Maria and JacQues magic wedding

[Maria 05]

I might as well repost this
I will start this from the hen night

It was the 4th of November
I was in Galway happily awaiting a contingent of hens arriving from Wexford when I saw that horror of horrors there was a wild cat strike with the buses and Wexford to Dublin was not running and neither was Dublin to Galway.:hammer: I was panicked but forgot the resourcefulness of the hens themselves. Soracha my sister and MOH went into over drive and got all the hens onto the train or what she termed "the hen got the unruly chicks onto the train and headed to Galway." I also was checking that the girls in the course with me would be coming and most of them were. Then I got a phone call from the bar that they were flooded out but had made arrangements with the bar next door to take us and hoped it would not inconvenience the hen night. :hammer:

Finally Soracha arrived and I was ready and with the devil horns, veil sash and bubbles the hens made our way sedately and calmly (Read noisily and unruly) down the main street of Salthill to a restaurant where we were given a complementary bottle of sparkling wine.

The bar, when we arrived, were not too happy to have a hen night and asked us to remove the horns and sash as it was against their dress code. The bar was completely dead and we stayed to get everyone together before heading into Galway properly where we ended up in another bar where the cocktails flowed as quickly as the banter and chat. What was really exciting was just across from us was a newly engaged couple they were just engaged five minutes before the hens descended. This place also let us keep our sashes and horns.

Then it was to a night club where I suddenly felt "old" and that it was not my scene any more. Still that did not stop me dancing till closing when we staggered back home. I stayed with Soracha and Martha as I did not want to go back to my FH. Then Soracha got the Wexford hens up the following "morning" to them it was to everyone else it was evening and herded them back to the train. Martha and I checked that all the Galway hens were safe and sound and that we had not lost anyone. Maria headed into town to pick up the fur wraps for around my Bm's shoulders and then went back to my now worried FH.

[Maria 05]

The next few days were spent trying to finalise the songs and get the church booklets done amid trying to finish my course work and ordinary work. Then Maria signed her maiden name in the sign out sheet for work for the last time and headed down to Wexford to try and sort things and had to deal with the Mrs Murphy law "anything that can go wrong will and it's the woman who will get the blame." Thank god Soracha was on hand to feed me chocolate or strangle me depending on what she thought I needed. jacQues meanwhile was getting Scamps to the "sitter" and looking forward to his stag.

jacQues stag was a night of complete worry because one of the stags to be funny kept sending me "updates" which resulted in a bridezilla moment that Soracha for the sake of peace sanity and justice took my phone and removed the sim before handing it back to me. The stag actually was nothing worse that go- karting and paint ball followed by a night of poker and a meal of fish and chips and the pub.

[Maria 05]

The week of the wedding

This was where everything that could go wrong really did go wrong.
(Some of you will remember from this site that my Mother and Father in law were not coming to see their only son married but I won’t go into this here)
My In-laws flight was delayed and I was going up to Dublin to meet them luckily we worked out how we would get all of them down and the plan went accordingly but my elder SIL found her luggage had gone awol. http://celticdesade.com/dreamfortwo/style_emoticons/default/smash.gif She was furious but it was located and sent down after her but not before a tantrum was thrown but luckily not by me. We also had the problem that my little niece and flower girl took strange to me and greeted me by slapping me. She calmed down however when I handed her the birthday present.

Because the flight was delayed and the delay in trying to sort out SIL's luggage the guesthouse rang to ask if I knew that check in had to before 10 pm. However they were very understanding and allowed them in two hours past check in time. When I got home I was like a zombie and a friend from England had arrived and was staying with us which made me very happy and whom I was so glad to see because she is a rock of sense and is also a good friend of my parents plus she is an excellent seamstress.

The next morning Tuesday I tried on my dress and horrors it would not fasten up on me. I knew I had lost weight and could not understand it. It was all hands on deck however once we raced to the bridal shop the dress fastened up with out a hitch much to everyone’s relief. So the dress was once more placed in the car when another would be bride said "where is she going with the body bag" The dress was huge and when it was all zipped up it did look like a corpse. So we went back home where Soracha had a pot of really strong coffee waiting for her big sister.

