Tag: Ballymascanlon House Hotel

Mary & Kieran's Greenore Wedding

Mary & Kieran have probably waited the longest so I guess I’d better post them first, here’s a snippet of their day.

Mary’s family are good under pressure, they have to be they’re Irish Coast Guards, so something like a wedding was truly something to be enjoyed and stress free. A last minute haircut in the kitchen, some final ironing, there was even time to dress the dog, these people are organised! Following their ceremony in the Star of the Sea church we headed to the very picturesque Eustace Street for some quick photos with their bridal party before making our way to the Ballymascanlon House Hotel.  As Van Morrison would say when it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this, when theres no-one complaining there’ll be days like this and so it was.. a fantastic day with a fantastic couple, here’s to more days like this.
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Sandra & David, Ballapousta Wedding

Here’s the first post of the New Year, hoping it finds you all well rested, full of chocolate and itching for Monday and routine again. At the risk of sounding like something out of a christmas cracker….What do you get when you cross a school teacher with an accountant? A super organised couple of course, I present to you Sandra & David, a perfect example of planning ahead and just getting on with enjoying your day when it arrives. The doubters among you might have questioned their booking an ice-cream van but with temperatures soaring it was the perfect cool me down for boys and girls of all ages. I don’t think I’ve met a groom as giddy as David before, it was hard to pin him down for photos between chatting and stopping traffic but once Sandra arrived it was like a drop of Bach’s rescue remedy had secretly been administered and a calmness descended, all was good with the world again. Even the dodgy football injured knuckle couldn’t interfere with exchanging rings, it just meant it was a better, if albeit tight, fit!

Here’s a peek at their day…S&Dblog01 S&Dblog02 S&Dblog03 S&Dblog04 S&Dblog05 S&Dblog06 S&Dblog07 S&Dblog08 S&Dblog09 S&Dblog10 S&Dblog11 S&Dblog12 S&Dblog13 S&Dblog14 S&Dblog15 S&Dblog16S&Dblog18 S&Dblog19 S&Dblog20 S&Dblog21 S&Dblog22 S&Dblog23 S&Dblog24 S&Dblog25 S&Dblog26

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Bronagh & David's Ballymascanlon House Hotel Wedding

It was only when I heard David’s cheery voice on the phone the other day that I realised I had completely forgotten to blog his and Bronagh’s wedding. I can only put it down to the fact that it was one of my favourites and maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I’d been saving it for a rainy day like today.

I began to panic the morning of their wedding when I rang the doorbell and Bronagh’s Dad hung out the window complete with a face covered in shaving foam and shouted there’s no-one here pet, they’re all still in town, sure come in and have a wee cup of tea! In everyone else’s house this usually means disaster -I always plan to be with my brides in plenty of time for prep photos but when things are running this late you can be pretty much guaranteed about three cars will pull into the driveway together, doors are flung open as girls vault over everyone and everything on the way to the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom and chaos ensues as everyone is trying to eat their breakfast/tweak makeup/get into dresses at the same time. But then I met the Sand’s family. Those girls know how to shake a leg when they’re under pressure and somehow still manage to do it with a smile, incredible. I have to come clean and admit I forget the name of the multi-talented lady who it seems can turn her hand to pretty much anything, (you know who I’m talking about Bronagh.) Apart from being a family friend she was a florist, shoe finder, buttonhole fixer, dress adjuster, tea maker and generally calming influence, she’d wipe the board with all the apprentice candidates and was a great help in the morning.

Tandragee is a very pretty little church near Bronagh’s home and following their ceremony we headed to the Ballymascanlon House Hotel. Having played golf there the day before David had watched another couple celebrate their day in the glorious sunshine and had his fingers crossed for the same weather,miraculously they beat the odds and got two nice days in a row, long hot summer here we come.

I challenge you to find a photo where they aren’t looking at each other with either a smile or a look of absolute joy on their faces, it’s contagious, I’m here smiling as I post this. Their day was fun filled from start to finish and they were so in sync right down to the gifts they exchanged- maybe they cheated and specified it had to be jewellery- me, I’ll always opt for the romantic daydream- by the way David I hope you’re still texting her everyday! B&Dblog01B&Dblog02B&Dblog03B&Dblog04B&Dblog05B&Dblog06B&Dblog07B&Dblog08B&Dblog09B&Dblog10B&Dblog11B&Dblog12B&Dblog13B&Dblog14B&Dblog15B&Dblog16B&Dblog17B&Dblog18B&Dblog19B&Dblog20B&Dblog21B&Dblog22B&Dblog23B&Dblog24B&Dblog25B&Dblog26B&Dblog27B&Dblog28B&Dblog29B&Dblog30B&Dblog31B&Dblog32B&Dblog33B&Dblog34B&Dblog35B&Dblog36B&Dblog37B&Dblog38B&Dblog39B&Dblog40B&Dblog41B&Dblog42B&Dblog43

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Kim & James' Ballymascanlon House Wedding

Read any marketing advice and probably the first thing they’ll tell you to do is identify your ideal customer. Rather than string a load of adjectives together I think it would be easier for me to just point in the direction of Kim and James and say, there, theres my target market, it’s as much a feeling or connection as a group of words. I knew from our initial meeting that they were a genuinely nice couple who I would get along with so it was no surprise that on the day everything clicked into place.

As soon as I walked into Kim’s parents house I could tell how the banter and flow with the girls from Exhale was going that this was a very relaxed house. This was the first (and only) daughters wedding in the family but you’d be forgiven for thinking they were old hands at it given the giggles and easy mood in the kitchen. Being a “shoe girl”, it came as no shock to find a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choo’s with matching purse in the bedroom, which despite the wobble later in the day (which no-one noticed so I wont elaborate!) Kim seemed to float in all day.

Fr Rush was a man after James’ heart, a self confessed techy guy who loves his gadgets and this is the first wedding I’ve done where the entire ceremony was conducted using an iPad. After the mass the sun shone and unless there is a major turnaround from Met Eireann it looks like they possibly got the best day of the summer, here’s some highlights from their wonderful day, thanks so much to both Kim and James for inviting me to be part of it!

Dress: Ophelia Bridal

Suits: Tony McDonnell menswear

Video: Gerry Duffy

Flowers: The Flower Studio

Hair: Jagged Edge

Make Up: Exhale

Cake: Yvonne McConnon

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