Shannon Manning and her now husband, Sean Mullen worked together in Cineworld cinema back in 2012.
After a few months she made the first move - and the rest as they say is history. The couple married in Millhouse, Co Meath on June 25 last year.
Sean is a Southsider and Shannon is Northside through and through, but that didn't get in the way of true love.
Read More: Dublin couple who met during 12 pubs of Christmas on Baggot Street wed in beautiful city ceremony
Shannon told us all about their relationship, right from the popcorn counter to the altar.
Tell us about how the relationship developed?
It honestly felt like I'd known him my whole life, we just instantly clicked. We eventually moved in together in 2019 after what seemed like an unending search for a place to rent, and the ultimate test of any relationship began: building IKEA furniture.
Then finally after 8 and a half years of dating (and 6 and a half of hint dropping) Sean proposed. Now 10 years in and almost one year married, he makes me even happier than the day I met him, as corny as it is to say, he’s my best friend.
How did he propose?
In the depths of winter, on our favourite beach, that's normally dead quiet at that time of year I might add, and was anything but that day).
After walking almost the full length of the beach and back, and making me take an unholy amount of selfies to sneakily suss when the majority of people passed, he finally found a clearing where he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I hyperventilated from excitement, it was perfect. He’d even hacked my Pinterest with my sister's help to find my perfect ring and managed to pick the exact one I had swooned over months before in the window of Weirs without knowing.
Tell us all about your wedding and venue.
We got married in June 2021 in the Millhouse in Slane. We wanted a big celebration, in a beautiful setting, with lots of great food and to be surrounded by our family and close friends.
We knew we wanted somewhere that offered unique spaces to get ready, hold the ceremony and have an option of an outdoor setting should we be so lucky with the weather to get married outside.
After countless hours of research, we picked out a few venues that we would visit and see if they were what we wanted. From the moment we set foot on site in the Millhouse we were smitten.
The idyllic backdrop of the river Boyne, the peaceful surroundings and the industrial feel of the old mill mixed with the romantic vibes of the house and orangery had us sold. As for the food, we could have rolled out of the place after the wedding. Everything was so delicious.
We were so well looked after, and when Covid hit, and things started to look so uncertain for weddings they were there every step of the way to reassure and help us however they could. I cannot speak highly enough of the entire team.
We had to make the decision to postpone or go ahead with our day, like so many other couples, in the April before we were due to get married. Everything was so changeable and though we were at the time under Level 4 restrictions we decided to persevere and “plan for the worst but hope for the best”.
We were unfortunately under Level 3 Covid restrictions for our wedding, which meant we could only invite 25 guests, but by some miracle in the weeks leading up to the wedding the restrictions were altered slightly to allow us to have 50 guests for our ceremony.
Though it wasn’t ideal we jumped at the chance to have as many of our family and friends there with us while we tied the knot at least. Sadly, we then had to wave goodbye to half the guests after our ceremony, but most of our friends made a day of it and went for dinner nearby.
We felt so incredibly lucky to have been able to celebrate, albeit briefly, with so many and share such a special moment in our relationship with them.
The day itself went off without a hitch. I was surrounded by some incredibly talented people for my wedding prep. (Sinead McMahon make up, Hair by Martina King, Peter Carvill Photography and Fiona Madden Photography and had the most stunning florals provided by Jackie's Florist in Ballyfermot).
We were lucky to have a clear dry day and got to spend time soaking in the outdoor surroundings with our guests, while listening to the string quartet play. We had our speeches outdoors before dinner and then moved into the orangery for our meal.
After dinner, while there was a restriction on dancing and we couldn’t have a band, The Millhouse arranged it so we could have a first dance under the twinkling lights in the apple orchard.
Where a sing song swiftly took over and we danced our first dance as husband and wife to an extremely enthusiastic version of "I love you baby" provided by our guests. We then spent time enjoying everyone's company, laughing and chatting and enjoying more food than we could finish.