Martha arrived down that evening because Soracha had emailed her telegram style Come quick. Bride won’t. ("Come quick stop Bride won't stop") Martha was staying in my room so I spent that morning moving stuff around when I heard a huge bang and saw that my wedding dress had pulled the hook off the wooden hanger and had fallen onto the floor. The hook was still hanging forlornly on the door of the wardrobe as the dress would not fit into it as it was too big. Liz, my parent's friend, was on hand to deftly have it hanging back up before my mammy or I had a breakdown. She spent the rest of the day turning up my "going away outfit"

We then got the inflatable bed up and dressed before Martha arrived. Martha came bringing what she called "the bride's meds" it was a bag containing firstly a bottle of Champaign, a bottle of brandy and a bottle of wine. Then there was a box of chocolates, tissues and the ever faithful Rescue Remedy to which Soracha remarked "Give it to her by the barrel full if it kills her at least we will have some peace!"

That evening we unwound by watching a DVD and ensuring that the chocolate did not go to waste. The brandy was put away for Christmas and my Daddy claimed the wine as his with Martha's blessing.

[Maria 05]

Thursday The Rehearsal
It was bitterly cold day a day which Soracha claimed she and Martha would be ice. Martha added that "it's ok for you my dear you are wearing a duvet! If it is anyway warm we will need a walk in freezer to keep the bride from melting." It was all good humoured and the stags were on their way to Wexford bringing jacQues who was none the worse for wear and, as I was reassured, the stags had "left the parts that will be visible on the day alone"
I then had an aunt and uncle come unannounced up to the house when we were busy trying to get things done. They were not nasty but they stayed for ages and ages and ages until finally my daddy was able to gently move them out the door. I would not mind but we were trying to organise relays of people as the church had to be decorated the morning of the wedding and there were things that needed to go out to the venue that would not be ready despite all our efforts until the morning of the wedding.

Then we had to go to the church for the rehearsal and realised that the groom was lost. He was not staying with the stags and was not at the church. Frantic phone calls relieved that he was at the twin church and as both are identical it was an easy mistake to make. Daddy went and collected him. jacQues was also very travel sick. However we had everyone we needed and dumped the booklets into the arms of Connor one of the ushers with the instructions "fold them then give half to Ronan when he comes." and handed the rings to the best man who was under penalty of death if he should loose them.

The main problem we had was that little Eva (the flower girl) was exhausted and Orla the Jr Bridesmaid was either so excited that she could not attend or was looking for attention and started to misbehave however very soon we were able to practise the walk down the aisle and Eva to everyone's surprise stopped crying and walked down the aisle and then got back into her buggy and fell asleep. It was "ok my bit's done now let me sleep" Orla was glad she did not have to go first. The rehearsal went very well but coming out of the church Fr Jim said "It is forecast for snow tomorrow so I hope the bride does not get snowed in."
Uggh I know I live on a mountain so if there is snow we will get it but to be snowed in perish the thought I would come by snow plough if necessary. Soracha and Martha were worried about been frozen despite the fact the fur wraps were warm.

We left the church to a beautiful starlit sky and no sign of snow. After all its Wexford it never snows. Does it?

[Maria 05]

The Big Day- morning

After a night of not much sleep what with Martha and I giggling away and Soracha coming in to complain that she was sleepy and we were keeping her up, by 1 am she had it down to a fine art.
I awoke way too early at 3:45 and lay awake until 5 am then fell asleep and Martha's alarm went off at 6. Then to my delight I looked out the window and saw a funny white stuff covering the ground trees and bushes. SNOW!!! Martha and Soracha were not as pleased as I was. I got up and went for breakfast Mammy and Daddy were at the table already as mammy had her hair appointment for 7:45 and was trying to work out the relay to get everything ready by half one. My mammy's two sisters came up and together they sorted out the ins and outs to the church. I was to bring down the pew bows and give them to Aunt Anne who was dropping my jr Bm Orla off at the hairdressers when we were booked in. Maura would go out to the venue and sort out the seating arrangments when jacQues rang the house phone Soracha answered and came in to tell me that my husband said I left two names off the seating plan. I added them onto the list in black pen. The tables were already set up and the favours and kiddie bags were out there all they wanted was the list.

