True Love Tuesday Ciara and Ciaran O’Flaherty... - Getting Married in Northern Ireland Magazine

AN AFTER DINNER PROPOSAL AT THE SLIEVE DONARD RESORT AND A WEDDING
DAY CELEBRATION WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

On Ciara’s Birthday, Ciaran took Ciara to Slieve Donard Resort and Spa where they had spa treatments and dinner. As dinner was finished, Ciaran produced a beautiful box and asked Ciara to marry him – to which the answer was of course a big yes! The ring is a 18-carat gold band with three emerald cut diamonds with a larger diamond in the middle, from Thomas Goldsmith in Pump Street, L’Derry.

Ciara found her dress at Jean Millar Bridal Salon, Belfast, with her mum in September 2020. The dress she chose was the first one she tried on. They both fell in love with the dress and knew it was ‘the one’ right away. Ciara didn’t want to take it off and
said, ‘We enjoyed every minute of the shopping experience’. They found the flower girl dresses at Monsoon Children’s and the groomsmen outfits from Street Life, Newtownards.

The couples favourite part of planning was visiting the venues and enjoying the process as much as they could – along with the spreadsheets they created to keep them right and on budget.
The couple were together for two and a half years when they got married on 26th November 2021 at Good Shepherd Church, Ormeau Road, Belfast. Their wedding reception was at the Titanic Hotel, Belfast, and they had 120 guests.

Their theme was Disney meets the elegance and opulence of the first class on the Titanic. The bride had three pairs of shoes to tie in with their theme: first was a pair of Irregular Choice heels featuring Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The second was a flat pair of Beauty and the Beast Irregular Choice to dance the night away. The men all wore Disney cufflinks. The dress, suits and flowers were chosen to look elegant and worthy of a first-class dining restaurant. The couple both love Disney and the history of the Titanic so it was a perfect theme to choose.
The big day went well for the couple, although sadly the brides sister and father could not attend the wedding. This meant the father of the bride delivered his speech over zoom, which was a surprise for everyone. The father-daughter dance then became the mother-daughter dance, which was so special.

Although the bride did get her father- daughter dance on the second wedding day, which was more relaxed in the morning and they had photos taken before they all went to the Titanic Hotel for more photographs, food and dancing.

The couple said, ‘We loved every minute and will cherish the memories of both days forever.’
Their advice for other couples planning their wedding is, ‘Enjoy every moment and from the outset know that things may not go according to plan and that despite that you will still have a special day. It is your day to be about the two of you and nothing else should matter!’