Belfast bride enjoys stunning Cavan wedding after nearly missing her own proposal

Now husband and wife Seanna O’Neill and and Jay Hutchinson first met while they were both working on board a cruise ship in Australia and the rest, as they say, is history!

Bookmark
Share

Life

Kathy Prendeville

16:46, 8 APR 2023

Seanna and Jay's wedding (Image: Daven Casey Photography)

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Seanna O’Neill, Belfast and Jay Hutchinson from Jersey.

THE PROPOSAL

We had planned to go for a little forest walk and picnic with our dog Reggie and some friends on a Saturday afternoon, which is my favourite thing to do on the weekend.

Jay had told our friends that he was going to propose and asked them to "accidentally be late", then he would propose and they would turn up with some prosecco so we could all celebrate al fresco!

However, the weather was terrible and I was trying to not go out, especially when they rang me to tell me they were stuck in horrible traffic and would be late.

We got to the car park and I really didn’t want to get out of the car and kept suggesting that we should just wait in the car for them to come. Jay didn’t want to propose in the car, so eventually managed to drag me out of it. We walked towards the forest to get shelter under some trees and Jay had put a little link on Reggies collar saying ‘Will You Marry My Daddy’.

He told me that Reggie had something strange on his collar and could I have a look, so I picked him up and as I did so, Jay got down on one knee in the middle of the forest in the pouring rain and proposed.

THE RECEPTION

The reception took place at Farnham Estate in Cavan. We had our ceremony at a church nearby and then the reception in Farnham Estate.

We stayed there for two nights before the wedding and two nights after with all our guests so we could really make use of the amazing facilities, including the stunning spa and golf course!

We had been living in London and initially wanted an abroad wedding, but as my grandads were elderly and unable to travel too far, we decided to get married in Ireland. As Covid had stopped everyone travelling and going away, we wanted to go somewhere where people could come and stay for a few days and make it an excuse for a mini holiday.

THE DRESS

My dress was ‘Essence of Australia’ and I got it from a family run boutique in Canterbury called ‘Victoria Grace Bridal’.

I had been looking at dresses online and really loved the Essence of Australia dresses, so I looked for boutiques that stocked that line. My husband and I also met whilst working in Australia, so I loved the little touch that my dress was by ‘Essense of Australia’.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Our photographer was Daven Casey. Daven was absolutely wonderful from start to finish and captured the spirit and joy of our wedding perfectly. He really listened to what we were after, and his documentary style photos were just perfect.

I am not that comfortable getting my picture taken and he really put us at ease throughout. We have so many photos that we didn't even know he was taking, which was exactly what we wanted. Our guests adored them, with many saying they were the nicest wedding pictures they'd seen! I'd recommend him ten times over. He made the memories of our day so special.

THE BAND

Our wedding band was called Pink Champagne and they were incredible! I asked them to play some old school 90s songs, some 50s/60s rock and roll as well as an Irish set and they did everything.

They got everyone on the dance floor and we boogied all night.

THE FIRST DANCE

Our first dance was to ‘Let there be love’ by Nat King Cole. We are huge fans of this era so knew our first dance was always going to be a classic. I also didn’t want a long song as I always think the first dance moment at a wedding can be ‘eggy’.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

We did our first dance on the bandstand outside which was always going to be weather dependent and we had a plan B incase that couldn’t happen, but as the weather was good it was so magical. Our guests led us through a sparkler corridor to the bandstand, and then my husband surprised me with a firework display straight after the first dance which was incredible. I was in shock!

We also had a singing waiter which gave everybody a scare when he fell with his tray of cutlery at the beginning of his set, my brother even ran to him and took his pulse! The look on my brother's face when the waiter got up and started singing was priceless.

THE STRESS FACTOR

We found it so enjoyable and not too stressful. We took our time and did our research and I am the queen of a spreadsheet so that kept us on track!

THE HONEYMOON

We had a mini getaway to Majorica for five days after the wedding which was bliss. We ate, drank and did karaoke on our own until 3am! We had planned to go to Canada as a proper big honeymoon but life took over and the wedding drained our bank accounts so we have since booked our trip to Canada for September this year.

THE FIRST GLANCE

We met in Australia! We are both singers and we had got a contract to work on board a cruise ship, P&O Australia as lead singers in the production cast. The company flew us out to the Gold Coast as we had six weeks of rehearsals with the rest of the cast before we got on the ship. Traditionally, the company has three apartments that the performers stay in during rehearsals; one for the female dancers, one for the male dancers and one for the two lead singers which was me and Jay, so we technically met and moved in together on the same day!

THE ADVICE

Enjoy every second and document as much as you can. The planning and anticipation of the wedding is so special, as the day goes past so quickly, so try to not wish time away and live in every second on the build up to it as you’ll never get that time again.

Would you like to have your wedding featured in RSVP Magazine and on our website RSVP Live? Get in touch with kathy.prendeville@reachplc.com