Morning Missies! One of the best thing about writing for Mrs2Be is reading all the beautiful love stories that come with every wedding we feature. From stories of childhood sweethearts, to blind dates that ended really well and everything in between, we love hearing each and every story. Todays couple, AnneMarie and Brian met in one of the most unusual places we’ve heard up until now; the 13th Hole in Mount Juliet Golf Course! Thanks to Chris Dolinny for sharing this great day with us, we are swooning over AnneMaries Anna Campbell gown.
Shortly after meeting both AnneMarie and Brian knew their relationship was special;
“We were aware from the start that that we were suited and had a special bond that neither of us had experienced before. It was when we were on holidays together that Brian knew he was ready to propose,” explained AnneMarie.
The proposal came on New Years Eve of 2013. The couple headed for a lovely meal, where Brian dropped plenty of hints of what was to come. Shortly after midnight he asked AnneMarie.
A self-confessed researcher, AnneMarie did a lot of homework and planning for her wedding day!
“It was important to both of us that our venue was located close to Brian’s family home in west Waterford. Ballynatray was the first place we went to see, and knew it was perfect straight away. Both the Estate and Amy, the event manager, where so impressive, warm, kind and perfect for us,” added AnneMarie.
Every brides best friend, Pinterest became invaluable to AnneMarie and through it she found her ideal wedding gown, a dazzling Anna Campbell gown. As it wasn’t available in Ireland she ordered it direct from the designer in Australia, along with her bridesmaids dresses.
“We chose the weekend to be relaxed, elegant and simple. There was no strong accent colour or theme. The venue was so spectacular, that nothing else was needed. What was important for us was excellent food and drink, so really a high end fine dining experience. For the duration of the three days the food was sensational each day. There was no one highlight, the whole weekend was just phenomenal. I just remember us smiling all day of the wedding, we both loved it. We loved the privacy of the whole estate, and having our nearest and dearest all around us for the three days, especially all the children playing freely and our rounders game on the lawn,” said AnneMarie.
“My father, as a retired military officer, is never late. He told Brian that he would be there ten minutes late, I knew this would not happen and told Brian that we would be there dead on time. Even driving at 15km per hour we arrived exactly on time, with all our guest outside the church and had to wait ten minutes, sitting in the car 100m away! While more guests, particularly my work friends, ran up the road late screaming “STOP…Don’t go in…” so they could get into the church before me, very funny moment!” added AnneMarie.
AnneMarie’s advice for other couples
Have your wedding exactly how you want it, not all traditions need to be maintained, for example we had our first dance outside before the meal, it was perfect, and made stunning photos of our first dance. Secondly, be organised, having the right people help you is so important, our florist, Jenny, Amy in Ballynatray, Eunice in catering and Chris our photographer all were wonderfully professional while maintaining a personal warmth which worked with us. And lastly, relax and do things that make you relax. I went for a lovely cliff walk with one of my super friends the morning of the wedding, and that was a perfect way to start to the day.
Wedding Suppliers
Venue: Ballynatray Estate, Youghal, Co. Cork.
Catering: Eunice Power.
Wedding & bridesmaids dresses: Anna Campbell.
Bridal accessories: Anna Campbell & Butterslip, Kilkenny.
Grooms wear: Ermenegildo Zegna & Ferragamo.
Photographer: Christopher Dolinny Photography.
Cake: Handmade by AnneMarie and her Mum.
Flowers: Jenny Harris.
Entertainment: Brendan McCathy.
