Solicitor Andrew Dixon relied on man’s best friend to pop the question to Lucy Parkinson, writing his proposal on a tag on Waffle the dog’s collar! What he hadn’t banked on was that Lucy, a 27-year-old QA manager, would fail to see the point of this tail until well into a four mile walk!
Lucy from Kesh met Andrew from Tamlaght when they both worked part-time in the Manor House Country Hotel in Enniskillen. “Andrew worked in the bar and I worked in the gym. He made frequent trips to the gym and the rest was history!” said Lucy.
The couple were living in England when Andrew enlisted Waffle’s help with the marriage proposal. “Andrew took Waffle and I to Wye, in Kent. He had attached a dog tag onto Waffle’s collar that said ‘Will you Marry Me?’” Lucy explained. But she failed to notice the tag, despite Waffle’s best efforts. “Andrew had to redirect me back to the view point and point out the dog tag on her collar. Once I noticed I looked up and Andrew was on one knee, it was a complete surprise!”
Andrew had selected the ring, a square diamond sitting on a diamond encrusted wedding band, on his own. “I loved it immediately.” said Lucy.
The couple married on May 19 2018, the day of another (Royal) wedding. “We set our date two months after our engagement in May 2016, long before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got engaged,” said Lucy. “We couldn’t believe it when their Royal Wedding date was announced!”
Lucy had visited a number of wedding shops with her mum, bridesmaids and mother-in-law but she found her dress on an impromptu trip to Divinity Bridal, Lisburn.
The bridesmaids’ dresses were bought in Cari’s Closet in Malahide, Dublin, and looked stunning on the bride’s sisters Abigail and Molly Parkinson and her friend Joanne O’Malley.
Groomsmen Neill and Ross Dixon, Andrew’s brothers, and his friend Allan Greenaway wore outfits from Graham’s Menswear in Enniskillen.
The couple thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations in the lead up to the wedding. “All our family, the stags and the hens really created a buzz and maintained the excitement right up until the big day,” Lucy said. Unfortunately her sister lost her passport on the night of the hen party which was somewhat stressful.
The couple were married at Andrew’s family church, Derryvullen South Parish Church, Tamlaght, and hosted a reception for 150 guests at Harvey’s Point Hotel, Donegal
They started planning the day around the themes of rose gold. The bridesmaid’s jewellery and Lucy’s own accessories were in rose gold and their shoes were in rose gold, but Lucy felt rose gold didn’t look right on the invitations, so went for black and white stripes to match the groomsmen’s suits. “I tried to pull both themes together for the cake but the rose gold turned out more gold, but I loved it anyway! I didn’t really get too hung up on a theme to be honest, it all came together in the end!”
Their day went to plan, and Lucy, known for always being late, managed to surprise everyone and be early to the church! “The staff at Harvey’s Point really took all the stress out of the day,” Lucy said. “Gavin was brilliant, he was always there if we needed anything or had any questions, nothing was too much for him and he was great craic!”
It was a beautiful day, and guests were delighted to find Lucy’s mum had organised an ice cream van as a surprise. “As we came out of the church as Mr and Mrs, the sun was shining and there was ice cream van playing music, it was magical and perfect,” Lucy said, adding that this moment had been a highlight of her day.
The couple had booked private lessons for their first dance, which was to Die a Happy Man by Thomas Rhett, as Andrew was very nervous about it. “We really tried, our guests could even see us counting steps, it ended up being hilarious, thankfully our bridal party joined us in the middle of the song and rescued us!” Lucy laughed. “The lessons leading up to the day were fun and it was a great way to let our hair down and relax.”
There was confetti at the church and sparklers during the evening which helped get guests involved in the fun and also made for great photos.
The couple were very grateful to their DJ, DJ Bob, who took photos after the photographer left until the very end of the night. “He captured some great moments during the evening!” Lucy said.
There are plenty of laughs to look back on, including the lost passport, though Lucy admits it wasn’t so funny at the time. They also have the image of the bridal party ‘squeezed in like sardines’ on the journey from the church to the reception, as one of the cars that turned up was not the size that that been ordered. “It was really funny as they were driving off. They all still managed to get a class of champagne or two, on the journey though!” Lucy said.
Lucy and Andrew said the photographer had been key to their wedding day. “Ronan guided us through the day, he noticed when I started to get worried and completely chilled me out. He even noticed when Andrew had a dry mouth when we were greeting guests coming of the church and went and got him a bottle of water. He captured every moment and memory and allowed us to be in the moment and enjoy the day,” Lucy said.
Another bit of advice to anyone planning their wedding: “Enjoy every minute, it is a cliché but the day flies by!”
Lucy and Andrew went on a mini moon to Majorca, and are hoping to take a trip to the Maldives one day.
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO
Reception location: Harvey’s Point
Wedding Dress from: Divinity Bridal
Groomswear from: Graham’s Menswear
Make-up by: Jayne Daley Make-Up
Hair by: Becky McClaughrey Hairdressing
Accessories by: S.D Creations
Rings from: Beaver Brooks
Stationery by: KitaKards
Transport from: Glendale Cars
Photography by: Ronan McGrade Photography
Videography by: Coolisk Digital Video
Entertainment: DJ Bob
