Ashleigh & James
Our Story
A little bit about us both:
James and I are both from county Kildare. We met at the RTE All Ireland Drama finals in Athlone in 2013. We were from competing drama groups and had both seen each other in shows before we met. We were officially introduced by a mutual friend and James asked for my phone number that night... the rest is history!
Our proposal:
We were performing a play in the Abbey Theatre in June 2018 on the Peacock stage... we took our bow on final night and James stepped forward and started talking. I was standing on the stage wondering what he was doing (thinking he was going to give flowers to the director, and wondering why no one had told me this was happening!) and all of a sudden he was down on one knee! The audience went crazy and I was in complete shock- I’m still not sure if I actually answered him!!! My parents, sister and best friends were in the audience and were all totally shocked.... What a day!!!
Our suppliers:
Our wedding invitations were designed by my Godmother from RosslynArt. It was a design called “Your Story” with lots of personal touches and was just so special.
Our cake was made by my good friend and was just beautiful.
Our band were the fabulous Men In Black- When we got engaged straight away we knew they were the band we wanted. They are just so energetic and fabulous and you feel like they are loving being part of your day and not just working. They had the entire room up dancing all night and were just perfect!
Decor was provided by Tulfarris and it was just stunning. We had some extra bits provided by Balloon HQ- they were just amazing! Emma really had a feel for the venue and the little touches she added were just magic!
Our beauty parade:
My wedding dress was bought in Truly Bridal on Naas Co. Kildare and I really felt like a princess! They knew just what would suit me and my day shopping with my mam and the girls was a lovely day out!
We got our hair done by Ramona from Tangles in Clane. She was so funny and she made us all feel so relaxed and happy... She is an amazing hairdresser and made us all feel so glam!
Tara Farrell (Tara Makeup) was our makeup artist- I’m always nervous having my makeup done by someone else, but Tara is just amazing! We all felt so glowy and lovely and natural and again, she was so lovely to have at the house on the morning of the wedding.
The Bridesmaid dresses were from Wed2Be in Dublin and the red colour was so Autumnal and gorgeous on all of them.
We had a fab day out getting our nails done in SugarDolls in Liffey Valley and had a little help in the eyelash department from Aggie Kondrat in NailCon
Something old, something new?
My something old was a necklace that belonged to my Nana Anne and my something borrowed was a brooch given to my sister that belonged to my Nana Kathleen. These were both added to my bouquet by Joan our fab florist. Neither of my Nanas are with us anymore so it was so so special having a little token from each of them as I walked down the aisle. My something new was my beautiful dress and my Jimmy Choos (don’t tell James what I spent on those!!!) I honestly had Cinderella vibes when I put those on!! And my something blue was a little pin with a blue stone given to my by Ayda and Kayla, two of my beautiful flower girls.
These were all beautifully captured by Ger Boland of Carlow Wedding Videos who made us such an amazing video of our day!
Our Big Day
Our ceremony was held in Clane church which is my parish church and was done by Bishop Paul Dempsey. It was so personal and emotional and we were just so lucky to have such a special ceremony.
We took family photos in the church as we knew everyone would scatter when we arrived at the hotel. James and I had our wedding portraits taken by Tadhg Nathan down by the lake. It was such a beautiful setting and Tadhg was an exceptional photographer, making us feel so relaxed and natural and capturing so many little details that someone else may have missed.
We had beef and fish as our choices for dinner- we had a great time doing the menu and wine tasting!!!
Our first dance was It Must Be Love by Madness. We wanted something a little bit romantic but also fun! I think it was the perfect balance!
There are so many memorable moments, it’s hard to capture just one! My mam Trish helping me into my dress, my sisters Laura and Claire and friends Karen and Rob helping me get ready and taking selfie’s in the garden, my grandad Jimmy calling to the house, my journey in the car and up the aisle with my Dad Peter, seeing James standing at the top of the aisle waiting for me and looking so gorgeous... Seeing James mam and dad so happy and proud of him... Heading off for our photos and having a little walk just the two of us in the beautiful grounds of Tulfarris, the meal, the dancing... It was just the most magical day!
Post Wedding celebrations:
The day after the wedding we had a small gathering in Cooke’s of Caragh. It was lovely and relaxed after all the partying the day before- Everyone was exhausted!
Why did we choose Tulfarris?
We chose Tulfarris as it just ticked all of the boxes for us. It had enough accommodation for our guests, the room was a great size and we could invite everyone who was close to us.
We got a great feeling from our first visit- the staff were so friendly and accommodating and happy and pleasant. There was never a sense that anything was inconvenient and everyone was so easy to deal with and efficient. The food was always gorgeous in the bar and restaurant and it didn’t disappoint on our wedding day either! There were so many options to choose from on the wedding packages that we knew everyone would be catered for.
The accommodation was beautiful so we knew our guests would feel relaxed and like they had had a little holiday. The Manor house where we stayed was so different to a normal hotel, it made us feel really special.
Of course the venue us just so beautiful and photogenic too... The swing was a huge selling point for me- a great Instagram moment! We were really lucky with the weather but I reckon Tulfarris would be beautiful in rain as well as sunshine.
