A couple currently living in London have shared an insight into their beautiful wedding day in Co Down.
30-year-olds Sara Askin from Belfast and her husband Adam Askin from Monaghan had their special day at the Millbrook Lodge Hotel in Ballynahinch on October 29, 2021, after it was postponed twice due to Covid.
In Be 's weekly feature Inside My Wedding, couples are delving into their special day to give bride and grooms-to-be some top tips.
The teachers had their ceremony beforehand at Sara's mum's local church.
The newlyweds have been together for 12 years and got engaged on holiday in August 2018.
Sara has told us all about her wedding day back home in Northern Ireland.
Tell us all about your wedding day!
We had the best day and it was definitely worth the wait. We were both just so happy to be getting married and to have everyone we wanted there with us. Everything came together so well, even the weather co-operated.
How did you begin planning your wedding?
First of all we just enjoyed being engaged for a few months. I didn't really have any idea of the kind of wedding I wanted but we did know we wanted to get married at home, rather than in England.
During a half-term, we came home and looked around at some different venues and decided on the Millbrook. That was the first thing we booked. I definitely think it's best to start with finding the venue you like then go with planning the rest from there.
How did you decide on your venue(s)?
We looked at a few different options, some hotel options and some others where the venue is hired and then you can hire in caterers etc. After looking at Larchfield, we loved it and considered booking there but then we went to see Millbrook Lodge and we loved it. The grounds are so beautiful and they were so friendly and helpful.
We also thought that booking somewhere where everything is handled by the venue itself worked best for us as we were planning from afar. The ceremony part of our wedding was a bit trickier to decide. We come from different religious backgrounds so we were unsure on whether to have a church wedding or have our ceremony at the venue but in the end we decided to get married in my mum's local church .
Tell us all about your wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and suits.
I LOVED my dress. It was an Enzoani dress and I got it at Elody Bridal in Newry. I had it sitting at home for a long time before I got to wear it, as our date was postponed due to Covid. But I still loved it just as much.
Originally I had ivory dresses for my bridesmaids as it was going to be a summer wedding. When we changed to our third and final date I decided to change the bridesmaids dresses to a green as I thought that would work better for Autumn. I ended up keeping one of the ivory dresses and wearing it in the evening. I ordered them online from ChiChi and we were all happy with them. They were good quality and really flattering. We got the boy's suits from Statement in Portadown, they were fab!
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
Covid threw a few spanners into our build up. We had to postpone our wedding twice so for a while the excitement for the day was lost a bit and it became hard work. However once we knew the wedding was going ahead we were able to get excited again. I'm not really sure if there was a best part in particular, I think when I look back it's just a really fun, special time in your life. I really loved my hen, it was all a surprise that I didn't know anything about but my bridesmaids had it planned to perfection.
What was the best moment of your day and your other favourite parts?
I'm not sure if there was a stand out moment. We both enjoyed every second of our day and just felt so happy. Even in the morning, I felt very calm, chilled and excited for the day. So many of our friends travelled from England and it was just so nice to have all our family and friends together. We definitely made the most of being able to dance at our wedding and didn't leave the dancefloor. Our band and DJ had everyone up so that was fun. We also have a little dog, Ezra, who we brought over. One of my mum's friends looked after him for us but brought him along for some photos. We were so happy to have him there too.
What would you tell other bride and grooms to plan first & what are your top tips?
I would definitely say to find a venue you like and decide on a date. Once you know that, it helps you to decide what kind of wedding you want to have, season etc. In terms of top tips, I would just say to remember that you are doing it for you and your wife/husband, so do what makes you both happy. Don't try to please everyone else. Also try not to sweat the small stuff, just enjoy it all.
What were the hardest parts to plan?
Covid definitely made the planning process a lot harder. We were originally meant to get married in August 2020, before rescheduling to April 2021 and then finally to October 2021. Not knowing what way restrictions were going to be made it hard to know how many guests we could have, what rules there would be about dancing, etc. Especially as we live in England, it was hard as the restrictions in England were very different to Northern Ireland, so that definitely added some stress to the whole process.
Tell us about 'the vibe' or theme of your wedding?
I don't know if there was a theme as such but I wanted a vibe that was very simple and classic. I wanted to make sure that when I look back at photos in 20 years time, I would still love them. I tried not to do or have things just for the sake of it, and to make sure that it was something that we really wanted or needed. I think that the things that stand out when you go to a wedding are the people that are there, the food and drink and the music. We wanted to make sure all of that was on point.
Would you do anything different or wish there was anything you didn't worry about?
I don't think so, in the end it all came together perfectly. So I wouldn't change it. I think I was quite a relaxed bride so I didn't really stress myself out or worry about things in the run up. Covid was definitely the hardest part when things were so far out of our control.
With postponing twice, we lost a few suppliers that weren't able to make our new dates. However third time lucky, we had the best mix of suppliers and it wouldn't have been the wedding it was if it had been the first or second date.
Do you want to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk to be featured!
