July 6, 2017 – Quinta de Sant’Ana in Gradil, Portugal
Janice Trainor and Janine McNally held their summer wedding at the idyllic Quinta de Sant’Ana in northern Portugal. This working vineyard, run by a German & English couple and their seven sons features a farm, wine cellar, barn, church and downstairs courtyard.
Having grown up five minutes away from each other in Belfast, the couple didn’t meet until a chance encounter at a 21st birthday party. At the event, they found out they were going to the same university in Dundee, Scotland. Their connection was instant, and they got together during their five years in college.
Their love of travel brought them closer as they have spent much of their lives together exploring the globe, spending five years in Seoul, South Korea before settling in Cascais, Portugal after becoming wife and wife.
Self-proclaimed “hopeless romantics”, Janice and Janine each wanted a chance to propose to her true love. Janine was the first to go down on one knee in the snow-capped mountains of Zermatt, Switzerland during an inter-railing trip around Europe for their 30th birthdays. Janice later popped the question on the couple’s 10th anniversary on a pre-wedding honeymoon in Bali. Despite both contracting dengue fever during the trip, Janice turned it around with a beautiful proposal, spelling “Will you marry me?” with floating candles in the Conrad Resort’s swimming pool.
The Wedding Details Janice found her vintage fairy-tale gown, by Jenny Peckham, in Korea, while Janine’s shorter flirty number, by David Fielding, was from Blush Boutique in Belfast. Both had their hair and makeup done by Lisbon based and Vogue accredited Joana Moreira. Their ten bridesmaids were given free reign when it came to their outfits, and each chose their own dresses, shoes and hairstyles.
Their bouquets were put together by their bridesmaids who collected individual flowers from each guest and arranged them into two beautiful and sentimental pieces for each bride to carry with her down the aisle. Their cake was made by the Quinta de Sant’Ana team and featured a surprise rainbow filling that went down a treat.
Janice and Janine’s 67 guests were entertained by music from a two-piece jazz band featuring a sax player and singer, which fit the mood for the relaxed vibe and free-flowing beer and wine during cocktail hour. The same singer, Rui Franjas, turned DJ later in the night and kept guests dancing til morning in the downstairs courtyard.
They designed their invites themselves, using a unique passport design, and printed them locally. Janine’s design company, JJMT Designs, made the rest of their personalised wedding stationary to fit their travel theme.
Their beautiful day was captured by Portuguese twin brothers Nuno and Joao Mattos, who run NJ Mattos Photography in Lisbon.
Favourite Memories For Janine “the entire day from start to finish exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect so many tears during the ceremony, but it turned out to be a very emotional day all round. Janice looked stunning and I just remember feeling completely comfortable displaying my affection towards her, as soon as we became Mrs & Mrs.” The happy couple chose ‘Feels Like Home’ by Chantal Kreviazuk for their first dance, and when the song began their guests each took their own other halves and joined them to dance in this stunning celebration of love.
Special Touches “Since our venue is a working vineyard we arranged for our ceremony among the vines with hay bales as seats for our guests. I’m sure there were a few soar asses after the 45-minute ceremony, but the free bar for the entire day made up for it.”
