Story of Orla and Andrew
The beginning
When and how did you meet? What were your first impressions? Did it take you long to get together? Etc
We met in 1998, we were in the same class in college and then we didn’t see each other for 12 years. We met out in a pub in town about 3 years ago and then it was love at second sight
The proposal. When/where was it and how did it go?
The proposal was the 21st of December 2013. Andrew drove me blindfolded to Glendalough where we had gone on one of our first dates and he missed the opportunity to kiss me. The weather was horrific and he led me still blindfolded down to the lake through the trees where I nearly fell over a few times. I took off the blindfold and Andrew was on one knee with a ring in his hand. The most worrying part was that nobody stopped a man leading a woman down to the lake blindfolded!!
The venue. How /why did you choose it and how did it work out?
I had come across Tankardstown whilst searching the internet and made an appointment for Andrew to view the property. He fell in love with the place the minute he drove in the gates and phoned me afterwards to say it was booked and it was in April. I went to see Tankardstown two weeks later with my dad and knew instantly we had made the right decision.
The planning. How long did it take and who was involved? Did you enjoy it?
We had 16 weeks to plan the wedding and everybody thought we were mad!
Andrew told me he would look after everything  and not to worry, I quickly realized that if this was going to happen I would have to take over. We set up a spreadsheet with a to-do list and each week we would go through it with updates. The only thing we had a problem with in the short time scale was my dress but we worked around this.
The budget. Tell us about how you budgeted for your wedding; did you stick to it? Go over? Was it difficult to keep to?
When we first got engaged we did up a budget and friends had given us good advice to be realistic with our estimates which we took on board which resulted with us being pretty bang on budget.
The hard part. What was the most stressful thing in the planning of the wedding?
The most stressful part was the numbers, we wanted to have a small wedding and it was hard to make decisions in relation to different people. We had originally want 50 -60 people and we ended up with 88 on the day
The day. How did it go? Were there any near disasters/funny incidents?
The day was wonderful; the sun was shining for the whole weekend. We were so lucky for the middle of April. My mom passed away a few years ago and that was her present to us. We had a humanist ceremony which we were a bit nervous on how people would react, we got great reactions everybody felt it was very personal & emotional. There were no incidents / disasters, the staff at Tankardstown were amazing, they were busy working away behind the scenes and nothing was a problem for them.
The memory. What was the highlight or most vivid memory of the day for you?
Andrews highlight was seeing me for the first time walking up the aisle, he got very emotional but managed to hold it together. Mine had to be the dancing, the DJ got everybody up dancing there were definitely a few faces I’d never seen up dancing before
The unsung hero. Is there someone who stands out as giving a huge amount of help, or who saved the day when you needed them most?
Our unofficial wedding planner my friend Christine, she gave us so much advice and was always at the end of an email / text to look at the different options anything from the flowers for the tables to hair clips. We kept telling her she missed her calling
What would you change or do slightly differently if you could?
No we wanted a party for all our friends and family with good food and wine and we got everything we wanted
What is the best piece of advice you can give to other couples planning their wedding?
When the day comes around, you’ve done all the planning, sit back and relax and take it all in. The day will fly in. I would also take some time out for yourself, even 20 minutes to let it all sink in. All our guests got called for dinner and we sat outside on our own for about 10 minutes. It was great to catch up on the day
Tankardstown House wedding ceremony
