Real Weddings: Catherine and Chris’ St Patrick’s Day wedding in Co Meath

by Shayna Sappington
17th Mar 2024

With tasteful green touches to mark the day, Catherine and Chris tied the knot at Tankardstown House this day last year – with spring time blooms and candles alighting the beautiful orangery.

THE COUPLE
Catherine, accountant, and Chris, engineer.

THEY LIVE
in Belfast.

THE VENUE
Tankardstown House, Co Meath.

PHOTOGRAPHY
The wonderful Sylvia at Spellbound Photography. Sylvia made me feel completely at ease throughout the entire day, which made me that much more excited for the photos. When they did arrive, we were blown away. Our unreserved happiness is shining through the entire gallery.

THEY MET
The old reliable – Tinder.

THE PROPOSAL
Christmas time in New York City was the perfect backdrop for Chris’ proposal plans. After a couple of days sightseeing and taking in the NYC holiday spirit, Chris had planned the proposal on a trip to the Statue of Liberty. In the crisp morning sunshine, a quiet spot was the scene for the proposal moment. After a few nervous and heartfelt words, Chris popped the question and I was completely shocked – it was a resounding yes! A cocktail in the Dead Rabbit Bar kicked off the celebrations and we ended the day ice skating below the beautifully decorated Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre.

THE WEDDING ATTIRE
My dress was bespoke Sassi Holford from Petticoat Lane Bridal in Hillsborough. I had my heart set on a dress with sleeves, but none I’d tried on before then seemed to suit. However, Sassi Halford was able to add sleeves to a bodice that suited perfectly. The hairpiece and veil were also purchased from Petticoat Lane, as we were just wowed when we tried the whole thing on together.

The real conversation piece was the green shoes. My sister had worn the Loeffler Randall shoes for her wedding and gone on about how comfortable they were. I tried on some other colours but my heart was set on the green. The suits were classic Herbie Frogg tuxes from Collar & Tie in Lisburn; once we decided on a classic tux look the Herbie Frogg was the clear winner. The Mother of the Groom sourced green bow ties that matched the bridesmaids perfectly. The bridesmaids’ dresses were Folkster – it has such a great selection (although the bridesmaids all ended up picking the same dress).

THE CEREMONY
One of the main reasons we chose Tankardstown for our venue was the beautiful orangery, where we had our ceremony. We chose Amy Browne as our celebrant and she guided us through the whole process of personalising our humanist ceremony. Although we did not go for a religious wedding, we knew we wanted it to be fairly traditional and were able to accomplish that. We selected three readings for our brothers and sisters to do, a mix of traditional and pieces that were personal to us. Amy made us feel at ease throughout the whole process, which allowed us to totally relax on the day and really take in the ceremony as it was happening.

THE RECEPTION
The cocktail reception was held in the beautiful reception rooms of Tankardstown House. The weather wasn’t great, but the fires were lit and there was plenty of Guinness to go around so everyone was happy. The ceremony room was transformed and felt like a different venue once the sun had gone down. The staff at Tankardstown House are second to none, and we were so looked after the whole day.

THE ENTERTAINMENT
For the ceremony, we chose Appassionata String Quartet. They had a great repertoire which included some songs personal to us that we were delighted to be able to include. They also played the cocktail reception and had the kids dancing away. The Bentley Boys were the wedding band; they’d played at my best friend’s wedding and I remember the dance floor being packed all night – which is exactly what they delivered for us.

THE DECOR
The flowers were done by The French Touch – I’d love to take credit for them, but I simply sent them a colour palette and some general ideas for the shape and size of the bouquets and they absolutely nailed it! With plenty of green running through the wedding, we wanted to steer a little away from anything too Christmassy, so we were sure to include plenty of lighter pinks and creams to lean into more of a spring time vibe.

The gorgeous and simple cake was from Little Topper Cakes and was exactly as we imagined it with simple white icing and decorated with flowers. We sourced the candles ourselves, buying out the tea light section in Ikea and a couple of lovely fluted tea light holders from Penneys. To emphasise the spring element, we selected pillar candles from Ikea in varieties of pinks and lighter greens with simple gold trays to place them on.

THEIR TOP TIPS
People will come to you with lots of well-meaning advice, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Take it onboard, but in the end, go with your gut instincts. Also, the guest list will drop no matter how many ‘pre-invite confirmations’ you get so plan accordingly.

Chris: Don’t panic over little details. Might be cliche to say it, but it really does all come together on the day.

THEY WISH THEY HAD
the ability to relive the day!

THEIR BEST MOMENTS
There was a moment just after I arrived that I was hidden behind a partition at the side of the ceremony room. Everyone was seated; I could feel the energy in the room and it was absolutely electric. It was a cacophony of noise that hushed to silence the instant Amy announced I was here. The music started, the adrenaline took over and I knew then that it would be a perfect day.

The speeches were also a standout moment for both of us; although the whole day had been somewhat emotional, once we got to the speeches it completely took over.

Finally, receiving our wedding photographs! I underestimated how much of an impact the wedding photographer would have on the day itself and only thought about the final product (which I knew would be perfect given that Sylvia was our photographer). She was absolutely wonderful from start to finish and really made the day that much more special for us. As well as Chris and myself, my family and friends felt so relaxed around her and her assistant Oonagh throughout the morning and the rest of the day. We were confident she had captured absolutely everything about the day that made it so special to us, but she truly exceeded our expectations.

THE FIRST DANCE SONG
Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Suede. It was something I’d picked out as a potential wedding song long before I met Chris, and it was also on one of the records he bought me for my birthday just after we got together. We knew we wanted an upbeat song, and as soon as people joined in, the dance floor was full for the rest of the night!

THE CREW
Wedding Dress: Sassi Holford from Petticoat Lane Bridal. Bride’s Shoes: Loeffler Randall. Groom’s Tuxedo: Herbie Frogg tuxes from Collar & Tie. Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Folkster. Hair: Kim Annesley. Make-Up: Carrie Marley. Cake: Little Topper Cakes. Ceremony & Drinks Reception Music: Appassionata String Quartet. Band: The Bentley Boys.