Love.Laugh.Rain.Fun.Wind and Dragons - Three Castle Head Wedding in Schull - Ireland S&N

Love.Laugh.Rain.Fun.Wind and Dragons – Three Castle Head Wedding in Schull – Ireland S&N

We wanted a relaxed day. I am very laid back and Neil is quite good at organising things so I let him organise most of it.

He wasn’t too much of a ‘groomzilla’.

The scenery in west cork is wild and the cafe at Three Castle Head where we had the drinks reception is out at the edge of the world so we just kept things simple and rustic to fit in with the setting of west Cork.

The most important thing about the day was for us to celebrate it with our closest friends and family. Because of that we had a small wedding of 70 guests. We wanted it to feel like a night out with good friends and we wanted to be able to really spend time with everyone, as opposed to spending the night flying around making sure we got to meet everyone.

We had been at Three Castle Head the year previous on a walk and we were blown away by the beauty of the place. We knew we wanted it to be a part of our wedding. The reason we selected the Schull Harbour hotel was the friendliness of the staff. From the very first meeting they made us feel special and made us feel that we were in good hands. And the food is amazing!

Our guests made the day. They were so positive, enthusiastic and happy for us. They brought such a lovely energy to the day and they had so much fun. During the meal we looked around at the tables of people laughing and we said to each other that we wished we were at this wedding rather than it being our wedding. It was also special because it was only people who we really wanted there as opposed to a huge wedding of acquaintances. Our photographer, Olga also helped make the day. Our happiest memories of the day are with Olga on the side of a cliff in the lashing rain. She was so enthusiastic and positive and that definitely rubbed off on us.

My nephew William is in a lot of the pictures. He was my page boy and he did a wonderful job. I am mad about him.

What to say about Olga MrRredhead Photography Ireland

Of course her pictures, and Aleks’ too, speak for themselves. We are thrilled with the wonderful shots they got of our day. However, there is much more to Olga than her photos. Her energy, fun and enthusiasm are infectious and for us she was a part of the day. She has the ability to make you feel comfortable and to let you be yourself and because of that she captured beautiful moments of Sarah and I being us, together. The weather was atrocious, but because of Olga’s enthusiasm it never got us down. In truth, the weather combined with Olga’s energy made our day and our abiding memory of our wedding will forever be us laughing with each other on the side of a cliff in the lashing rain while Sarah’s veil blew off into the distance. Thank you Olga for your energy and for being part of our day and thank you and Aleks for all the beautiful moments you’ve captured.

How did you meet originally and get together?

We first met in 2006 when I was a trainee teacher in teacher training college in Dublin. Neil was teaching in Bray at the time and I was placed in his for class professional placement. We were both in relationships at the time so nothing happened, but we kept in touch over the years sending the odd Facebook message to see how the other was getting on. In 2009, we both were single and Neil convinced me to go on a date. However, he was just out of a long term relationship and was as mad as a bag of cats so we didn’t have a second date!

Jump forward to 2015 and Neil posted a message on Facebook asking all of his friends to please vote Yes in the marriage referendum. A member of Neil’s family is gay and Neil was asking in support of him. I sent Neil a message to say I liked his post and we got back in touch. Neil persisted and eventually convinced me to go on a second date with him – though this time I insisted it wasn’t a date. We were both ready for a relationship this time and here we are J

How did the proposal go, if there was one?

Neil’s dad is from Schull in West Cork and we go down as often as we can. Looking out from Neil’s dad’s house in Schull you can see Cape Clear Island. One day Neil suggested that we take a trip out to the island, so we got the ferry from Baltimore over. Once we reached the island we went for a walk. Neil seemed to be looking for something but I didn’t take much notice as Neil is into photography and he is often on the lookout for things to photograph on our walks. Eventually he seemed to have found what he was looking for – two tall standing stones in a field. It took him a bit of convincing to get me to go into the field because of the ‘Beware of Bull’ sign, but I eventually went in. When we reached the stones Neil started to tell me about them. He told me that the stones have stood in that place for thousands of years (I thought to myself ‘Jesus, he’s talking about stones!’). He then told me that they are known as the marriage stones and he got down on one knee and took out the ring. I was shocked. He never manages to surprise me. I think I was even too shocked to answer! He told me after that he wanted to propose on Cape Clear so that anytime we are in his dad’s house in Schull and looked out the window, we would be able to see where we got engaged.

What advice would you give to other couples planning their day?

Don’t fret the little things. The weather on our day was atrocious. During the photo shoot my veil blew away and my make-up washed off, but we laughed so much. The weather, the little things don’t matter. It’s about the two of you celebrating your love for each other with those people who mean most to you. Everything else is dressing.

Where did you go/are you planning on going on honeymoon? Would you recommend it?

We’re going on a walking holiday to Austria in the summer.

Love.Laugh.Rain.Fun.Wind and Dragons – Three Castle Head Wedding in Schull – Ireland S&N