Galway bride balanced planning stunning Glenlo Abbey wedding and home build

Katie and James first met in Galway and sparks flew on their first date in Salthill, opting for a romantic walk on the prom. And as they say the rest is history!

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Life

Kathy Prendeville

15:53, 17 JUN 2023
Updated17:29, 17 JUN 2023

Katie and John's wedding (Image: Gary Barrett Photography)

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Katie Higgins, Galway and James Conroy, Mayo.

THE FIRST GLANCE

We met in Galway, shortly after I had moved home from Sligo and had our first date in one of my favourite places - Salthill, a walk on the prom and the rest is history.

The Proposal

As my father is a farmer and James also farms, it wasn’t a shock when the engagement was revolved around an element of farming when cattle broke out and I went to “stand at a gap”.

Whilst on route to that gap in one my favourite walkways at home “The Golden Mile” there was James down on one knee - I actually thought he was working that day! It was all planned with my father which was very special and yes, he did ask my dad for my hand in marriage!

Dad had the champagne all set to go when we arrived home. It is so nice that we get to go back there whenever we want to relive the memories.

THE RECEPTION

We had our magical reception in the five star Glenlo Abbey Hotel and Estate in Galway. It was a dream venue for us and we felt very grateful to have our wedding reception there on our date of choice. The first day we went to check it out we were amazed and there was no going back! Kate, our wedding coordinator and all the team could not have done anymore for us! Our whole experience was magnificent.

The pandemic changed everything for us. We postponed our wedding from July 2021 to July 2022 and opted for an intimate wedding. It was everything we wished for and more. It will always hold a special place in our hearts. The staff, food, service and grounds are all phenomenal.

The sun was splitting the stones! It was 22 degrees when we came out of the church and having Leo from T2 coffee van outside was a blessing! He provided all the goodies and iced coffee to cool us all down.

As we finished the main course it started to get dull outside, then the rain came, but at that stage we got all our photos so we didn’t mind! It made the fairy lights and decor glow even more and when darkness fell, we did a sparkler shoot on the balcony of the stunning Glenlo Abbey.

THE DRESS

I got my wedding dress from Dee Kelly in Kadee Bride in Athlone. It is from British award winning fashion designer Suzanne Neville. The dress was called “Gabrielle” from the 2022 Nova Collection.

I actually changed my dress a few months before my wedding! I had originally picked a different Suzanne Neville dress but after some time going back over the photos waiting for our day to arrive I thought that maybe it wasn’t the one after all. The first time I laid eyes on the Gabrielle dress it gave me butterflies and there was no doubt in my mind that It was the one! It’s so important to be happy and trust your gut, if you have any form of a doubt it’s not the one! It’s ok to change your mind.

Dee knew the minute I had it on that I was beaming from ear to ear. Dee was amazing to deal with. She made it a fabulous experience for me.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

We had the one and only Gary Barrett. Gary photographed my sister Grainne’s wedding in 2017 and I always said if my day comes I would love to have Gary as part of our day.

He fits in so well and felt like family. He is a gentleman, amazing with the kids, and an all round professional. He gave us plenty of laughs throughout the day. He was so organised and knew where we were going to get our photos. He made us feel so comfortable and relaxed throughout the day and night. It would have to be five stars in every aspect for Gary.

THE BAND

My sister Sharon had Sean Slattery and the Connections at her wedding and I loved them ever since. I can honestly say from the minute they started the dance floor was full.

They have such drive and energy and give everything into each song!

THE FIRST DANCE

Picture this ‘Take my Hand’. We absolutely love this song. The lyrics are relatable and it is a lovely upbeat love song that just makes you smile!

THE HIGHLIGHTS

It was all one big highlight! From start to finish it was perfect in every way. I especially loved the first look with my mother and father. It was a truly special moment captured so perfectly by Gary.

Dad and I had our time together being driven to the church by Joe from U2R1 wedding cars, passing by all the neighbours and bonfires along the way, a countryside tradition here in county Galway, and seeing the lovely signs done up by neighbours and friends from our house to the church.

Walking up the Aisle in a white dress on my wedding day is a moment I have always dreamt of! It was so magical. Dad giving me away, but not without cracking a dowry joke with James first gave us all a great laugh. Before dad gave me away I stopped and gave mom a hug first as this is a tradition in our house which is very sentimental and special.

I’ll never forget seeing James' face and smile as I reached the top of the aisle. Having our nearest and dearest with us on the day is everything you could want and we couldn’t have been happier.

When it was time to light our individual candles, my hand was shaking so much with nerves as this happened at the start of the ceremony, it took me a little longer than expected to light my individual candle. So much so that I could hear a slight little laugh from our guests which helped me along up on the altar!

THE STRESS FACTOR

Initially it was very relaxed. I was well organised but our home interiors and all things house took over for a few months and once we had a lot of the major house decisions made in the next phase I took a step back again and concentrated on the wedding again, dipping in and out as needed between both!

I planned the whole wedding myself as James, my husband, was heavily involved in building our forever home and doing as much as he could himself to save us some money whilst we both worked full time.

James even made us our very own crisp wall which went down a real treat with our guests and have proved very popular at weddings ever since! With the help of my mother dearest and my sisters, we made up sweet packs for each guest, and packs of rose petal confetti for our confetti shot.

In those last few weeks, things really got busy. I had everything labelled and personal place names for each guest drawn out for the hotel table by table including personalised table numbers. I am proud of planning it all and everything went to plan and we had the best day of our lives!

THE HONEYMOON

We went to Turkey for a week a few days after our wedding. James planned all of this for our mini moon. We went to the beautiful Ramada Resort, Kusadasi & Golf. The water slides on site were great, the weather was amazing and we even went to Greece for the day during our stay. We are currently planning our honeymoon with Mandy Walsh for this summer.

Whilst we had originally thought of the Maldives, we changed our minds and are opting for somewhere a little more adventurous to explore rather than a relaxation holiday. Maybe we will do the Maldives for our 10 year anniversary!

We moved into our forever home shortly after the wedding, it was surreal. I’ll never forget toasting to our new chapter in August of 2022, sitting down relaxing for what felt like the first time in two years! A lot of hard work, DIY, sweat, tears you name it went into our house.

Our journey continues as we make our house a home bit by bit. You can follow our journey on Instagram @homeongoldenavenue.

THE ADVICE

Enjoy it all! I loved planning our wedding. I was so excited planning every part of our day but I would advise brides to get a wedding planner, it is a great guide and be sure to keep track of everything. Put all your wedding enquiries and emails into a separate folder in your emails under “wedding” for a quick reference.

Be as organised as possible so that you can be as relaxed and enjoy the lead up to your big day. It is inevitable that things get very busy in the weeks leading up especially in the last month but everything does fall into place.

Invest in a good videographer and photographer as images and videos will be all you have to look back on your big day.

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