I suppose it's all in a day's work as far as Irish weddings are concerned. Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday but I thought I'd have photos if I waited until today. Unfortunately, I got a bit stuck at work last night so I decided I'd wait until tonight to do photos so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see them!
The wedding was great fun! Everything was about as perfect as a bride could ever hope it would be. Dianne (the aforementioned bride) looked stunning in a long ivory dress with a long sleeved lace jacket of sorts and her hair pulled back just right. She always wears her hair down so it looked particularly dressy on her. Billy, the groom, wore a long tux jacket with pinstriped pants and even appeared to have comber his hair for the occasion (a long running pub conversation the week before had suggested that he may not). The flowers were just enough without being too much and the bridesmaids looked perfect in their two-piece black gowns. The program at the small catholic church in the village (with it's bright stained glass windows and hardwood panel ceilings) was a rolled scroll on creamy old fashioned parchment.
They had hired two local singer (a young man and woman, though not a couple) to sing during the ceremony and the two of them had voices like angels. He gave the guests goosebumps with his performance of Ave Maria. The bride's sister (also a bridesmaid) sang as well and sounded great. You always have to wonder how bad it's going to be when a relative gets up to sing but she really sounded lovely. The priest was fantastic. He really put the couple at ease and had a great sense of humor throughout the ceremony, bringing the perfect balance of serious commitment and fun to the entire thing. Billy and Dianne are known for being fun so it suited the ceremony well.
After the ceremony everyone headed to the pub across the way for a drink or two while photos were being taken and then the crowd made there way to Kinnitty Castle, just a mile or so down the road. It's breathtaking when you come up to it, and there's no mistaking it's a castle. The entrance way was fantastic with it's deep red carpet leading up the stairs and two suits of armor overlooking the stairwell. The pre-dinner spot was the Dungeon. It's an actual bar downstairs in the castle and the walls are the original stone and everything is kept lit with candlelight. There was mulled wine and campaign (I should have stuck to the mulled wine as the campaign bubbles did not agree well with my stomach later on at dinner) and open bar for anyone who preferred a Guinness or other type of drink.
From the dungeon we were led up through the castle and the courtyard (where they had a bagpiper playing gorgeous Celtic music) and into the medieval banquet hall. They seated all of the cousins and younger guests up on the balcony which meant it was sometimes hard to hear, but the view of everything was great. Dinner was salmon, chicken, or steak. My only complaint was that the steak was SO well done but I should have known better since that is generally the way the Irish cook all of their meat. People look at me like I have three heads when I order my steak medium rare. The wine flowed freely throughout dinner (although those campaign bubbles deterred me from eating or drinking as much as I liked and I actually had to go for a walk to calm my stomach before desert was served). The speeches seemed to last forever (1 hour and 20 minutes) but included some really funny stories and jokes and even included a slide show, featuring a photo of when the bride was only 13 and the groom was 28. She's 23 now and they've known each other all their lives and really are perfect together but the best man (and groom's brother) couldn't help himself from pointing out the 'yuck' factor that existed back then! It was pretty funny and did get a pretty good laugh out of the crowd since most of them have known them their entire lives and could recall them at those ages.
Anyhow, after dinner the tables at the front of the hall were cleared and the band set up and there was dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. The band played until about 1am. They're a local band called 'The Groove' and they really are quite good. They kept things fun and moving until they packed up and by then the DJ had already set up so the music just kept on going. The bride was barefoot and dancing the night away with everyone in the place and the groom was right by her side joining in the fun. That was also where my pulled muscle came into account. I absolutely adore dancing with my friend Simon and I think I must have pulled it during one of the dips but I didn't really notice until after the song ended and I was walking to the bar for another drink. The fun was well worth the pulled quad though! The DJ was on until about 3am and then we all went back to the Dungeon (the bar there doesn't close which was a key selling point for the groom!). To everyone's surprise and delight there were about 5 or 6 musicians set up in the corner playing traditional Irish music and having a sing-song. The bride and her sister sang to the groom and everyone had a good time singing and dancing along until about 4 or 4.30am when things finally started to settle down and people started to leave. Madness.
