A Dublin bride has admitted to thinking about elopement before deciding on a larger celebration.
Rebecca Bermingham and Stephen Heffernan tied the knot in Dublin city centre after first meeting at the tender age of 23. The couple's relationship blossomed quickly as they moved in together just eight weeks later.
The couple, who now live in London, got engaged after Stephen proposed on a birthday trip. Rebecca said the couple initially considered eloping but later opted for a larger family celebration for a poignant reason.
She told Dublin Live: "Originally we wanted to elope – we didn’t want a big fuss. However, as we got older and had lost family members through illness (including my own father) we started to see the value of bringing everyone together and really enjoying the moment of everyone you love in one place."
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Rebecca and Stephen had their ceremony in City Hall surrounded by family, friends and most importantly, their two dogs. Rosie and Ted met the wedding party outside the venue for a brief catch up after vows were exchanged.
Guests descended on the Stag's Head for a few pints before heading to the wedding reception in Fallon and Byrne. Snippets of the wedding were captured beautifully by photographer Robbie Mullins as the day unfolded.
Here is what Rebecca had to say about her joyous wedding day.
Who is your partner and how did you meet?
My Husband is Stephen Heffernan. We met in in Dublin where we are both from!
I studied Film and Stephen is a graphic designer & illustrator – we met and got chatting – we then planned to work together on some projects we both had lined up. We were 23 – naïve and decided that only 8 weeks later it would be great to move in together!
We moved into an apartment on Aungier Street- a little one bedroom (renting was slightly more affordable then.) We worked part time in retail and put all of our effort in getting internships in Design and Film.
We shared so many of the same interests – it just all made sense!
Tell us about the proposal.
Currently we are living in London – we moved here in August 2021 after trying to buy a house in Dublin didn't work out. After the pandemic we decided we were tired and needed a new lease of life to escape the constant searching for a house in Dublin.
When we arrived – one of the first places a friend of ours brought us was a rooftop on top of the Standard Hotel in Kings Cross. It has a full view of London 360 degrees and the sun was shining.
It was scary packing up and leaving everything we knew in Dublin and when we were on that rooftop I thought – I could get used to this. It became a special place to us.
The Standard is a Hotel with some gorgeous interior design and colour, mostly out of our price range to afford to stay in! Stephen brought me there for my birthday and I was so excited. Luckily after a bit of persuasion with the staff Ste got us upgraded to a suite.
When I walked in I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, I was taking a video to show my sisters and Stephen got onto one knee. I was shocked!
Tell us about your wedding.
Originally we wanted to elope – we didn’t want a big fuss. However, as we got older and had lost family members through illness (including my own father) we started to see the value of bringing everyone together and really enjoying the moment of everyone you love in one place.
It was a no brainer for us as two Dubs that it would be in Dublin. We were lucky we were able to do it. Especially from living in London – being back in Dublin with friends and family is always amazing.
We decided we would try and keep it as laid back as possible but equally as easy for people and affordable. I left from my Mum’s house , my flowers were from Roisin Godfrey – all Irish Spring flowers like Daffodils as they are my favourite but also represent my Dad and the Irish Cancer Society.
We Started in City Hall – my best friend's Dad (Dermot) drove me in. My brother in law Colm walked my down the aisle and we had some beautiful music from friends of ours , Lauren, a close friend , Michael my uncle and David Gray, my friend's Dad.
We loved that we kept it with friends and it was beautiful. We had a humanist ceremony with an amazing lady called Barbara Cullinan – it was a mixture of laughing , crying and cheering the whole way!
We decided we didn’t want to leave the wedding party to take any photos just of ourselves – to be honest we have enough – we wanted the photos to capture the day from afar like a documentary style / photo series by the brilliant Robbie Mullins who I have known since I was 5!
We also had our dogs Rosie & Ted meet us at City Hall for a few quick after the Ceremony which I loved! So after City Hall we made our way to The Stags Head for some Guinness and some music from one of the best pub singers I’ve heard- Johnny from the Blue Light pub in Barnacullia.
Finally after everyone had a few drinks in the Stags Head we made our way to Fallon and Byrne for the most beautiful food & dancing. We stayed close by in Brookes Hotel – just the wedding party – most others went home that night as most were Dublin based so it was perfect!
What was the best thing about the build up to the big day?
Being back in Dublin with friends and family and enjoying the build up, chats, watching people try on their outfits, listening to the music and laughing. A very funny story was me realising I didn’t have a veil the day before the wedding – I had to wait outside Hickeys at 9:00am for it to open & later arrived at my best friend's Shauna’s house to persuade her talented mother Eileen to fashion me one – she did an amazing job!
My friend Clare also came back from Australia to the wedding as a bridesmaid and it was great to be back together.
What was your outfit/ the bridesmaids dresses like?
I bought my dress in London – my two sisters Rachel & Lisanne came over last July and we went shopping. I loved it immediately and it was a quick easy decision.
My bridesmaids – I just told them the colour pink and they picked whatever style they wanted to wear. I didn't mind what shade they picked as long as they were happy and comfortable with what they had on – they all looked amazing.
What are your tips for other brides?
Practical tip: Don’t plan too much the week before the wedding – try get the appointments out of the way earlier so you have time to relax before and take it all in. Your wedding has to be a reflection of you – try to not get swept up in the hysteria of Pinterest / bridal sites / other peoples pictures etc.
Would you do anything differently?
Truly – I don’t think I would! I probably would have tried to get more sleep the night before – but that’s life isn’t it!
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