I remember Ciara & Cormac’s wedding day well! The couple were married on the 6th of July 2017 in St. Mura’s Church, Fahan, before hosting their reception at the quaint Red Door Country House.
A year into their married life together, I caught up with Ciara, who reflects on their amazing day, and has used her wedding planning experience to share some unmissable top tips for all you brides and grooms-to-be. Here’s what she had to say…
Ciara, how did you both meet?
We officially met in Sugar in Derry on New Year’s Eve in 2006. Cormac had paid £10 to get into the Icewharf but left after ten minutes when he heard I was in Sugar. He doesn’t let me forget about that £10!!!
Tell us about married life. How has your first year been?
Married life has been brilliant so far. The first year has flown in. It was made even better when we had our baby girl Fódhla who arrived on the 26th of June. So we got to celebrate our first wedding anniversary as a family of three!
What is your favourite memory of your wedding day?
Our favourite memory is when we drove away from the chapel in the Nova. Cormac drove us up to Grianan of Aileach for our photos and it was lovely just to have time to ourselves to chat before the reception. We were so glad we had that time to ourselves because the day is so busy and once we got to The Red Door the rest of the day went by in a flash!
What 3 words would you use to describe your wedding?
It was a fun, memorable and perfect!
What was the overall vibe for your day?
We had a very relaxed vibe. We just wanted everyone to have a great time. The food was fab, the band were brilliant and everyone really enjoyed themselves, which was exactly what we wanted.
Tell us about the search for your dream dress.
The dress hunt was quick and easy. I saw a Pronovias dress I really liked in a local shop but I was going dress shopping in London a few weeks later so my sister arranged an appointment in a shop that stocked the same designer. I ended up getting that exact dress in London so I had an excuse to have another weekend away to go and pick it up!
And the bridesmaid dresses?
The bridesmaid dresses were from ASOS. My four sisters were my bridesmaids and I wasn’t taking them shopping because I don’t think we’d ever agree on a dress so I just bought them online to save any hassle!
Where did you honeymoon?
We went to Dubai, Singapore and Bali on honeymoon. It was an amazing holiday and we’re hoping to go back to some of our favourite places next year and take baby Fódhla with us!
What 5 tips would you offer anyone currently planning their wedding?
- Relax: The wedding planning process can get very overwhelming at times but everything always works out in the end.
- Have no regrets: We wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding day. If you’re considering doing something or booking something, just go for it! We couldn’t agree if we wanted a videographer and only booked Donal a few weeks before the wedding but it’s the best thing we did. We now have an amazing video to look back on along with our album.
- Don’t try to people please: Do what suits you as a couple and your family and friends will be supportive of whatever is right for you.
- Make time for just the two of you on your wedding day: We had our time together in the car on the way to and from the photos and it was the most memorable part of our day. We hadn’t seen each other since the night before and so much happens on the morning before your wedding so it’s nice just to be able to catch up and have a normal conversation as a couple.
- Don’t get too hung up on the little things: People won’t remember if you have chair covers or not, or what centre pieces you had or if you had wedding favours or not. Yes, they look nice on the day but don’t stress about them. I had ordered table numbers online that didn’t arrive on time and I was really annoyed about them but when the day came I didn’t even give them a second thought and everyone managed to find their table without the fancy wooden numbers that arrived the next day!
What do you love the most about your wedding album?
We love the mixture of photos in the album. There are formal photos and then there are the fun ones from the evening. There are also a selection of photos from Grianan of Aileach that are just amazing to look at. We also love that we have something that will last forever and that we can share the memories of our day with our baby girl when she is older!
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