The wedding was great fun! Everything was about as perfect as a bride could ever hope it would be. Dianne (the aforementioned bride) looked stunning in a long ivory dress with a long sleeved lace jacket of sorts and her hair pulled back just right. She always wears her hair down so it looked particularly dressy on her. Billy, the groom, wore a long tux jacket with pinstriped pants and even appeared to have comber his hair for the occasion (a long running pub conversation the week before had suggested that he may not). The flowers were just enough without being too much and the bridesmaids looked perfect in their two-piece black gowns. The program at the small catholic church in the village (with it's bright stained glass windows and hardwood panel ceilings) was a rolled scroll on creamy old fashioned parchment.
They had hired two local singer (a young man and woman, though not a couple) to sing during the ceremony and the two of them had voices like angels. He gave the guests goosebumps with his performance of Ave Maria. The bride's sister (also a bridesmaid) sang as well and sounded great. You always have to wonder how bad it's going to be when a relative gets up to sing but she really sounded lovely. The priest was fantastic. He really put the couple at ease and had a great sense of humor throughout the ceremony, bringing the perfect balance of serious commitment and fun to the entire thing. Billy and Dianne are known for being fun so it suited the ceremony well.
After the ceremony everyone headed to the pub across the way for a drink or two while photos were being taken and then the crowd made there way to Kinnitty Castle, just a mile or so down the road. It's breathtaking when you come up to it, and there's no mistaking it's a castle. The entrance way was fantastic with it's deep red carpet leading up the stairs and two suits of armor overlooking the stairwell. The pre-dinner spot was the Dungeon. It's an actual bar downstairs in the castle and the walls are the original stone and everything is kept lit with candlelight. There was mulled wine and campaign (I should have stuck to the mulled wine as the campaign bubbles did not agree well with my stomach later on at dinner) and open bar for anyone who preferred a Guinness or other type of drink.
From the dungeon we were led up through the castle and the courtyard (where they had a bagpiper playing gorgeous Celtic music) and into the medieval banquet hall. They seated all of the cousins and younger guests up on the balcony which meant it was sometimes hard to hear, but the view of everything was great. Dinner was salmon, chicken, or steak. My only complaint was that the steak was SO well done but I should have known better since that is generally the way the Irish cook all of their meat. People look at me like I have three heads when I order my steak medium rare. The wine flowed freely throughout dinner (although those campaign bubbles deterred me from eating or drinking as much as I liked and I actually had to go for a walk to calm my stomach before desert was served). The speeches seemed to last forever (1 hour and 20 minutes) but included some really funny stories and jokes and even included a slide show, featuring a photo of when the bride was only 13 and the groom was 28. She's 23 now and they've known each other all their lives and really are perfect together but the best man (and groom's brother) couldn't help himself from pointing out the 'yuck' factor that existed back then! It was pretty funny and did get a pretty good laugh out of the crowd since most of them have known them their entire lives and could recall them at those ages.
Anyhow, after dinner the tables at the front of the hall were cleared and the band set up and there was dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. The band played until about 1am. They're a local band called 'The Groove' and they really are quite good. They kept things fun and moving until they packed up and by then the DJ had already set up so the music just kept on going. The bride was barefoot and dancing the night away with everyone in the place and the groom was right by her side joining in the fun. That was also where my pulled muscle came into account. I absolutely adore dancing with my friend Simon and I think I must have pulled it during one of the dips but I didn't really notice until after the song ended and I was walking to the bar for another drink. The fun was well worth the pulled quad though! The DJ was on until about 3am and then we all went back to the Dungeon (the bar there doesn't close which was a key selling point for the groom!). To everyone's surprise and delight there were about 5 or 6 musicians set up in the corner playing traditional Irish music and having a sing-song. The bride and her sister sang to the groom and everyone had a good time singing and dancing along until about 4 or 4.30am when things finally started to settle down and people started to leave. Madness.
So that's the story of my Irish wedding encounter. I was back at the castle the following day to catch up with everyone before heading home and find out what I missed. There was some additional drinking into the morning hours but everyone retired not long after. I was able to take a mini tour of the castle and the rooms were great. They had two double beds put together and they were so big you could sleep 5 people in them and not even touch the person next to you. I know this because five of the lads were still in bed when I went up and they looked totally comfy and spread out! They were 4 poster with velvet canopies and old stone walls. Gorgeous. I would have loved to see the bridal suite but they hadn't come down yet. The halls and staircases and everything were all so awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing the professional wedding photos. I'm sure there are some great ones.
Anyhow - I've already written through my tea break and then again through my lunch break so I had better get back to work. Photos to follow! ;-)
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