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Venue: Finca Amalur
Wedding Planners: Raquel | Wanderlust Weddings Spain
Flowers: Deseos Flowers
Hair and Makeup: Flavia | Nicola cuddy
Officiant: My brothers paul & matthew. We are a super close family so we didnt want anyone else doing the ceremony.
Wedding Gown: The white rooms mullingar – Designer: caroline castigliano
Grooms Suit: Remus Uomo
Bridesmaids Dresses: JJs house
The Dress
I went to a total of 2 bridal shops in ireland. The White Rooms in Mullingar being my first stop and i went to both stores with my mom and sister only . When I walked into the White Rooms i saw the dress on a mannequin and commented on how lovely and proceeded into the show room with the stylist who was looking after me for the day. I tried on loads of dresses, lots of styles and my stylist said she wanted me to try on one more dress and came back with the dress i said was nice on the mannequin which i totally forgot about at this stage. I put it on and i instantly knew it was the dress and so did my sister and mom. I still wanted to go to the other bridal shop i had booked to ensure i was seeing all the types of dresses but we all kept referring back to the dress in the white rooms. I went back one more time to the white rooms and tried on the caroline castigliano dress and said YES. I absolutely loved my dress and it was perfect for a wedding in the sun.
How did you both meet?
Back in approx in May 2014 Andy first saw me out on Sunday afternoon in a place called pygmalion in Dublin . I had said hi to his friend i knew and Andy ask his friend who i was. We both had lots of mutual friends but it wasn’t until January 2015 when we started talking and the rest is history
How did Andy pop the question
Andys birthday is May 10th and he asked me to be his girlfriend on 10th may 2015. It only took him 8 years to finally bend the knee and propose on 10th May 2023 in Spain. My parents have a place in mijas so we were going over there for his birthday and we had landed in Spain that morning 10th May.I had dinner booked in Max Beach for 9pm that evening nd we decided to go for a drink before hand. Andy was being super weird and kept saying we needed to leave now to the restuarant or we will be late but then was quickly saying we have plenty of time so lets wait but little did I know he was waiting for the perfect sunset. At about 8.55 he finally agreed to go and head for dinner but insisted on walking along the beach. We went down to the beach and he wanted a photo first and used a bin on the beach to place his phone on and what i thought was a photo was actually a video and he got down on one knee with the sunsetting behind us and proposed. He always knew I wanted to get engaged on the beach with the sunset. We were super lucky as nobody was around so it was the most perfect proposal ever. Andy said then the reason why he wanted a late dinner booking was because he had googled what time the sunset and was waiting for the perfect sunset.
Taking Photos
I had so much getting all the photos. We did a first look on the balcony in the hotel before the ceremony so it was lovely to capture that moment in a personal setting. We also got photos on the beach before the ceremony which was so much fun which meant after the ceremony we got to then focus on photos with the family and bridal party. I think the beach was the best part and so happy we decided to do it all before the ceremony. Our amazing photographer and videography made it fun but also quick and got all the shots we wanted… it was super hot
The First Look
Yes myself and Andy did a first look. We were going to see eachother before the ceremony to get photos on the beach so it made perfect sense. We did it on the balcony in the hotel and I can’t properly put into words the wave of emotion that came over me. We both stood at opposites ends of the baloney with our backs to eachother. Our videographer counted to 3 and it was that moment that this wave of emotion came over me and when we both turned around I couldnt control the tears and either could Andy. I wasn’t feeling emotional before hand just excited, so it really just came out of nowhere. It was so lovely and so happy we captured the moment. I think it made walking down the less emotional as we had see eachother before had. I would definitely recommend a first look to future bride and grooms
The Planner
We had the most amazing wedding planner Raquel Bonnici- Wanderlust Weddings. I got recommended Raquel and she was the absolute dream. I genuinely loved the whole planning as I had all my faith and trust in Raquel, she made the whole experience super easy and fun. There was never any issues or nothing thaT could not be done. Raquel was always on the end of the phone for a cal andsuper quick to come back on texts and emails.
Raquel quickly knew the style of wedding we wanted and gave us great ideas and ensured we had the most amazing day ever. On the day of the wedding Raquel again was always checking in. She ensured that the makeup, hairstylist photographer and videographer were fully prepped when it came to times etc which meant I didn’t need to think about anything and just enjoy the morning getting ready.
We have recommended Raquel to people we know getting married in Spain who have all booked their weddings with her including my brother.
Decor
Deseos florists did all the flowers and decor and they nailed it. The theme was white and green so we had lots of gypsaphilia and eucalyptus flowers. We had a stunning arch with flowers for the ceremony with glass bottles of gypsaphilia along the isle on the chairs. Our venue had lots of greenery already so we just kept it simple. The flowers were then all used for the dinner setting. I was blown away by the top table as although Karen had sent me images I think it was more beautiful in person. We had a horse shoe style table and the backdrop was of the sea. The flowers from arch was used to dress the table and there were candles along the ground which was stunning then when it started to get a bit dark. I really was just blown away by it all.
How did you feel when you walked down the aisle
I was full of excitement I did have a few nerves but I think I was just on a High and it felt very surreal that it was all about to happen. Both my parents walked me down the isle so it was nice to have them both by my side.
The Kiss
I had my 2 brothers standing right there so I kept saying yto Andy before the ceremony no messing keep it pg. It was nice to seal the deal with kiss with all our close family and friends.
The Venue
Finca Amalur wasn’t initially on our list of venues to view but when we met Raquel and viewed the first venue she turned around and said I actually have another venue that I think you both will love, she immediately knew our style of wedding and what we were looking for. When I first walked into Finca Amalur I knew it was the one. The stunning back drop of the sea view along with the gorgeous greenery and flowers was just stunning. It was a perfect size for 120 guests wasn’t too small or big. I just had this real good feeling about it.
My welcome sign was welcome to Nicole’s wedding featuring Andy so again it was fun and showed our personalities. We had disposable cameras which I can’t wait to get developed but also nervous at the same time as god only knows what photos people took. We had Nano playing lovely Spanish music on his guitar which was so lovely and he played throughout dinner too