Then Liz came and spent twenty minutes coaxing me to have breakfast. My tummy was doing flip flops and I could not eat much. I managed some cereal but how much is still debated between Martha and Soracha. Soracha says I eat less than 1/4 Martha said it was a half. Timmy my parents’ dog came in then and had to be de iced in front of the fire. Snow was stuck to his coat and it was not nice for him so while Timmy was getting pampered in front of the fire by Liz mammy went to get here hair done warning all of us that our appointment was at 9. Martha disappeared for a few minutes and came back with three glasses of Champaign which went down quite well but I did not drink much I was afraid I would be tipsy or worse.

Once we reached the hairdressers I realised I was after forgetting my tiara and a panicked phone call home had Mammy coming in with it and her words to her soon to be married daughter were "you are an Egypt" It was a nice way of calling me an eejit (idiot) Orla arrived then with her dress and it was hung up with the other coats which was a bit of a worry but it survived. While we were there Aunt Pat who had come out to the house unannounced the day before came in to have her hair done and spent 10 minutes fussing over my hair and that the tiara was not back far enough. The girl doing my hair looked ready to cry and I was wondering if pouring my tea over her would shut her up luckily she left soon after and we were able to get our hairs done in peace. Although Orla did start crying because as she said herself "you're getting married and I wont be your girl anymore." a quick reassurance and it was out onto the street to be collected by my daddy. I started to have a cry

Soracha : Martha she has started already
Martha: I will go over to the supermarket and get her tissues. I am going to get funny looks as I have a garden on my head.

Orla was tugging at my hand begging me to bring her to the pet shop for a "quick look at the bunnies" The girls behind the counter were giving us funny looks. Orla with her hair curled and white flowers in it and I with my tiara and carrying her white dress. As we were leaving one of them shouted "oh and by the way Congratulations!" As we left the shop more snowflakes fell

[Maria 05]

n our way home we had to pick up Aoife ( the girl doing our makeup) as her car had broken down so with a bit of juggling we managed to squeeze six into the car. Orla ended up on my lap and Soracha squished between Aoife and I. When we got home a snow covered dog greeted us. Liz and Mammy had the tea made and some sandwiches as Liz had snitched and said how little breakfast I had eaten. (Maria has low blood pressure and if she does not eat she falls down.) There were giggles and laughs as we tried to get dressed but my dress behaved and fastened up on me without as much as a hiccup. Orla was inspecting the bouquets and had assumed that the little red one had to be hers and had added some of the left over white roses from the hair dressers into it. It actually looked kind of cute.

When I was ready my daddy went out to the kitchen to chop onions because he did not want me to know he was crying.

Aoife had just finished applying the last false nail to my hand when the photographer arrived and then it was a blur of activity until it was time to go. I do remember Orla wanted to watch a video of Lady and the Tramp

Soracha came in to tell me the snow was melting but the roads were very icy and that the car had arrived but could not fit in through the gate. Orla pleaded to be allowed to go with me saying "but who will look after the bride if I don’t." It was agreed that Martha would go with mammy and Liz to the church and ensure that the groom was there while Soracha, Orla Daddy and I went in the Rolls. The photographer left and promised to be at the church. Sorcha gave me a rare hug told me I looked stunning and helped me out to the gate. The Chauffeur opened the door and Timmy jumped in and looked at us as if to say "well come on then!"
One dog removed and it was off to the church. Where Maria did not arrive late not on time but 15 minutes to early and was shooed away again by a frantic mother "Go get that child away not all the guests are here yet!"

Finally it was time and I waited in the porch I could feel my heart thumping across the area. Eva was at the church and was looking after her flowers very carefully but when the photographer opened the door to get more light for the photos I had to stop her from heading down the aisle. Then the organ started and Eva walked down that aisle without a word of complaint. When Soracha started her walk I felt my knees turn to jelly. Daddy and I started to walk and I was sure I was going to bawl but instead a huge smile came and I felt a joy I had never known. My Uncle was playing the organ and I swear he pulled out all the stops Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring was resounding around the church.


