I love you snow much!
You had me at hello ~ Jerry Maguire
Deciding to have a final gap year before returning home to put that law degree to work Hannah travelled on a whim to Kitzbühel in Austria, it makes sense when you suddenly get the urge to become a ski instructor, which thankfully Hannah did and her life changed forever. Not only did she become a fully-fledged ski instructor but she also met her soul mate Lukas, a typical Austrian ski instructor.
Attending ski instructor school in 2013 with 180 other people, their eyes met across the room but too scared to say anything to each other, they waited until the last night when the whole class went out to celebrate in The Londoner bar in town, where with a little dutch courage courtesy of some Tequila they finally started talking to each other. Swapping numbers and then texting back and forth along with seeing each other most days as newly qualified ski instructors they were also now colleagues and got to learn a lot about each other and their adventurous sides, even going tobogganing on their first date. Their love blossomed on the moonlit deserted ski-pistes, enjoying spending their off season hiking and mountain biking over the same peaks in the summer sun it became very clear to both Hannah and Lukas that they had fallen pretty for each other and that Hannah would not be returning to Northern Ireland. Instead setting up home in Tirol where Lukas is from and running a ski school together until off course it was time to come back to an unusually hot Northern Ireland for their stunning wedding.
After six years together Lukas decided to take things a step further, wanting the moment to be extra special but also spontaneous he always carried a little something special on their many adventures until he found the right moment and popped that all important question, giving Hannah not only the surprise of her life but also a gorgeous white gold band with inset diamonds, knowing that a rock would get in the way while on their adventures, Lukas opted for something slightly more understated but equally as beautiful as his bride to be. Following 2 years of lockdowns and 2 cancelled weddings the couple finally got to say “I do” at the incredibly stunning Drenagh Country Estate on 5th June 2022. Being able to enjoy the Moon Garden in glorious sunshine surrounded by 93 people made up of family and friends, with guests travelling from Austria, England and Scotland to celebrate with Hannah and Lukas it made their day just absolutely perfect.
Hannah was joined by her sisters Emily and Bethany as Bridesmaids with Emily wearing a sleeveless forest green dress and Bethany not being keen on dresses found a beautiful matching jumpsuit with one sleeve from Jenny Lindop in Bangor, both of the girls looked stunning. Meanwhile Hannah found her perfect dress in Eden Bridal in Belfast, describing Kimberly from Eden Bridal as a wizard who was so in tune with Hannah’s vibe that she was striving for, she knew intuitively what kind of dress would be “the one”. Lukas and his best friend Thomas Harasser got their suits from Suitors in Belfast.
Hannah and Lukas described planning their day as “just visiting Drenagh and walking around those beautiful grounds and house, it truly is like a fairytale, such a nice place to be. I’d move in!” however the most stressful part was “the Friday before the wedding we had organised a pub crawl for all of our international guests as well as the English, Irish and Scottish guests, it was such a huge group of people, many of whom hadn’t met, some who didn’t know anyone, and then the big group of 35 Austrians coming as a whole friendship unit, so it was all a bit crazy and almost intimidating at first, as I really wanted everyone to mix and mingle, and worried myself so much about it. In the end, there was no need to stress, of course it was all perfect – everyone had great craic and they all got on really well”
The wedding took place in the twinkling lights of the Moon Garden at Drenagh Estate where the guests spent most of the day outside playing games on the lawn in the sunshine. After planning a themed wedding for their first cancelled date they decided not to have a theme as such, the first date was due to take place on the slopes in Kitzbühel while on skis so they brought some of that theme to Drenagh with little handmade skis as table favours with the tables named after ski resorts and even their guestbook was a huge pair of vintage skis which everyone signed in gold pen. Hannah and Lukas agreed that their day went “perfectly, even the weather showed up, the whole weekend long”
The couple remembered a funny incident when the Austrians started playing a drinking game which then enticed everyone to start playing. “The game is called ‘Pflankeball’ which the Irish referred to as ‘Flunkyball’, basically it involves a piece of log which you knock over with a ball, always resulting in everyone downing their drinks. I know it sounds totally daft, but it was hilarious to watch them and by the end of the night everyone was running outside to play this bizarre game”
“Another strange Austrian tradition is to steal the groom at 5am on the morning of his wedding, Lukas refused to disclose his whereabouts so they couldn’t actually find him” said a relieved Hannah. “Austrians also like to play tricks on the Bride and Groom on the night of their wedding – like filling their hotel room with weird things or an animal or two, so one guy tried to steal a sheep to bring it into the house, he did manage to lift it but thankfully it was so heavy he didn’t get very far” laughed Hannah and Lukas reminiscing about their day.
The wedding went without a hitch, the fun loving couple even managed to surprise their guests by fully completing the Dirty Dancing routine, including the lift, they had been secretly practising, which actually nearly caused a divorce before there was even a wedding!
Highlights of the day include “seeing all our different friends mixing together in one place, having one big party, was really amazing. I loved seeing them all having so much fun together, also the Guinness cake” Hannah explained “My dear friend Lucy Robinson (Artist name NiCHA) playing the reception music and dedicating a song to me, was really beautiful”. Hannah told us “the Guinness Cake was unreal and should actually be illegal it was that good, baked by Series 1 Winner of Great Irish Bake Off Stephen Chisholm”.
Lukas said his was “the food! The location for me was really special and unforgettable, I and none of my friends have ever seen anything like this and will probably never again – unless we get invited to some more Irish weddings haha – so they will be talking about it forever”
Hannah and Lukas both agreed that they wouldn’t do anything differently “but maybe hiring a videographer or even a few go pros around catching the funny moments we heard about but missed” Advice they would give to other couples is “enjoy it, don’t worry too much about making everything perfect – it WILL be perfect – you will see that everyone is just going to enjoy the day regardless, they have fun no matter what and they are there to celebrate with you. It will be over SO fast, so just enjoy every second. Do a few dance lessons and pick a fun first dance – surprise your guests with it and do not say a word to anyone! Let it be a wee surprise… it is really fun!”
Enjoying a honeymoon onboard a chartered bareboat yacht for 2 weeks sailing themselves around the Maddalenas and to Bonifacio, starting from Cala dei Sardi in North Sardinia. Hannah said married life is “eh just the same, we have been living together a while now, but Lukas did say he is still getting used to the ring, which feels funny. I still find it weird to refer to him as my husband! I’m forever saying boyfriend and then correcting myself”
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO
Reception location: Drenagh House Estate
Wedding Dress from: Eden Bridal
Bridesmaids dresses from: Jenny Lindop Bridal Wear
Groomswear from: Suitor Bros Clothiers and Custom Tailors
Cake by: Stephen Chisholm @ Orto Pizza Belfast
Stationery by: Zazzle
Transport from: Causeway Coach Company
Photography by: Kelly McAllister Photography
Entertainment by: Pure Blarney
