A couple from NI have told all on their beautiful wedding day at Corick House Hotel & Spa in Co Tyrone.
Jenny Connor, 26, from near Banbridge and husband Shane, 24, from Portadown had their big day on April 21, 2022.
In Be 's weekly feature Inside My Wedding, couples are delving into their special day to give bride and grooms-to-be some top tips.
Read more: Inside My Wedding: NI couple's timeless day at Killeavy Castle
The bride said: "The story of how we met is rather funny, I worked in Starbucks in the Boulevard and Shane worked in the store next door. I would see him multiple times every day, little did I know he actually didn’t like coffee... the five lattes a day made me think otherwise.
"Fast forward a couple months and a helping hand from a colleague, we arranged a coffee date… as they say, the rest is history.
"On December 12, 2020, we went for a walk in Hillsborough Forest and to my surprise, Shane had organised the most beautiful proposal with fairy lights, photos of us and a beautiful clear Christmas bauble, filled with rose petals and a hand written note asking me to marry him."
Jenny has told us all about their big day.
Tell us all about your wedding day and the planning!
When we got engaged we thought about getting married on our anniversary, April 29, 2022 but unfortunately one of the vendors we really wanted wasn’t available, but said they could do the 21st. This was also available for all of our other dream vendors so it all came together quite nicely.
Then the real planning began, we were so fortunate that our wedding date wasn’t affected by Covid. We fell in love with Corick House the moment we went down to visit and the staff were absolutely amazing to work with.
We had our ceremony in Dromore Elim as this is the church we both go to, followed by the best reception with the most beautiful grounds in Corick House. It was very easy choosing our venue as we had a budget to work with and wanted somewhere that was beautiful. It was perfect for us!
Tell us about your wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and suits.
I bought my wedding dress in Divinity Bridal in Lisburn. When I say that these ladies are exceptional at their job, I mean it. Both my sisters got their wedding dress or bridesmaids dresses with Divinity and I loved every experience I had with Shelley.
This was one part of the planning that was affected by Covid as I wasn’t allowed my full bridal party with me at the time, so I went in with my mum, mother-in-law and sister. The moment we walked in and started looking at dresses, my sister lifted this beautiful gown and told me she thought she found the perfect dress for me. When I tried it on, I fell in love. It was the perfect fit and needed no alterations. I couldn’t believe it… I felt like a bride.
I bought the bridesmaids dresses soon after we got engaged, I fell in love with some beautiful dresses from ASOS and we had endless compliments on how beautiful all the girls were.
We got all the tuxedos from McQuillan’s in Portadown and we absolutely loved our experience with all the staff. They were so helpful and made sure the boys were looking their best.
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
Our favourite thing building up to our wedding was getting all the small details together. We tried to use as many small businesses as possible to create some of our wedding features.
Another part of the build up we loved was the day before the wedding. We spent it together, leaving all of our wedding details into Corick House. Then we spent that evening with our separate families. My sisters had organised beautiful custom cookies and we danced the night away.
What was the best moment of your day?
Shane’s favourite part of the day was when we took a ten minute walk around the gardens after dinner to take in the day so far and to enjoy a few moments together before dancing the night away with our guests.
My favourite part of the day was getting ready to walk down the aisle with my sisters, niece and dad and seeing all our loved ones in the one place.
Our favourite memory from our day was dancing the night away with our best friends!
What would you tell other bride and grooms to plan first & what are your top tips?
Our advice for the first thing to plan would definitely be the venue and your seamstress. I booked my seamstress before I got my dress and it was the best decision as good seamstresses are almost impossible to get an appointment with if it’s too close to your wedding.
What were the hardest parts to plan?
We found that the hardest part to plan was the guest list as we wanted to invite everyone that meant a lot to us or our families and didn’t want to offend anyone - but due to our budget, we were trying to stay around a certain number of guests.
What was your theme?
Our theme for the wedding was a boho forest theme as we wanted to incorporate our engagement details. Our photographers were amazing and made this a reality.
Would you do anything different or wish there was anything you didn't worry about?
I don’t think we would change anything but I definitely wouldn’t have worried about adding in so many extras e.g. we had confetti and sparklers. We didn’t get time to use the sparklers as the day flies by. Our biggest tip would be to go for a walk or sit down together away from everyone and take in your day, as it is the most amazing feeling to finally be married to your best friend.
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Do you want to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk to be featured!