Tell us about your wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses.
My wedding dress was the stuff of dreams. As a trained fashion designer/dress maker I was asked countless times if I was making my own dress, the answer was always a firm NO. Working in the bridal industry I had so many designers that I admired, and I knew that I wanted to take the opportunity to wear one of those gowns on my wedding day.
I had been obsessing over an Australian designer, Georgia Young, for a while prior to getting engaged and had seen a gown that I had fallen in love with, the Vasette gown. I adore her use of unusual fabrics and her modern designs. I contacted Sinead in The One, in Rathmines enquiring about the gown months before I even got engaged. So as soon as restrictions were lifted in 2020, I made an appointment to visit Sinead in the shop with my mom and try on the gown and instantly knew it was the one for me.
Sinead was so lovely and welcoming and had such a stunningly curated collection of gowns, I could have picked any of them. After ordering she put me in touch with her alteration’s expert Anna O Alterations. Anna did the most amazing job on my dress and kept it safe for me until I was ready to collect just before the wedding. They are the bridal dream team and cannot recommend them highly enough.
As for my bridesmaids dresses, I knew I wanted to stick to a pastel colour palette and was hoping for a sage green/pastel blue. We went out to Folkster in Dundrum and the ladies tried on a few Gunai. Nothing was jumping out at us that both the girls loved, until my mom pulled a dress for them to try.
It was very simple, sage green with a gathered off the shoulder bodice. My 2 bridesmaids looked fab and most importantly felt super comfortable, so we ordered the dresses on the spot. As soon as they were ordered I got to work on creating belts to just bring a touch of sparkle to the dresses and matching hair pins to dot though their updos on the day.
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
There were so many top moments on the run up to the wedding. Being able to go dress shopping with my mom when that even seemed so uncertain at the time with restrictions. The day we registered to marry and got our green book was very special too.
My bridesmaids threw me the most spectacular and creative hen weekend a few weeks before the big (little) day. We were still under pretty strict social distancing restrictions, so I honestly thought I’d have to skip getting any type of hen, but they planned a day of ‘pod’ activities.
We met different pods of my family and friends for some amazing socially distanced outdoor activities. They arranged everything so everyone felt safe but made it, so I got to spend special time with all my nearest and dearest. We went on a scavenger hunt all over Dublin to find each pod at the next activity and it was better than any hen weekend I could have ever imagined.
The night before my wedding was so special too as we couldn’t have all my relatives join us for the wedding reception on the day, my mom arranged for both sides of the family to stay in Scholars townhouse the night before and we all had dinner together. We had such a wonderful night full of love and laughter, it was almost like getting to have the wedding reception the night before, I was just missing my hubby to be.
What was the best moment of your day and your other favourite parts?
The moment when I stepped into the doorway of the ceremony room arm in arm with my dad. It was an incredible feeling, as though all the air had been sucked out of the room and this wave of emotion hit me. As I walked toward the top of the aisle everyone else disappeared and all I could see was my husband standing at the top of the aisle waiting for me, I felt like I could burst with happiness.
Honestly though the entire day from start to finish was incredible, the morning with my bridesmaids and my mom, I spent laughing and being pampered. My dad's reaction to seeing me in my dress for the first time and having him walk me down the aisle.
The moment I heard the laughter from the ceremony room as my 27-year-old brother nailed his performance as our flower boy. Saying "I Do" to the love of my life. The incredible speeches, those private moments during our couples photos, the food, the string quartet, the food, the cake my mom made us, the food and the stunning flowers.
What would you tell other brides to plan first and what are your top tips?
Planning wise, on a serious note I would say firstly assess your budget! I cannot stress it enough if you have one, set it and stick to it!
It’s so easy to get swept up in the excitement and all too fast you’ll find yourself way over budget and you’re trying to decide if you should cut some guests or cancel the live llamas you booked for the day.
Secondly is to prioritise the things you want to splurge on, it might be the venue or the dress or even the florals, if you know what you’re not willing to compromise on you can make better use of the budget you have.
