Órla tell us about how you met Marty, and the big proposal…

“We met back in 2011 when I was in school finishing off my A-levels and Marty was in his second year at university. We first got together in April, but it had taken to the October of the same year to become an official couple. Coincidentally Marty was studying in Liverpool and I started Liverpool to study that September unaware when I accepted the course that Marty was already in Liverpool at the time and the rest, as they say, is history.

In 2017 we went on a weekend break to Poland for my birthday when Marty proposed. I was completely unaware that he planning to propose, it was the biggest surprise. I always knew that we would get married, however I did not think it was going to happen so quickly. I had always thought that I would choose my own engagement ring, I love my engagement ring and knowing that Marty put the thought and effort into choosing the ring makes me love it even more!

For the proposal Marty had made me a traditional scrap book, that had detailed everything in our relationship; there where old flight tickets, event tickets, train tickets, receipts for hot chocolate along with pictures of us in all the places that we had visited together. At the end of the scrap book it said until our next adventure… and I turned round and there he was on one knee wanting to propose.”

What can you tell us about your wedding dress shopping experience?

“I always had it in my head that I would love something very princess-like with lots of sparkle and heavily embellished. My personal style is not traditional, simple _ elegant, so I wanted something to reflect who I was. I knew exactly what I wanted and when I saw my dress on the railings it was exactly what I wanted - the perfect dress! In fact, I knew it was the one before I even tried it on. As luck would have it the Ronald Joyce designer Veni Infantino was actually in the store the day that I went dress shopping! She was there to help brides with dress recommendations on what would suit them, and she had also chosen this dress for me not realising that I had already fell in love with it! This made the whole experience more special and meaningful – it was meant to be!

When I walked into the bridal store, I saw the fabulous cape on the mannequin, and I knew I wanted the cape regardless of the style of dress. The cape was just something so different, something that gave the princess feel and fitted in perfectly for our castle venue and winter wedding them. So, once I had seen the dress, I knew I wanted both the fabulous cape and dress.

I fell in love with my dress from the start, it was my dress! It’s true what people say about putting on a dress and just knowing that it is the one for you.”

Did you accessorise your wedding day look?

“As my dress was extremely detailed and heavily embellished and having the added feature of the cape, I needed to have my accessories as simple as possible. I had a custom made head piece from Lori Muldoon, a beautifully designed elegant piece whereby she had taken the style of beading in the dress and for the headpiece made the extension of the beading across my hair, she designed the earrings to match. I also worse my mummy’s bracelet as something borrowed.” 

Tell us more about the wedding and planning...

“The planning was exciting, and I knew exactly what we wanted for each stage of the wedding, we had put a great deal of thought into our planning. The bridesmaid’s dresses were hand made using an emerald green velvet material. The boys had checked black tuxes to go with the green.

Our venue of Kilronan Castle was spectacular and couldn’t have asked for more. The wedding was very much a reflection of who we are as individuals, from everything to the music in the chapel to what was served at the buffet. We very much had the mentality that it was our wedding day and we were going to have the wedding we wanted. That is also the advice that I would give to any future brides – it is your day after all.

The best bit of the day was sitting at the top table looking down on the 200 guests with the surreal feeling that every single person is here for us. It was great to have two families come together to celebrate us spending the rest of our lives together as husband and wife.

As for tips for brides-to-be I would say I loved reading bridal magazines, especially the sections on the ‘real brides’ reflecting on their experiences, advice and suppliers that they would recommend.

I would like to highly recommend Love Blossoms for their excellent work on the wedding flowers. Love Blossoms were excellent florists and their attention to detail was exceptional.” 

Photography by Darryn J Bradley.