Childhood sweethearts' gorgeous Waterford wedding after romantic beachfront proposal

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Sarah Lyons and Paudi Prendergast from Waterford.

THE RECEPTION

We had our reception down at the beautiful Faithlegg House Hotel, Waterford. As our wedding was the May bank holiday weekend, it was the first wedding of the year where the drinks reception was held outside in the gardens.

Faithlegg had a brand new marquee where people could get their drinks and relax on the lounge furniture. We had an ice-cream cart, complimentary of Faithlegg, that went down a treat as it was a lovely sunny day!

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The team at Faithlegg had the ballroom set up beautifully. The whole service went off without a hitch and everyone really enjoyed the food.

THE VENUE

We had viewed a couple of different wedding venues, but Faithlegg was the first and it really made a lasting impression on us. The day of our viewing was a really sunny day in October and we just fell in love with the venue instantly. The wedding team are fantastic and really assured us during our viewing. I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else!

THE DRESS

I bought my dress from Bella Bleu Vintage in Cork, where the lovely Lucy looked after me. My dress was the ‘Penny’ dress by Made With Love designer Carla Jenkins.

I had my eye on a different Made With Love Wedding dress that I was convinced was going to be the one. Bella Bleu were holding a Made With Love Trunk show where the full collection was going to be available to try on, so I went with my Mam, Catherine and two of my bridesmaids, Fiona and Máire. My other bridesmaid, Róisín is living in Canada so unfortunately couldn’t make the dress shopping.

When I tried on the dress, I felt nothing! I tried on a few more before Lucy suggested I try on the Penny dress, which I really could not have pictured myself in, but the reactions I got from my mam and the girls said it all. It was me in a dress! I fell in love with it instantly and still today love it. It is such a shame to only wear it once!

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My experience in Bella Bleu was fantastic. Lucy really looked after me and didn’t pose opinions, allowed me to make a decision on how I felt. She made us all feel very welcome.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Irina Duane. She was fantastic! The photos she captured say it all. She captured the whole story of the day, from morning until night. We are so grateful for the memories Irina captured for us on our special day.

We also had a videographer from Golden Moments Wedding Photography and Film. Peter was our videographer and literally created a movie of the day! We are so glad we opted to have a videographer also as there is so much of the day you wouldn’t recall, but the film captures it all and is there to watch again and again.

THE BAND

Our band was Suzie Q – they were brilliant. They had a full dance floor of people from the very first song to the last! Everyone really enjoyed them, and they played all sorts to suit everyone.

THE FIRST DANCE

Our first dance song was ‘You are the reason’ version by Olivia Penlava, so it wasn’t sang live by the band. The words of the song resonated with us. We have been together since we were teens so really have done life together!

THE HIGHLIGHTS

The morning spent with my bridesmaids and family was very special. We had such a laugh, and it was so relaxed for everyone.

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Another highlight was the first look with my Dad. I am so grateful to have that moment captured where I can look back on again and again.

THE STRESS FACTOR

In general we were pretty relaxed about it. We got engaged during Covid so we didn’t get to go to any wedding fairs, so all of my inspiration came from Pinterest. We did a lot ourselves like table centrepieces and wedding invites. The table plan was probably the most stressful part!

THE HONEYMOON

We went on a mini honeymoon straight after the wedding where we went to Vilamoura, Portugal for a few days. We then went on the main honeymoon in July where we travelled to Mauritius for two weeks and then Zanzibar for one week. It was heaven!

THE PROPOSAL

We live in a coastal town and our house is very close to the beach. We would bring our beagle, Ruby, there for walks all of the time and it was always a place we would go to when we first got together and used meet up. One Saturday morning we went down for a walk and the rest is history! It was a total surprise, but the best surprise.

THE FIRST GLANCE

We met in our teenage years. We both come from big GAA families and there was a lot of rivalry between our clubs Dungarvan and Lismore. I would have seen Paudi play hurling over the years, so we knew of each other. One night we met out in Dungarvan and it just grew from there.

THE ADVICE

Enjoy it. The day comes around so fast and its such a blur! Remember that it is a day for both of you, so do what makes you both happy. Don’t overthink décor, because honestly most people don’t even notice! Do it for yourselves and not everyone else.

The day would not have been the same!

Hair by Sara Condon

Makeup by Karen Reeves

Flowers by Brigid Ballot Flowers (Kerrie is the florist and is absolutely amazing!)

All Events Limousines (we went with the Bonnie Vintage car)

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