True Love Tuesday Roisin and Enda Gavin... - Getting Married in Northern Ireland Magazine

Christmas Tales Of Love & Diamonds

I Found You Without Looking And Love You Without Trying

Roisin O’Dea from Portlaoise met Enda Gavin from Clonoe, Co Tyrone, in Australia. They had been living in Melbourne when they met on a night out in 2014. They went out on a date the following week and have been together ever since. After moving home in 2019 to be closer to family, they settled in Tyrone. Christmas in 2019 was a big family celebration in Portlaoise with all of Roisin’s family there. They were all gathered together opening presents in the sitting room when Roisin was handed one of her gifts, she told us “I opened a long box I thought was gloves. Instead inside I found a smaller box with the ring inside. It was a complete surprise, and the whole thing was caught on camera by my Mum, who had no idea it was about to happen. You can hear her at the start of the video jokingly saying “oh maybe it’s a diamond”. I was crying with the shock of it all and forgot to answer him. He had to ask again to prompt me. Obviously, it was a yes and the rest is history. The ring was beautiful and from H.Samuel. I don’t think I would have picked better myself. It turns out Enda has great taste and knows me better than I know myself”

It was soon time to start looking for the perfect gown, Roisin brought her mum and sister into a bridal shop in Belfast, she picked her gown in the first shop they went into, Roisin told us “We went to Belfast, and got a dress in the first shop we went to! I loved it when I tried it on but what sold it to me was the fact my son was with me, he was just at a creeping with the furniture stage, I chased him in the shop and scooped him up into my arms, pretending to dance. I knew he was going to be such a big part of our day and I wanted to be able to dance and play with him, I needed my dress to work with that” explaining that the experience was “so much fun trying on different styles. I thought I knew for sure what style of dress I wanted and that I definitely did not want a veil. I came home with a completely different style of dress, a beautiful belt and hair accessories, and the most stunning long cathedral veil that swept out past the trail of my dress with intricate embroidery detail”

Roisin had her sister Katie has bridesmaid and her niece as flower girl, Roisin managed to get their dresses online, which made it easier for them as they live in Portlaoise. Deciding on a beautiful dusty blue colour to compliment Katie’s blonde hair and also because Jack; the couple’s young son has big beautiful blue eyes, it would also co-ordinate with the navy blue suits that Enda, best friend Aidan and Roisin’s brother Chris were wearing.

The best part of planning as Roisin explained to us was “I love to organize events, so I found the planning for the big day to be really enjoyable and not stressful. Wedding fairs were great to find local contacts of vendors and for ideas. So many small details tied the whole day together and were special to us. They were details that guests probably didn’t even notice and these were the little things I loved planning. That and all the DIY prep!”

The most stressful part was the last few days before the wedding with the final checks with vendors and the venue. The couple told us “After that point, you just have to trust that they will put the vision you have together on the day. You won’t know how it will really all turn out until you show up on the day that can be stressful… also rounding people up for the photos can be tricky”

A date was set for 26th May 2023 with a service being held in St Patricks Church in Clonoe and then a fabulous reception in Glenavon Hotel in Cookstown. They had a rustic theme with a nod to their travelling adventures. Roisin said they incorporated this theme by “As you entered the drinks reception, we had a ‘wedding story’ table in which we had pictures in a Ferris wheel of our important times together over the 9 years. This was accompanied by an antique suitcase and rose gold globe. The entrance sign to the meal was a map of Ireland and Australia joined with a love heart which read ‘Welcome to the start of our next adventure’.
Our centre pieces were logs with oversized vases and candles in the middle, this tied in with the rustic jars with candles that lit up the isle in the church. Each place setting had an antique-looking suitcase with Mr & Mrs chocolates wooden love signs and petals inside. We loved our time travelling and if it wasn’t for it we would never have met, so it’s important to us. We are glad to be home and back with family, grateful for our travels, and looking forward to our next adventure”.

The day itself went amazingly well if not a tad too quick, Roisin was able to source materials and items well in advance which helped to keep the costs down and spread out the spending.
Part of their day that they will always remember is “Jack thought he was helping his cousin Emma (flower girl) by picking up the petals she was dropping on the walk up the aisle. Auntie Katie (Bridesmaid), stepped in to help. Jack’s suit trousers got wet so my Mum and Dad drove to Cookstown with them hanging out the car window. Genius move as they were dry by the time they got to the venue.”

An absolute highlight for them was “We loved getting down to see Endas Gran (She is 94 years young and couldn’t be there on the day) straight after the ceremony, this was a really special moment for us and her. Also having our son Jack run up the aisle to Enda and light the wedding candles with us was lovely too. He was carrying a sign saying ‘Hey Daddy! Time to give Mummy our last name’ It was adorable.”

The only thing they would do differently would be to go to their drinks reception, they didb’t manage that. Their first dances will be cherished for years to come, the Father Daughter dance was to ‘Heartland – I loved her first’ and the couple’s first dance was to ‘Lewis Capaldi – Pointless”

Before heading off to Galway for a much needed rest and to enjoy the fantastic weather they gave this advice to other couple’s planning their own day “You definitely want video and photos to arrive early. And ask them to stage the dresses and jewellery, however, works best for their shots. Also, if you are having tray bakes or treats at your drinks reception or additional items with your wedding cake, ask the venue to keep some aside for the bride and groom, which you can take with you the next day. The week before your wedding send an email to the people coming to your house on the day so they can coordinate and have each other’s contacts. That way you don’t have to be the middle man taking messages in the lead-up to the wedding. For example, I emailed the florist, hair, makeup, video, photography, and car company. These people all coordinate their time around each other and work together so if they have not already worked together in the past it’s good to introduce them in the lead-up. Have a list of jobs for the family to do left out the morning of the wedding. Anything you can outsource you should. It’s a long morning for family (or their partners especially) to be hanging around and they all want to help. This way jobs are done, and they are kept busy helping, nothing is forgotten (that’s a lie, there’s always something forgotten or missed!) and you’re free to look after yourself getting ready”. Great advice from the newly married couple who say they are finding married life “Great! it takes time to get used to hearing husband and wife and still brings a smile to your face in the first few months hearing it. I still haven’t figured out how to sign my new name yet it’s hard to not automatically sign O’Dea”