I did not realise how frightened I was until it came to light the candles and the taper was shaking so much I could not get it into the flame and light the thing. Then as I was crossing in front of the altar to light our unity candle I got stuck between the altar and the kneelers. It was fine in rehearsal as I was wearing trousers but the dress was puffy and it took Fr Jim to say "Oh dear she is stuck" before Soracha came to my rescue. The ceremony went out without a major hitch a few things did not go right but I did not realise until later. The whole ceremony was beautiful and Fr Jim said some very beautiful words of blessing over us. It was absolutely perfect.
When it came to the vows I had no problem with them during rehearsal but I was so afraid I would cry I dug my nails into my palms and lost a nail... but at least I did not cry. It was fantastic. Just after the vows DH turned to me and said "I love you" I heard a huge sob my Aunt Anne was so happy she was crying.

[Maria 05]

with all these click to enlarge some day I will get around to resizing them but I am lazy
http://xs63.xs.to/pics/06024/_images_42201.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs63&d=06024&f=_images_42201.jpg) the dress on the model and on me
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding08.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding08.jpg)
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding06.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding06.jpg)
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding1.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding1.jpg)

[Maria 05]

Soracha and I
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding2.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding2.jpg)

[Maria 05]

Martha Soracha and I where Soracha asks me if I am going to bawl now or bawl later
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding05.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding05.jpg)

[Maria 05]

With my daddy
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding09.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding09.jpg)
Daddy,Mammy Soracha and I
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding07.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding07.jpg)

[Maria 05]

http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding10.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding10.jpg)
arriving at the church for the second time after mammy's mini freak "get that child away the guests arent all here yet"

[Maria 05]

The REAL star of the show little Eva my flower girl
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding12.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding12.jpg)

and the girls ready to go
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding13.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding13.jpg)

[Maria 05]

The jr BM and I
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding3.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding3.jpg)
Almost time and I am shaking
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding11.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding11.jpg)

[Maria 05]

I love my daddy's face in this picture
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding14.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding14.jpg)
Trying to light the unity candle I thought I was ok until the flame was shaking took both hands to light the candle
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding15.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding15.jpg)

[Maria 05]

the vows I look so serious here
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding16.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding16.jpg).

[Maria 05]

Signing the registar
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding17.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding17.jpg)
And on the way to the reception
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding19.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding19.jpg)
Being announced as Mr and Mrs
http://xs74.xs.to/pics/06136/wedding22.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs74&d=06136&f=wedding22.jpg)

[Emily]

Very Nice!! I just love your dress!

[~LeAna~]

You both look so happy when you're being announced Mr. & Mrs! I love it!!

[Maria 05]

thanks ladies.

[mrs.g]

I love your dress! I love the picture of you and your dad on the first page. Very sweet. :)

[rowanmayfairs]

You look beautiful in your dress..

I especially love the picture where you are lighting the candles :)

Congrats on the wedding !!

[Mimzy]

Again - everything is just lovely! Perfect day!

[Maria 05]

Thank you all

[Marisa]

I love your wedding day story!

[Kristie]

I dont think I ever seen your pictures Maria! You looked gorgeous!! What an amazing dress!

[Amanda&Hugo]

I just read your whole story- wow! I really enjoyed it. Some parts of it are just hilarious!! :hehe: Like your jr. BM wanting to stop and look at the bunnies. How cute!! You really had a memorable day- I hope you will keep this story written down somewhere for your children someday!!

Like all the others, I LOVE your dress- very "royalty"! Are you saving it?

This may be a stupid American question, but please tell me... how do you pronounce your makeup person's name- Aoife?? I'd love to know! hehe, I have never heard it pronounced before.

[Maria 05]

Aoife Eefa its Irish so I did think people would have a problem Orla bunnies and lady and the Tramp while I am going "Hang on miss there is a wedding to go to."

[dolphincc]

Beautiful pictures Maria. I love your dress.

[*Ashley*]

I read your WDS at UW, but I still love it! And can I just say that everytime I look at your pictures and think about the Irish accent I think you have it makes me go *squee* all over again, haha! I'm not sure why that makes your pictures cuter, haha, but your wedding was BEAUTIFUL -- your dress was awesome and I love the simplicity of your flowers -- burgundy and ivory roses, it was perfect.

[Kelly]

beautiful Maria;)