broken leg, our DJs car broke down on the way to the venue and the Photobooth supplier had a few people ring in sick. None of this was obvious on the day so we are thankful for all of them coming and not letting us down.”
And if they had to do it all again, would they change anything? Nadine says “Nothing at all.” Her advice for anyone planning their wedding is “Stick to your budget and don’t overspend what you can’t afford. We have come out of our wedding debt free which is the best feeling.” The happy couple are now just waiting for their honeymoon this Easter when they are due to go on a luxurious Caribbean Cruise.
Now husband and wife, Nadine and Neil are loving married life together. “Now the wedding is over we are looking forward to having date nights together again!”
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO
Reception location: Four Seasons Monaghan
Wedding Dress from: Creative Ideas
Bridesmaids dresses from: Creative Ideas
Groomswear from: Robert Paynter
Make-up by: Nadine McLaughlin
Hair by: Sveta @ Brian Martins
Flowers by: Vintage Violet Floral Boutique
Room Décor by: Lily Annabella
Rings from: H Samuel
Cake by: Sugar Flower Cake Company
Stationery by: Daisy Kraft
Transport from: I Do Wedding Cars
Photography by: Simon O’Neill @ Ciaran O’Neill Photography
Videography by: Simply Weddings
Entertainment by:Harpist – Music for Moments
Band – Hair of the Dawg
