BIG DAY >>>

So tell us how you met, were you single for a long time before you started dating?

Leanne & I met in eBay. Leanne M was working in eBay for 6 months before I started.

When I came on board, Leanne was my “mentor”. So, anytime a new hire aka myself, had a question. We would raise our hand and Leanne M or another mentor would come over to help. Leanne M caught my eye instantly. I was absolutely mad about her from the beginning. I used to make up questions just so she would come over to help me. Neither of us were single for very long before we met. We were both only out of relationships for maybe 2 months.

How long after you started dating did it take to pop the question, was it an immediate yes, and who asked who?

We got engaged in July 2019 in Glasgow. Leanne M asked Leanne K and of course it was an immediate yes. I actually had a feeling Leanne M was going to pop the question. She kept at me for weeks saying “I have a HUGE surprise for you”, “when we get there, you need to leave the room for a few minutes so I can set up your surprise”. I had an idea but wasn’t 100% sure so definitely didn’t want to big it up too much in my head in case I was totally wrong, but turns out, I was right. We were on cloud 9 for weeks!!

Tell us about your big day, location, amount of guests etc.

We had our big day on 3rd of August 2023 and it couldn’t have gone any better. So far, definitely, the best day of our lives. We got married in the Pillo hotel in Ashbourne and had around 160 guests. The whole day from start to finish was amazing. From our bridal parties, to the guests, to the hotel, the food, suppliers, vendors, the weather, the atmosphere. Everything! It was just perfect!! We had a spiritual ceremony that took place in the Pillo also. Francesca and her team in the Pillo couldn’t have done any more. They even had a few surprises for us on the day. They surprised us with a bagpipe player and also some funky entertainment when serving our meal.

What about the food and drink?

The food and drink at the Pillo was *chefs kiss*. We honestly couldn’t fault it. We had Vol Au Vents for starters, vegetable soup, either salmon or chicken options for mains and a medley of desserts. When we had our menu tasting, they even allowed us to tweak the menu slightly to include a chocolate brownie in the dessert medley. Leanne M was adamant that she wanted wings at her wedding and although it wasn’t possible to offer this to all of our guests, Leanne’s wish was granted and she was served wings as her starter on the big day. She enjoyed said wings that much, the sauce ended up on my dress, on the

Y o u r W e d d i n g Y o u r W a y best man’s shirt and alllllll over Leanne’s happy face. hahaha It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

Multi award winning venue. Embrace yourself in the stunning heritage village of Leighlinbridge, a hidden gem in the South East.

Were there any hiccups or did all go to plan?

The weather forecast wasn’t looking great on the lead up so we said to ourselves, if that’s the worst thing that happens, then we can deal with that. Fortunately, some family members and friends had a child of Prague statue that they put out for us the day before and the weather turned out to be glorious!! :) We did have a few guests not turn up after RSVPing yes, but I suppose that happens at all weddings. Other than that, the day went according to plan perfectly. Actually, I tell a lie. Leanne M had a disaster with her suit. When Leanne M & her groomsmen went for their final fittings, everything was wrong. Too long, too short, wrong suits for some, different waistcoats, taken in too much, not taken in enough. It was disastrous and only 11 days to the wedding. They promised everything would be fixed but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Most of the suit trousers were too tight and Leanne M’s trousers were actually split right the way up the crotch area. The only funny thing about this was.. She didn’t notice until mid-ceremony and sat on the chair trying to look at the stitching while AnnMarie was essentially marrying us. My aunty actually had to stitch them up for her straight after the ceremony.

Have you been on or are you going on honeymoon?

We have been on our honeymoon. We went to the USA in December 2023. We had a BALL!! We started off in San Francisco, then moved onto LA, Vegas was next and then we finished off in New York. We came home broke and exhausted but so happy. It was honestly a trip of a lifetime and to get to experience it with each other, was the cherry on top.

In your day to day lives what do you do for work, and what interests do you share and have that are different?

