TWENTY-TWENTY // A YEAR IN REVIEW
It’s a strange time… How I have heard these words mentioned over and over. I have typed out this blog post many times, it really is hard to put the year we have been through into words. Twenty-twenty was to be my busiest yet, I was so looking forward to kicking it off in March. But then Covid-19 struck. In February I attended a Chinese New Year celebration event in Omagh. I was watched the sadness of struggles in China and prayers for family to remain safe. It really did feel like a million miles away. March came and we watched Italy devastated by the virus but we were still hopeful it wouldn’t happen to us, it didn’t feel real. Then by mid March St Patrick’s Day celebrations were cancelled across Ireland, GP surgeries and schools closed followed by the first lockdown. March weddings were rescheduled but we were hopeful that by May everything would be back to normal. Weeks passed with the lockdown extended and all my summer weddings moved or cancelled. Eventually there seemed to be light and my first wedding of 2020 tentatively arrived in September, photographing for fellow photographer Davy and Colette at their intimate outdoor wedding held at Beech Hill Country House Hotel. We’ve had a few further bumps along the way with restrictions up and down and weddings moved last minute, weddings moved forward, plenty of venue changes and couples holding their breath for the Thursday executive announcements. But through it all the strong factor in place for 2020 weddings was that couples just wanted to get married. My final wedding of the year was held amidst the tightest restrictions, I arrived for the ceremony followed by photographs of the couple after, their reception cancelled but they smiled all day, making extra special memories of a time like no other. 2020 couples really had nerves of steel but they are a piece of history and made their own day unique!
For 2021 couples the best advice I can give you is your mindset. Go into your wedding remembering the reason of your day, you are marrying your best friend, the person who you want to spend your life with and you intend to have the best day ever with the people most dear to you! If it comes to it, the small, ‘micro weddings’ are a unique and beautiful option to the traditional weddings we have here. You get the space and licence to do what you want, wear what you want and celebrate exactly as you want without the pressure to conform! People have held receptions in restaurants, pubs, mountains and a BBQ at home. Whatever you decide, there are options available to you!
2020 SLIDESHOW HIGHLIGHTS
That’s my highlights, read what some of my couples had to say about 2020 and their experiences of getting married during a global pandemic.
COLETTE & DAVY // BEECH HILL COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL
“What a rollercoaster of year! Getting married in 2020 was no easy task. We originally booked our wedding for June 2020 but hen came the dreaded Covid-19, a worldwide pandemic that few thought would reach our shores. By March everything had changed, lockdowns, closure of hotels, schools and society so that put paid to the June wedding. Thankfully we were able to change our date to September when the lockdown was due to ease and although the numbers where capped at 30 everything turned out perfect. We had a beautiful, mild day with our service held in the forest at Beech Hill Country House Hotel followed by a meal with our closest family and friends.”
SIOBHAN & AIDAN // AN GRIANAN HOTEL
“We got married on 19th September 2020. In January 2020, we had bought all the materials needed to hand make our invitations for over 200 guests, little did we know we wouldn’t even be able to invite half of that! Throughout the summer months there was a lot of uncertainty on how things would go but we were keen to stay positive and still go ahead with our wedding date no matter the amount of people there. All we could do was hope. For several weeks, hotel receptions in the South of Ireland were only allowing 50 guests attend, this was due to increase to 100 guests on two dates throughout the summer, but it didn’t. As we held out for yet another announcement only 6 weeks before our wedding, when the invitations should have been posted, we realised a lot of our close family and friends would not get to share with us the most special day of our lives. As disappointing as it was, we realised how fortunate we were to even have our wedding and still have our nearest and dearest attend. Throughout the experience we were determined to turn every negative into a positive and to try to enjoy it all before it was all over. We did not dwell on the very minor restrictions in place for example, table service instead of queuing at the bar and wine poured by the servers as opposed to the guests. Instead we saw it as a more luxurious service we were providing for our guests! We were still allowed our band, lots of dancing, a top table with 14 people and plenty of laughing. We were also blessed with the weather, and since the sun was shining we took the opportunity to have photographs at Grianan of Aileach, which has the most breathtaking views. Considering this was all taking place during an ongoing world pandemic, we couldn’t have asked for more. Prior to 2020, a ‘small’ wedding in Ireland was quite unusual. But as the saying goes, sometimes less is more, and like anything in life, it’s all about what you make it!”
SANDRA & SEAN // SEGRAVE BARNS
“Like all other couples, you watch the news, numbers and restrictions daily, then in July things started to improve and couples we knew started bringing their weddings forward. We had booked to go away for a week in Kerry in late July and had contacted the venue to see what dates they had available. We went to Kerry with two dates, 28th August or 25th Sept. I was automatically drawn to the 25th Sept as it was the day of my Mams 70th but Sean feared that things might get worse with covid once schools were back and we might have to cancel again. Nothing about the other date appealed to me only that it was sooner and possibly a safer bet! Again we set about contacting all suppliers with these two dates. Everyone of our suppliers were available for the 25th Sept so we took that as a sign! We could only have 50 guests which would only accommodate our two immediate families. We would have the venue for the weekend so I asked if we could have 50 for our day two as well. They said yes and then Jude, our amazing photographer, suggested coming back on Day 2 to get pics with our friends and I'd put back on my wedding dress!! This was just music to my ears as the hardest thing was having to accept not having my closest friends there for my big day! We told our families we were getting married in 5 weeks and choose 20 friends each to invite for Day 2 and then the planning and preparation began again.
We were so excited but also nervous that things would change. There was county lockdowns the week before our wedding and everywhere I went I could hear people talking about numbers increasing in Louth and feared they would be in lockdown and we wouldn’t be able to travel from Meath. Luckily for us that wasn't the case. We started to feel relieved the week of the wedding as we knew (well hoped) that if there was any lockdowns, weddings that weekend could go ahead.