Finally, if I could pass on any wisdom, it’s try to enjoy every little bit of the build-up. Avoid getting bogged down in stressful moments, or what other people want you to do, or whether a certain supplier is available or not. I know it’s easier said than done sometimes, but remember the bigger picture, at the end of the day you’re marrying your person and there’s no better feeling in the world.
What were the hardest parts to plan? Did you come across any difficulties?
The hardest part of the planning process was getting a venue nailed down, there are so many gorgeous options available in Ireland so it's very hard to narrow it down.
Once you have that and your date set the rest all falls into place. I would say we had an extreme wedding planning experience and I’m sure many other Covid brides would agree. We planned four different weddings in the time that most would plan one. I think we both felt very lucky to not have had any more hiccups in the planning process because I think anything else on top of Covid and we’d have cracked.
Tell me all about your theme of your wedding? How was it different?
I always wanted my wedding to be a mix of modern and rustic vibes. Tonnes of foliage more so than flowers and lots of candles, mixed with gold/brass accents, lawn games, summer cocktails etc. I think we stuck to a variation of the style we wanted but honestly all ideas of a theme swiftly went out the window when Covid reared its head.
We chose to focus on a soft palette of greens, golds and soft whites for our colour palette and we chose navy suits for groom and groomsmen. I love the colour story we had on the day, and everyone seemed to naturally gravitate towards similar colourings, so our photos look very co-ordinated.
Would you do anything different or wish there was anything you didn't worry about?
There were so many things we wished we could have had when planning the day that we didn’t get because of Covid. Looking back though I think we both agree that our day was perfect. Even with the restrictions and limitations on guest lists we had the most magical day. There’s truly no other word to describe it than magical.
Covid forced us to really prioritise what was most important and that was getting married surrounded by as many of our family and friends as possible. Anything else we considered a bonus, and we wouldn’t have changed a thing.
In hindsight we got the best of both worlds, we had a small intimate wedding that was so relaxed and special and we also got to celebrate our postponed reception party this June with everyone who should have been there originally. And I mean, what bride doesn’t want the excuse to wear her dress again?
Did you feel like you had an advantage on your wedding day since your career is so focused on them?
Yes, definitely! My job/hobby for so long has been to obsessive over all things bridal, so when it came to booking suppliers, venue, dress etc, we were fortunate enough to have a list at the ready of recommendations and contacts in the industry. I think my experience in bridal helped me most though when it came to the dress.
Having worked in a bridal studio and now creating bridal accessories for my own clients, I had seen hundreds of brides going through the process of finding the dress and styling their complete looks. So I already knew exactly what I wanted for my bridal look. I also had peace of mind knowing that if restrictions didn’t lift in time to order a gown, I would have been able to make my own.
What designs did you make for your own day?
I designed and made all the accessories for myself and my bridesmaids. I hand beaded satin belts for my bridesmaids and made matching hair pins to be dotted though their hair.
I also made my own bridal headdress, which was a floral crown created from individually handmade clay flowers, crystals, and pearls. It took hours of work to make each flower, but I absolutely adored it and have had so many enquiries about creating similar pieces for brides. I also made my veil and hair pins to match my headdress to sit on either side of my veil.
The veil itself was made with beautifully soft English tulle. It was cathedral length with a draped split in the centre to show off my hair and back of the dress. I also made face coverings for myself and the bridal party, which thankfully we did not have to wear during the ceremony.
My husband is a majorly talented artist, so he created cute caricatures of us to feature in our wedding stationary. We made and designed the invites, save the dates, menus, ceremony booklets etc and all the signage for our day. Having two creatives under the same roof definitely worked in our favour when it came to the DIY aspects of our wedding and helped with wedding costs too.
Read More: Wedding goes ahead after father of the bride passes away day before ceremony
Read More: Winter bride marries love of her life with major last minute change to wedding
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
