Once, twice, three times a Covid Bride.

April 24th, August 3rd, September 11th – it was 3rd time lucky for this covid couple.

Meet Michelle and Neil

This fun loving duo met at Galway races ladies day back in 2014! Both keen horse racing enthusiasts, neither could have ever imagined that their biggest win that day would off the tracks.
After a whirlwind romance and twin boys to complete their little family, Neil brought Michelle back to Galway to propose on the Claddagh pier after an Ed Sheeran concert. A true romantic, Neil thought it fitting to incorporate the English songwriter into his proposal as his was the very first concert they had gone to together.

THE VENUE
Once the ring was picked, Michelle (with Neils help Im sure ) threw herself full force into planning what was to be the most spectacular day. Seagrave Barn was the venue of choice and its easy to see why. With its rustic style barn to party in until the wee hours, an old converted farmhouse to get ready in and the panoramic seaside views, whats not to love about it.

THE DRESS

Having all the important larger elements of the wedding booked, it was time to start dress hunting! Michelle originally thought she wanted something soft and flowing but having tried on numerous dresses, decided on a gorgeous fit & flare lace dress from the signature collection in Wed2b. The shape and style complimented her amazing figure beautifully A pair of stunning Rachel Simpson shoes and the most incredible pearl, bead & crystal adorned headpiece, both from Frilly Frocks, would finish her look off perfectly.

CHANGE OF PLANS

With only 4 weeks to go until the big day that they had dreamed of, surrounded by their handsome boys, beautiful families and wide circle of friends, Corona hit and had Michelle and Neil in a tizzy. Do we reschedule, do we ride it out and see what happens but alas full lockdown was announced so they had very little say in the matter. They pushed out to August hoping everything would have settled by then but noone could have predicted the overwhelming scale of distruction this pandemic would cause and unfortunately with big numbers on their guestlist and restrictions still in place the duo were forced yet again to reschedule. This time however, having sat down with their families and spoken about it at great lengths, the lovebirds decided that they just wanted to be married so set the date for the very next month. The guestlist was shortened considerably to keep within guidelines but everything else remained in place meaning Michelle and Neil were able to get excited about their new would be wedding anniversary

THE BIG DAY ARRIVES
The day itself was like any other wedding day. Having stayed at the venue the night before with her bridal party and family, Michelle was full of excitement when I arrived early on the morning of the 11th September. The buzz of a wedding morning was well and truly alive with Michelles Mum feeding us all, the bridesmaids trying to ply us with prosecco and preparations in full swing.

At Michelles trial she showed me pictures of her dress and accessories, I knew instantly that she needed and old school Hollywood type look to compliment everything. Beautiful glowing skin, softly defined eyes with the emphasis on her liner and a gorgeous berry toned lip transformed Michelle into the most beautiful bride.
In the lead up to her big day Michelle really focused on her skincare, had regular facials, ate well, drank lots of water and most importantly sought the advice of a skincare therapist to ensure she was using the correct products for her skin. Very little product was needed on the day to give Michelle the glowing look she so desired.

Once Michelle was transformed into the Hollywood starlet she deserved to be it was time to meet the man of her dreams and become his wife.

Having had to cut numbers from 260 and knowing that Michelle was feeling sad for all the people that couldnt be with them, Michelles sister Nicola surprised her with a fabulously decorated wooden pallet with photos of everyone that couldn’t share in the special day attached to it. Each photo had a special message written on the back for the bride & groom. A gesture sure to draw tears from even the hardest of hearts. Michelles good friend Una also organised to have the day live streamed so that anyone who wanted to could tune in & see the loved up couple say their I Do’s

For anyone ensure about whether to reschedule or not, Michelle says…

” Just go for it! Originally we were holding out because we wanted the big wedding but we soon realised that the most important thing is marrying the person you love. All the people that you couldn’t invite will understand as it’s totally out of your hands. Having smaller numbers was actually lovely and intimate and the restrictions didnt dampen our day at all. We had to finish by 11.30 but other than that everything felt normal. Dont over think it, no need to stress out about it at all, everything will fall into place and just enjoy every minute. We had the best day of our lives”

P xx

Suppliers

Venue – Segrave Barn, Dunanny

www.segravebarns.ie

Dress – We2b, Drumcondra

www.web2be.ie

Bridemaids – Dresscode

www.dresscode.ie

Headpeice – Frilly Frocks, Drogheda

www.frillyfrocks.ie

Shoes – Rachel Simpson, Frilly Frocks, Drogheda

www.rachelsimpsonshoes.co.uk