September 18, 2016 – Leixlip Manor and Gardens
Elaine Grange, from Dublin, met Kilkenny native Lucille Furlong through mutual friends a number of years ago. They currently live in Lusk, North Dublin with their two sons Caodhan and Senan. Elaine is an operations manager with Three while Lucille is a stay at home mom.
THE PROPOSAL
Lucille proposed to Elaine while she was pregnant with their youngest son, Senan. She used scrabble tiles to spell out ‘Will u marry me’ on top of their mantelpiece because it is one of their favourite games to play together. “That day I had Caodhan help me, we set it up on the mantelpiece and waited…..we had to wait a while for her to see it, even with Caodhan asking her to look at the mantelpiece it took a few seconds for her to realise what it said. Obviously,she said yes,” said Lucille.
A date was quickly set for September 18, 2016 at the Leixlip Manor and Gardens.
THE WEDDING DETAILS
Once the venue had been settled, it was time to choose Outfits for the day. The pair both got dresses from Memories Bridal, Dublin, and had them altered by Sarah Foy Couture, who also made Lucille’s headpiece.
Elaine’s step-mother, Catriona, did an amazing job putting Together artificial flowers for the day. The couple’s son, Caodhan, has bad allergies so real ones were not even considered.
They had Creative Cakes make a four-tiered ivory cake with roses on the front and a superhero theme on the back. “Elaine’s mum and my dad are both dead, and we lost three babies, so we wanted these to be part of our big day. We asked Michael to include five coloured roses to represent each of our loved ones, the colours were very subtle and complemented the ivory icing on the front.” The superhero part was a fun way for the couple to include their kids in the creation.
THE WEDDING TEAM
Marvin and the Grooves were the band for the evening. Elaine Barker captured the whole day fantastically and IMA Designs created the invites to set the tone. The brides had their hair done at Kieran O’Gorman Hair Studio and makeup was done by Laura Gaughran Makeup.
WEDDING THEME
The wedding theme was classic vintage with superheroes included to involve the two boys. The cake and the table plan were both part of the superhero theme, and everything else, from bird-cage centrepieces to the homely atmosphere, was classic vintage. “We wanted people to feel like they were in our house, we wanted everyone to know we wanted them there, that it was important for us to share this beautiful and important day with the ones we love.”
FAVOURITE MEMORIES
Favourite memories for Elaine and Lucille were the quick Ten-minute coffe break they had as a family before the ceremony. Another cherished memory is when they first saw eachother and the magnitude of what was happening hit them. The pair included their son Caodhan in the first dance and went for a walk, just the two of them, when the night came to a close, to soak up what had happened and be deliriously happy together that they were finally married.
PERSONAL TOUCHES
Elaine and Lucille chose to forego wedding favours and instead donated a sum of money to charity Bumbleance. They also had a friend make Malteser trees for each table and a Forrero Rocher tree for the top table. Other details included family pictures. “We printed out photos of all our family and friends and framed them. On each frame, we put scrabble tiles with words that explain what the people meant to us like, love, family, clan, kin etc. It was a lovely touch and everyone told us it made them feel very special and very included in the wedding.” Lucille’s bridesmaid, Michelle, created crosswords about Elaine and Lucille and each guest got one at the beginning of the meal. “It was funny to see how well people knew us.”
There were 20 kids in attendance so the brides hired Funtastic, a children’s entertainment group, to come in during the meal so parents could relax a bit and not have to worry.
The newlyweds spent a week in Vilamoura, Portugal, Offered as part of the wedding package from the Leixlip Manor and Gardens. They are planning a longer honeymoon to Australia with their kids in 2017.
