Wicklow bride's dad surprised couple with Bruce Springsteen tribute performance

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Jade Nolan from Wicklow and Des O’Sullivan from Cork.

THE PROPOSAL

Des proposed on my birthday during one of the Covid lockdowns. It was a huge surprise and very personal and romantic. In the evening, Des suggested we get dressed up for dinner at home... I wasn't too pushed on the idea of changing out of my leggings after a day of lounging at home drinking bubbles!

Eventually after some persuasion, I caved and went to get ready, and when I came back into the living-room he had decorated everywhere with flowers and candles. I was still completely none the wiser and as we sat down to eat, Des gave me my birthday card.

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He had made a beautiful card with a gorgeous message and when I turned around after opening it, he was down on one knee! Once the shock subsided, we spent the evening drinking champagne and calling our families to tell them the news - it was such a special time and one of our favourite memories together.

THE RECEPTION

We had the ceremony in Seachurch, Ballycotton and the reception in Castlemartyr Resort. We spend a lot of time in the area and when it came to planning our wedding it made sense to have it in a place that meant a lot to us.

Since we got engaged during lockdown we didn't have an immediate chance to view venues. On a visit to East Cork to visit my dad a few weeks after getting engaged, we took a walk in Castlemartyr Woods and accidentally took a wrong turn when leaving into Castlemartyr Resort. We ended up falling in love with the grounds! We had a viewing over Zoom the following week and just felt like it was perfect for what we wanted.

THE DRESS

I got my dress in Alice May Bridal and it was by Alena Leena. It was one of the first dresses I tried on and it was actually suggested by one of the girls in Alice May.

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I knew I wanted something with sleeves with the wedding being in winter, but the shape of the dress wasn't something I would have picked myself so the help and guidance of the girls in the shop was invaluable and they were amazing to deal with. The sleeves were also detachable which was a bonus for the very exuberant dancing that night!

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Tanya Colclough of Eden Photography, was our photographer. Tanya was incredible to deal with - so professional, warm and friendly; so many of our guests commented on how she seamlessly fitted into the day and she was a very relaxing presence to have throughout. We couldn't recommend her highly enough.

THE BAND

Our band was called Renovator and they blew everyone away. We heard them at a family wedding the year before, and the next morning emailed them straight away to book them for our own wedding! They were a massive hit with our guests and at one point there wasn't a single person at their seat which can only be a good thing!

THE FIRST DANCE

We had 'The Wonder of You' by Elvis Presley as our first dance. We are both big Elvis fans and it's such a beautiful song that we have always loved - it was one of the first decisions we made when planning the wedding.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

It's hard to pick just one - I really enjoyed the morning, getting ready in the bridal suite with my mum and my bridesmaids was a great laugh and very relaxing. A good friend of mine was our celebrant which was a particular highlight as it made the ceremony so personal and easy-going.

Another fab moment was taking our pictures at Ballycotton Pier - it's one of our favourite places in the world and we've spent a lot of special times there, so we felt really lucky to be able to incorporate it into our day. It was also a lovely opportunity to have a few moments to ourselves after the hustle and bustle of the morning!

Unbeknownst to us, my dad spent the year before the wedding learning Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen (one of our favourites!) on the drums.

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He wouldn't be the most musical person in the world, so when the band invited him up on stage we hadn't a clue what was going on! It was a great moment, and he brought the house down and definitely took the limelight off us for a few minutes! We also had our family dogs, Kevin and Charlie, at the wedding and having them in our pictures was very special (even though they hadn't a breeze what was going on or why they were being forced to wear dickie bows!).

THE STRESS FACTOR

I found it relaxed enough to be honest and I think a lot had to do with the suppliers we chose. Nothing was ever too big an ask and they were all so professional fantastic to deal with. We left a few things to the last minute which meant the week before was a small bit hectic, but where's the fun in being too organised...!

We also had a lot of help from some very talented friends, for example one of our friends helped design our welcome sign and stationery, and having a friend as our celebrant took all the stress out of planning the ceremony!

THE HONEYMOON

After the wedding we spent two days in the Cliff House in Ardmore which gave us a chance to relax and look back on the excitement of the previous few days.

We then spent Christmas skiing in the French Alps where we met, which was so lovely! We also plan on going to Lake Garda in July as our official honeymoon (which might be milking it a bit at this stage!).

THE FIRST GLANCE

We met each other while working on a ski season in Morzine, France. We got on like a house on fire straight away and after a few months of getting to know each other, I think we both knew we could be more than just friends! After moving home to Ireland the following summer, we caught up and the rest, as they say, is history!

THE ADVICE

Don't sweat the small stuff and try not to get bogged down by the little details (easier said than done, I know!). Do your research when booking suppliers as they really can make the day as stress-free as possible! Try to enjoy every single moment in the lead up and of course on the day as it really does go in the blink of an eye.

To mention our suppliers, in particular Tanya from Eden Photography, our videographer Richard Finlay and Jill Wildflower who arranged what can only be called absolute floral masterpieces! We feel so lucky and grateful to have had such an amazing day and having everyone we love in one room celebrating with us was just incredible.

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