The wedding morning was so chilled out. Once I had my dress on, I was anxious to get to the top of that alter, breathe a sigh of relief that it was definitely happening and see Sean. We had the most fantastic day with our nearest & dearest. We went off for pictures and must have said 10 times to each other that we were so so glad we had done this and that we didn’t have 300 guests to get around. I honestly don't know how couples have time for each other on their wedding day with 300 guests. It didn't feel like we only had 43 people there. It was just magical in every way and made even more special to celebrate it on my Mams 70th birthday.
On Day 2, we out back on our wedding clothes and got all dolled up again and welcomed 35 of our closest friends. While sitting in the sunshine of the beer garden at Segrave, we looked around and felt so blessed to have had a day with our immediate families and then have our Day 2 with our closest friends. It was absolutely fantastic and we really had the best weekend of our lives! It was the best decision we have ever made and we have said it 100 times over. As I write this, it's two days to New Years Day (which was our original rescheduled date) and things have changed so much. We are just blessed to have made that decision back in August and enjoyed our first Christmas as Mr & Mrs (and we announced last week we are expecting a baby in July 2021). Everything happens for a reason and although 2020 was the strangest year of anyone's lives, it certainly has had a lot of highlights for us!”
AIMEE & LLOYD // LUSTY BEG
“Planning a wedding is stressful enough never mind during a global pandemic with ever changing regulations! In March when we first went into lockdown, I never imagined our wedding would be impacted and thought COVID-19 would be long gone by October.
The run up to a wedding should be filled with excitement instead ours was filled with worry and concern, should we go ahead, should we postpone, when will things get better. Rules and regulations kept changing which meant we had to keep changing our plans even up to the last minute, I never realised how much planning goes into everything.
Our wedding went ahead on the 15th October, one day before the second lockdown. We just made it and no more and I’m so glad that we went ahead with our original date. I feel like such a weight has been lifted of our shoulders. Although not the day we had originally planned when we got engaged it was still the best day of our lives sounded by our family and friends.”
DONNA & PAUL // CLONTARF CASTLE, DUBLIN WEDDING
“So our wedding in 2020 wasn’t exactly what we imagined or planned. We had originally booked the Farnham estate for July 24th with 250 guests. In March when Covid arrived I secured a November back up date just in case and in April we postponed from July to November as I couldn’t take the uncertainty anymore! As Covid cases increased in September/October everyone kept telling us we were mad to consider a November wedding. Cavan/ Monaghan/ Donegal went into the first lockdown which eliminated our dream venue. So within 2 weeks we replanned and rescheduled our wedding still uncertain of numbers.
As luck would have it on the 20th of October the government announced weddings of 25 could happen until the end of the year. We were ecstatic to have certainty finally!! We replanned the wedding for Clontarf Castle as our original venue had closed. They were so accommodating and helpful so we went full steam ahead for November 7th with our nearest friends and family and had the best day ever!! Believe it or not I wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding day and am so grateful to have been a 2020 war bride and a story for the grandkids in years to come.”
CATHERINE & NOEL // SLIEVE RUSSELL HOTEL
“We got married on the 5th of December 2020. We booked our wedding venue in December 2019. We chose the venue based on the fact that we perceived we would ask around 180 people to the wedding. We felt that this In terms of wedding numbers was on the smaller scale. Little did we know what was ahead.
The pandemic hit in March 2020. We held out hope that all would return to normal by the summer. All was up in the air for so long. It was difficult to remain motivated. Wedding numbers went up and down, just like our emotions.
After a few long heartfelt conversations we came to a conclusion. No matter how unpredictable and changeable the year of 2020 was, one thing was for certain; we where going to get married on the 5th.
Ten days before the wedding we where forced to make a last minute venue change. Stress made us numb on the lead up to the day. However the wedding day was such a release. Full of love and laughter. For most of our guests it was the only "night out" they had had in a very long time. And so it provided escapism for everyone.
So on the 5th of December two best friends became one. My advice to anyone getting married in these times; is to remember why you want to get married. Life is short and as shown lately; it is unpredictable. So if you have a chance to go make memories... grab it.”
CHARLENE & STEPHEN // CASTLE DARGAN
“We got engaged in September 2018 and after all the buzz we finally settled on our wedding date 20th March 2020 in Castle Dargan Sligo. All the plans kicked in and we were counting down the days when 'coronavirus' was all over the news - we tried to brush it off but things came to a head and we had to call our wedding off 6 days before we were due to marry. Heartbroken doesn't even cover how we felt, we were so close and that's what hurt most. We rearranged for June, being hopeful as no one knew what was happening but of course that never went ahead so third time lucky we booked for 12th December. We were hopeful, especially as lockdown lifted slightly and weddings were going ahead with numbers up on 100 people! Then we moved into October, and things started to go south again - in the end we went from 200 people, to 90 to 45 and finally we were allowed 25 people which was confirmed a few weeks before the wedding. It was hard, lots of tears again, we didn't know what to think but we knew we were going ahead no matter what. Our wedding was just after a 2 week lockdown so that was hard, the fear of waiting for everywhere to open again and that there would be no more changes. But the big day came, the sun shone for us and we can honestly say we had the best day of our lives - it was so relaxed, every one who was there wanted to be there and everyone just embraced the day. We think everyone needed a good day out as much as us!! And we would advise any couple to just go for it - we had a fraction of the people we had originally but it's not about that, it's about the two of you and your closest. We are just delighted we were finally able to celebrate as Mr And Mrs Cunningham at Christmas!”