True Love Tuesday Rebecca and Stephen... - Getting Married in Northern Ireland Magazine

A Floral Celebration

Field engineer Stephen opted for an oceanside proposal when he popped the question to childhood sweetheart Rebecca. During a romantic stay in Ballyliffin Lodge in Donegal Stephen invited Rebecca for a stroll on the beach. He let the writing in the sand do the talking as he got down on one knee in front of teaching assistant Rebecca.

Rebecca explained, “I had found a razor shell on the sand so I picked it up and wrote in the sand “Stephen & Rebecca” with a heart around it. He then said, “right my turn to write, turn around”. When Rebecca turned round Stephen had written ‘Will you marry me?’ underneath.

The groom had chosen the round cut diamond ring himself knowing how much his bride loves sparkles.

The happy couple met as teenagers through Stephen’s sister Alison who passed on her friend Rebecca’s number. After some texting and phone calls the two quickly became an item.

The elegant flower themed wedding took place in on the 31st of May with Millbrook Lodge in Ballynahinch hosting both the ceremony and reception for 80 guests.

Rebecca looked elegant in a dress from Forever Bridal on the Lisburn Road in Belfast. It was actually a different dress that had caught Rebecca’s eye on Forever Bridal’s Facebook page and led her to the boutique accompanied by her mum.

The dress didn’t feel quite right but mum spotted another dress just as they were leaving and convinced Rebecca to try it on.

That dress was the one! “It was all very quick as I hadn’t expected to choose my dress that day, I was just going to try one on. It all went so fast but it was good and I felt relieved to have my dress”.

The bridesmaids, Rebecca’s sister Sophia and her two best friends Loren and Amanda looked beautiful in burgundy dresses which the bride purchased online.

Rebecca added her own unique touches by embellishing the dresses with diamante encrusted belts from Crystal and Pearl Bridal and changing the straps on the dresses to tulle.

The groom’s party was made up of Stephen’s best friend, Dean who was best man and Rebecca’s brother Ryan who was a groomsman. The men wore stylish suits from Red in Belfast City Centre as did the bride and groom’s fathers Jack and Stephen.

Heavy rain scuppered the original plans for an outdoor ceremony but the florist was on hand to bring the wow factor to the indoors.

A stunning floral hoop arch was the main feature at the ceremony with floral pillars and beautiful greenery completing the look. Rebecca organised to have Stephen’s grandfather’s wedding ring rhodium plated and resized as an emotional surprise on the day.

In a humorous nod to Stephen’s shorter stature the minister produced an old style yellow pages for him to stand on to kiss his bride.

After the ceremony family and friends were treated to a drinks reception featuring a donut wall and gin station.

The guests enjoyed casino games including poker and roulette whilst listening to a performance by X Factor finalist Eoghan Quigg.

The floral theme continued into the wedding dinner with cascading centerpieces, a stunning top table garland and name places fashioned from sprigs of rosemary and eucalyptus tied with twine.

After dinner the newlyweds danced their first dance to the Etta James classic ‘At Last’

Rebecca’s favourite thing about the day was seeing it all come together after all the planning and organising. “On the day it all just looked amazing!”

A special part of the day for Rebecca and Stephen was having their son Ollie there to share the experience with them, ‘It will be a lasting memory for us all as a family forever.’

After a wonderful honeymoon in Dubai the couple have settled into married life with ease having already been together as a family for so long. Rebecca said ‘It’s nice now knowing that it is actually official and we all have the same name.’

For those couples out there currently planning their own big day, Rebecca and Stephen advise that they don’t take it all too seriously. ‘It’s about both of you as a couple, there shouldn’t be stress about pleasing everyone else. It’s about what you love and having the people you love celebrating with you, you don’t need to spend thousands to do that! ’

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