A Co Down couple have shared a look inside their classic wedding at the Galgorm Resort and Spa, Ballymena.
Sarah (30) and Jonathan (31) Gracey, from Banbridge and Newry, met on a night out and have been inseparable ever since, getting engaged in 2014 in Crete.
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.
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The fitness instructor and tiling contractor got married on September 8, 2021 with a humanist ceremony here in NI, but had original plans to fly to Ibiza for their big day.
Sarah told Be : "We had a long engagement as we always knew we wanted to have our children at our wedding. We have two children, Mylah and Benjamin."
The mum-of-two has told us all about their big day.
Tell us all about your wedding and how you began planning.
We got the most gorgeous weather, luckily, with the sun shining from start to finish.
We originally began planning for a wedding abroad, our ideal location being Ibiza. I originally wanted a very bohemian beach wedding and had planned for it to be very small and intimate. We booked our wedding package through a local travel agent and got in contact with a wedding planner in Ibiza to start planning our wedding. Due to Covid, our planned wedding abroad was cancelled and our other option was to postpone for another year or two, with all of the uncertainty at the time. However, after many chats and knowing we had waited long enough, we decided to change our plan and opted for a wedding in Northern Ireland. Even with restrictions, we were happy as we only ever wanted a small wedding.
How you decide on your venue?
When it came to choosing a venue, we were very lucky as here in Ireland there are so many beautiful venues to choose from. Our only problem was that we really wanted to get married within the year, so finding a venue with availability was going to be tough. One of our favourite places to go together is the Galgorm, so when thinking of a venue it was the first and only place I could envision us getting married at. Luckily, Covid for once was in our favour as they had some availability due to cancellations in regards to restrictions.
Numbers were still limited in venues but as our guest list was under 100, we could continue on. We really wanted our guests to be as relaxed as possible and with two young children, we didn’t want a long drive from our ceremony to the reception. We chose to have a humanist wedding on venue in the Phantom House which was only a short walk from the Four Seasons where our reception would follow.
Tell us about your wedding dress, bridesmaid dress and suits.
My wedding dresses I found in the first shop I went to. I really wanted to shop local for as many items as possible so La Boda Bridal was my first trip. The ladies in La Boda are just amazing, Carmen encouraged me to think out of the box and to get out of my comfort zone. I had no idea of what I wanted and with an abroad wedding the plan when I chose my dresses. I’m so glad I didn’t change my dresses when cancelled as our wedding ended up being on the hottest day of the year.
I chose a beautiful Liri by Riki Dalal dress for my ceremony then later changed into a more fitted Pronovias dress to dance the night away. For my bridesmaids, I chose gorgeous dresses from a family friends boutique in Newry called Snaubs. I chose a gorgeous bright coral colour, again with an abroad wedding in mind. Once again, I'm glad I didn’t change my mind as they were so flattering on both of my bridesmaids. For the men's suits, we opted for a classic black tux from Statement Menswear in Portadown. With the style of my dresses and the colour of the bridesmaids dresses, I knew I wanted something very sophisticated. I really think you cannot go wrong with a tux as it will never date and always looks stylish. To make Jonny stand out as the groom, we chose a gorgeous velvet jacket with matching dicky bow.
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
Our favourite part in the build up to the day was all the get-togethers that we had with friends and family. The hen party and stag along with dress/suit shopping is all part of the fun and excitement. It really gets you in the mood for the big day.
What was the best moment of your day and your other favourite parts?
The best moment on our big day was getting to share our wedding with our two children Mylah, 4, and Benjamin, 2. Having them there and a part of our big day was something we’re so glad that they got to experience. Our daughter loved the day especially as she got to see her mummy all dressed up like a real life princess, and got to wear a beautiful matching dress.
What would you tell other bride and grooms to plan first & what are your top tips?
One of my top tips for other couples out there starting to plan their big day is to try to enjoy it all. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed with all the different choices and themes but if you take it all in and enjoy the process, it’ll be more fun than stress. I tried my best to stop looking for inspiration once I had chosen something. For example, you can easily start to doubt your dress choice, so I personally just stopped looking at all other wedding dresses to avoid doubting my decision.
What were the hardest parts to plan?
The hardest part to plan was probably the flower girl and page boy outfits. Who knew it would be so difficult to convince toddlers to wear a particular pair of shoes? I ended up having two outfits for them each to avoid any melt downs on the day, because the wedding morning is not a day to negotiate with a toddler. We have so many imperfect pictures of them with shoes off, messy hair and sleeping but they’re our most favourite pictures to look back on.
What was your theme?
My theme quickly changed with our change of venue. The wedding I envisioned having ended up going the total opposite direction and I couldn’t be any happier it did. I thought I wanted a very laid back, bohemian beach wedding. Once I chose the Galgorm, my theme changed as I really wanted it to complement the venue. I wanted a very classic wedding which I could look back on and feel like it hasn’t really dated. I went for a very clean, crisp, white wedding theme.
Is there anything you wish you didn't worry about?
The only thing I wish I hadn’t worried about was if all our guests would have a good day. You worry so much about making sure everything is perfect for your guests, when in reality everyone loves a wedding and will enjoy every second of it - regardless of the favours you’ve chosen or the colour scheme.
Covid definitely had a big impact on our wedding day due to the travel restrictions however on reflection it also worked in our favour. We were able to have a beautiful intimate wedding in our own country, with all our nearest and dearest there.
Do you want to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk to be featured!
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