Tears of Joy
Hannah and Blake’s wedding was the perfect excuse to get friends and family together after a tough year and half of restrictions.
Don’t ask accountant Blake about the first time he met his bride; he might not remember it! Teacher Hannah tells us the funny story about this couple’s first encounters! “We met at a birthday party, but Blake was under the influence of alcohol so his first recollection of us meeting was just over a month later in Kelly’s Nightclub in Portrush. Following that we had a few coffee dates and then Blake organised our first proper date, dinner and a Belfast Giants game and the rest is history!”
A year after getting together the couple got the opportunity to move to Southampton for work. A year later they bought their first home together. A proposal followed soon after! With just a hint of sarcasm, Hannah describes Blake in being ‘ever so romantic’ in his approach to popping the question, ““Blake decided to pop the question on a Monday evening when I was just out of the shower after a LONG day at work! I didn’t believe him at first and asked to see the ring to see he was being serious! My ring is stunning, one diamond with smaller diamonds around the band from Beaverbrooks. There were lots of tears from me!”
The delighted bride to be could not wait to share the news with her family and closest friends and spent the next few hours facetiming them all. It came as no surprise to the bride’s parents as gentleman Blake had already sought out permission from the bride’s father in a previous phone call. “Blake had a YES response from my dad and lots of screaming from my mum!” said Hannah.
Hannah’s search for the perfect dress was an easy one. Just after the couple’s engagement Hannah’s mum arranged a visit to Southampton and suggested that Hannah should book an appointment at a local bridal shop. After trying on just 4 dresses, Hannah found the perfect gown! “I hadn’t even asked my bridesmaids at this stage!” she said.
With her dress sorted, Hannah moved on to the task of assembling her bridesmaids. The maid of honour role was filled by Amy, Hannah’s best friend of sixteen years. Blake is a triplet, so his sister Megan and his brother’s girlfriend Lauren completed the bridesmaid line-up. Hannah chose full length, v neck dresses with shoulder embellishments from Reflections in Lisburn. Hannah had three flower girls, Mia, her Goddaughter, and Lola and Clemmie, the children of close family friends. The bride purchased the girls’ dresses from Wed2B in Belfast and had them altered by Miriam from Strawberry Lane.
SD Kells in Belfast ensured the Blake and his groom’s party were suitably attired for the big day. Best man Chris was joined by groomsman Ryan, Blake’s brother. Hannah’s brother Ryan and Blake’s childhood friend Matthew filled the role of ushers.
The couple had originally booked a venue in the Republic of Ireland but with uncertainty over ever changing Covid restrictions they decided to change venue just 3 months before the wedding, “We started viewing a number of venues and fell in love with Larchfield. It was then an agonizing few days to see if all our vendors were free. Thank goodness they were. As soon as we made that decision we didn’t look back and the team at Larchfield were amazing at getting everything back on track!” said Hannah.
Hannah and Blake became husband and wife at St Matthew’s Church in Broomhedge in front of 130 guests. As everyone was unable to fit into the church safely the wedding was live streamed to guests in the church hall.
The exchanging of rings provided a bittersweet moment in the celebrations as Hannah tells us, “Blake’s dad passed away when he and his siblings were very young, so it was really important that he was part of our day. When Blake’s mum asked if he would like his dad’s wedding ring, we thought this was the most fitting tribute!”
After the ceremony guests enjoyed Graham’s Ice Cream in the courtyard at Larchfield. The smallest guests were well catered for by The Teepee Tribe with one of the flower girls even having a little nap inside one of the teepees.
Hannah and Blake danced together for the first time as husband and wife to Please Keep Loving Me by James TW performed by their band, Peach.
The whole day ran smoothly with the bride’s only complaint being that it went in too quickly! “You put so much timing and organizing into it and it’s over in a flash. I didn’t believe previous brides and grooms when they told me that, but it felt like one minute you were having your morning getting ready with the girls and the next the DJ was playing the final tune!” she told us.
Looking back over the whole experience Hannah loved the small events in the lead up to the main event, “From our hen and stag parties to afternoon teas, dinner parties and spa days it was so nice to use the wedding as an excuse for any social gathering!” The bride commented that retrospectively she would not have stressed so much about small details. She would advise other couples looking forward to their own big day to enjoy every minute of it with your partner and family but also remember that despite everyone having thoughts and opinions about the day it is really all about the bride and groom.
The newlyweds are currently looking forward to a honeymoon in South Africa next year after spending some time together post-wedding in Cork, Kinsale and Dublin. They are also enjoying looking back at all the messages and photos guests have sent them since their wedding day.
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO NAME AND TOWN
Reception location: Larchfield Estate
Wedding Dress from: Bridal Mill Botley
Bridesmaids dresses from: Reflections Bridal Studio Lisburn
Groomswear from: SD Kells
Make-up by: Maid by Sinead
Flowers by: Flowers by Wendy
Teepees: The Teepee Tribe
Cake by: Amore Baking
Transport from: Angel Wedding Cars, Bangor
Photography by: Jayne Harkness Photography, Ballymena
Videography by: Bobby at Motion Media, Cookstown
Entertainment by:
Piper – James Frazer (plays in Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band)
Soloist – James Quinn
Band – PEACH
DJ – Stephen McKay
