A Dublin woman has revealed how she saved thousands of euros on her dream wedding.
Sarah Hanrahan always knew she wanted a "modern city chic" wedding and when she got engaged to her husband Sean in December 2020, she knew there were ways she could achieve it without the hefty price tag. She said: "There were no negotiations at all really when it came to the theme. Sean and I were both on the same page around what we wanted, a modern city wedding with a focus on good food and good fun.
"I really knew I didn’t want a big fussy ball gown style dress and I also knew I wanted subtle 80’s elements so I kept the dress simple, adding a nod to the 80’s with the puff shoulder, subtle polka dot and oversized dinner bow."
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Sarah said having grown up in Dublin, she wanted to incorporate the best of the city in her wedding. She said: "I LOVED the idea of overlooking the Ha’penny Bridge for our wedding; what could be more quintessentially Dublin than that? So we chose the outdoor space above the Woollen Mills (in The Yarn) to allow for that."
She said: "We are lucky to have a lot of incredibly talented friends so they were involved in our day; our makeup artist, celebrant, sommelier, videographers, singer, DJ, musician were all friends but hired on the basis of the talent rather than as an opportunity to save money."
Sarah decided to do toasties and pints instead of the more traditional drinks and canapes. She added: "So The Whiskey Palace was the perfect backdrop for that… a great size for a small wedding reception and it meant people could order what they want/get fresh pints… plus, who doesn’t love a toastie?
"Then The Winding Stair was chosen as they’re a sister restaurant to The Woollen Mills and the food is absolutely beautiful there. Plus the decor was excellent what we wanted for a rustic backdrop with the Ha’penny Bridge framed through the windows of the restaurant."
Sarah and Sean decided to forego the cake and instead had dessert with dinner. They also said that transport wasn't important to them so they got taxis to the venue.
She added: "I didn’t feel that things like designer shoes (for the sake of having designer shoes) or fancy embroidered robes for the morning were important so I didn’t do them either, lots of little extras that have become the norm that I just don’t place any value in myself, … so I didn’t include them." Most of the couple's budget went on food, wine, and the photographer.
Additionally, they kept their guest list small at just 38 people which allowed them to rent The Winding Stair restaurant. Sarah said what ultimately saved them money was "simply saying no to what we didn’t actually want ourselves rather than feeling like we should include all the unnecessary extras 'just because other people do it'."
Sarah told luxury diamond jewellers, Austen & Blake: "We had a beautiful day and it was very true to us; we wanted to get a small number of loved ones together for a great day out in Dublin and that’s thankfully, exactly what the day was.
Something that we did that was very close to our hearts was using dehydrated roses from my late grandparent’s garden to use as confetti on the day, which was an extremely beautiful touch."
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