True Love Tuesday Louise and Paul... - Getting Married in Northern Ireland Magazine

Louise and Paul Canavan were married in Spring 2018, but their romance started almost 18 years ago, when they were first introduced by mutual friends.

Louise reflects, “We met in the summer of 2000 but our relationship didn’t bloom till autumn 2010. We were together over seven years before we got married, and Paul’s proposal was a real shock. It was also very romantic.
“Paul had planned a trip to Rome for my 30th birthday and it was such a big shock and totally unexpected when he got down on one knee outside the Vatican. “Paul had picked the ring himself from D&K The Jewellers and it is gorgeous. It has a gold band with a centre stone and six smaller stones around it. We started planning for our big day and we were married 2 years and six months after the proposal on 2nd April, 2018.”

Louise picked a classic theme for her wedding day, tying in the fresh Spring colours into her pastel bouquet and pale green bridesmaid dresses. She also decided to make some of the elements of their day.“I made my own centrepieces and flowery invitations and tied in some vintage accents. But I also hired some other décor from Wooden Treats in Omagh, including the cards barrel, the cake stand and the personalised log for the top table. “I chose this theme cbeause I love nature, the colours of spring and the style of vintage. I also tried to incorporate lace into both my dress and the bridesmaids. “The colours also inspired my vintage flower designs, which were designed by Michelle Andrews at Maisie Chic.”With a clear vision and theme in place Louise then started dress shopping which she initially found quite stressful. She had also tried quite a few different options and styles before she went to Perfect Day where she found her stunning gown.“The staff at Perfect Day where great. So good that I also got my bridesmaid dresses from Perfect Day and choosing them were far less stressful.”The groom choose a classic grey suit from Debonair in Portadown to tie in with the colour scheme. The couple then looked at venues, choosing the beautiful Four Seasons in Monaghan as their wedding reception venue, and generally Louise really enjoyed the build up to her day.

“The best part off it was just all the planning; the dress shopping, hair trials, going around different hotel; meeting new people, and just enjoying the whole build up.
“The stressful part was trying to make sure everyone was happy and trying not to forget anything! The last few weeks were also really busy, and like a lot of couples,we found the table plan was very stressful.”
With everything organised Louise walked up the aisle at St Patrick’s Church, Dungannon towards her new husband, as 123 of their closest family and friends watched them exchange vows. “The day was perfect with no set backs, apart from the weather, but living in Northern Ireland that can’t be helped! “The best part of the whole day, for both Paul and I, was getting to celebrate our love with all of our loved ones; our family and friends. “We are both big family people and having all our loved ones there made the day very special. Enjoying it all with our kids as well, that made the day so memorable.”Looking back Lousie has little regrets either.“We tried to stick to a budget but at the end of the day I didn’t want to have any regrets so we did go a little over. “The only advice I would give other brides and grooms is to not stress about the small stuff! I stressed about the small stuff and to be honest I didn’t even notice it myself on the day.”

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