Cork bride says Covid delays meant her children could be part of their dream wedding

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Melissa Murray and Brian Hennessy.

THE PROPOSAL

We got engaged on a family holiday in Spain back in 2018. I was seven months pregnant with my little boy at the time. One evening my mam took our daughter so myself and Brian could have a date night.

We went out for dinner and it was the first time in 11 years that Brian didn’t eat! He kept telling me it was because of the heat. I knew something was up with him but doubted myself because there was absolutely no sign of a ring when I unpacked everything in the hotel room!

Read more: Inside Nicola Brosnan and Mike Conway's fab Waterford wedding

After dinner we walked back along the path by the beach. He hates the sand and he suggested we take our shoes off and walk on the beach so I was getting more suspicious. When he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, I cried for ages, maybe it was my hormones but I was a mess! I gathered myself together and couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to tell our daughter and my family.

FIRST GLANCE

We met back in 2010 on a night out in Cork City and have been together ever since. We were only kids then and have grown up together these last 13 years. I never would have thought that random night out in 2010 with my friends that I was going to meet my husband.

THE RECEPTION

We had our ceremony in Sea Church Ballycotton. Our reception was in the Maryborough Hotel on December 15 2022.

I absolutely fell in love with Sea Church when it first opened and just knew it would be perfect for our intimate wedding. I loved how unique the venue is.

We always knew we wanted a ceremony and not a church wedding, but this way we got our church wedding. It was the best of both worlds. Plus I'm originally from Ballycotton so it felt like it was the perfect place.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Laura and Benny Photography. I could write an essay on how amazing they were! Our wedding day literally would not have been the same without them! I loved them so much.

THE OUTFIT

I got my dress in the White Room Mullingar, it was Naroza by Enzoni.

I always knew I wanted sleeves for a winter wedding and believe it or not, they're hard enough to find. When I saw the dress online I knew it was the one.

The girls in The White Room made it a lovely experience.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Spending the morning getting ready with my daughter, meeting my little boy outside the church before we walked in and seeing my husband at the top of the aisle were definitely the highlights.

We both really enjoyed the car journey to the reception, it was probably our only alone time. We had champagne and talked about our mornings. It was so nice. Walking into the ballroom to see how beautiful it looked before the guests were called was so special.

I did all the decor myself and to see it all after coming together made me so happy. As we walked in our violinist (Ryan Parsons) was playing. It was just the two of us in the room and all the candles were lit. It was very special..

THE HONEYMOON

We still have our honeymoon to look forward to. We are going at the end of April and we cannot wait! We are heading to the Maldives and Dubai.

THE STRESS FACTOR

We had to postpone our wedding twice due to Covid. Our original date was December 12, 2020.

Every couple had their own personal reasons on whether to go ahead or postpone during Covid and for us, we felt because we were already fully committed having been together 11 years, bought a house and have two beautiful children, the wedding was just the icing on the cake.

It was the celebration of our relationship and we wanted to have the big celebration with our friends and family.

At the time we were gutted but once we made the decision, I felt more at peace with it. We picked a date in August but unfortunately postponed again. We decided to push it right out a year and a half away and start completely fresh.

We changed our venue, theme, bridesmaids dresses, and I went dress shopping again and bought a new dress.

I had bought my first dress back in 2018, thats a long time to be looking at a dress in your wardrobe. My style had completely changed and I just didn’t love it anymore.

Postponing definitely had it's positives, we were so happy that our children were a little older for the wedding. Our little girl is five and our little boy is four and I hope that they have memories of the wedding when they are older. They both really enjoyed the day. My little girl especially, she really was a princess for a day. She loved all the preparations and I really enjoyed our time together in the run up to the wedding, I hope we made some core memories for her.

THE WORDS OF ADVICE

Enjoy every single moment, the big and the small steps along the way. Everyone tells you how fast the time goes and it truly does!

I couldn’t imagine not having a videographer, they are great. There is so much in our video that I never knew happened on the day and it's so nice to have and look back on.

Allow extra time in the morning! I thought i had loads of time but I could have done with a whole extra hour!

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