I work as an administrator for an IT Infrastructure company and Leanne M is a barber. Together, we love going on coastal and scenic walks, especially with the doggo. We love going for sunrise and sunset walks (I know, so romantic ;)), we love date nights, whether that be some bowling, cinema, food and drinks, we love booking hotel stays with nice spas, and in general, just being in each other’s company at home. Separately then, Leanne M loves to unwind on her PS5, building legos or watching the football . I enjoy catching up on some TV shows or socialising, travel?

Do you do everything together in terms of

For the most part, we do everything together but we do enjoy our own space and social events too. Leanne M might go to the pub with a friend to watch the football. I have absolutely no interest in football so I couldn’t think of anything worse to be honest. lol We’ve never really been on a holiday without each other. We do like to travel and it’s something we’re both keen on keeping up with. We’ve been to the canaries a few times, some trips around Ireland, Glasgow, Rome, Paris, USA. There are so many more places on our bucket list. We want to go to Poland, Iceland, back to America, Egypt and a safari is 100% on the cards. We nearly booked a safari for our honeymoon actually.

Have you a family, is this something on the plan for you?

It’s just us and Kobi (the doggo) for now but hoping to add a new edition very very soon. It’s something we’re working towards and fingers crossed, if all goes well, our family will have expanded next year. We have started our IVF journey with a clinic in Dublin. We’re almost there, so hoping for good news over the next few weeks. We’re both so excited.

Tell us who made your day possible in terms of rings, flowers, photographer, cars etc I know we’re biased but we had the most amazing vendors and suppliers. We really were so lucky. Our rings were purchased from H. Samuel. The lady in the shop was so nice and helpful. She even gave us a small discount which was much appreciated. Planning a wedding is so costly that every little helps! My bridal bouquet was a gift from my parents so I couldn’t even tell you where they were from but they were stunning. The bridesmaids bouquets we made ourselves. We purchased artificial flowers from the range and made them up. They weren’t anything to write home about but they were nice and simple and did the job. As I said, weddings are so expensive that we cut costs where we could. Our amazing photographer was PS Photography. Paul was the absolute business!! So friendly, funny, down to earth and incredibly skilled. He made us all feel so at ease on the day and our photos turned out stunning. We also had a videographer, Ger Boland. He, too, was fantastic. I cried watching our wedding video back. There wasn’t one detail he missed. It was so personal and perfectly captured our big day. Big shout out to our band the Beatty Brothers. Wayne and Barry are incredible artists. There’s nothing they can’t sing. Andrea Bocelli, Mary J. Blige, The Temptations, Mark McCabe Maniac , they are so versatile and had everyone up on the dancefloor all night long. I can’t forget our celebrant AnnMarie Colton from Spiritual Ceremonies. Ann made our ceremony so personal. She met with us a few times on the lead up to the big day to get to know Leanne M and I. She put in some funny one liners to keep our guests intrigued, talked about how we met and really sold our story as a couple. It was like she knew us for years. I’ve never seen another celebrant go above and beyond to make a ceremony truly personal. Pat Tierney from BMW 7 Series Executive Cars was who I hired my wedding car from. Leanne M stayed in the Pillo the night before our wedding so didn’t require a car. Pat was a gentleman. He was the only honest person I spoke to who didn’t try and overcharge me. He actually informed me that I needed to book a wedding transfer and should be quoted no more than €x. I felt he was so honest and welcoming that I decided not to call around for more quotes and booked Pat on our initial phone call. The car was spotlessly clean, air conditioned to keep the temperature down with nerves lol. He thought of everything. My dad and Pat actually had some lovely chats on the drive to the Pillo. It was really nice and I found him very calming. Our cake was made by Creative Cakes which was delicious!! The Pillo was decorated by Julia from Love At First Sight. We also had a selfie mirror booked with Carloyn Sweets. We booked our post box and tayto packs with them also. There is nothing like a crisp sandwich at the end of the night. I don’t even think half of them made it to the end of the night. They were swiped!! My dress was from La Bella Sposa in Swords, Dublin. I think I’ve covered everyone.

Has anything changed since you said “I Do”? We’re having a baby!! Well, we’re not pregnant yet but we’re working on it. Keeping all fingers and toes crossed.

Anything else we may have missed that you may want to add/ mention???

I don’t think there’s anything else other than a HUGEEEE thank you to everyone involved that made our big day so special. xx