Elaine and Kevin met when they were teenagers, working together part-time in River Island and hit it off right away. To Kevin's embarrassment, Elaine accidentally read a message from Kevin on his friend's phone where he said he loved Elaine - they had only known each other a week at this stage!
The pair got engaged on Christmas evening, after nine years together. "Kev surprised me with a gorgeous pair of Christain Louboutin shoes and inside the box was a little red pouch. Kev casually mentioned that the spare heel tips are kept in there and suggested that I opened it. When I did, out fell a gorgeous ring that Kev had designed for me with the help of the team at Diamant. The rest of the Christmas was spent celebrating with family and friends," remembers Elaine.
"We knew we wanted an exclusive-use venue within an hour from Dublin and we're both big foodies, so choosing a venue with great food was always going to be important. Couple this with beautiful decor, a stunning orangery and beautiful grounds; Tankardstown House ticked all the boxes for us," says Elaine.
The couple had 18 months to plan the day and were both heavily involved in the planning process. "It was lovely to see Kev so enthusiastic throughout the planning as I know a lot of grooms leave most of the planning to the bride," Elaine says. For Kevin, the hard part was choosing all the different vendors. "There are so many great suppliers out there, that it was hard to make a decision! Also, watching Elaine individually hand-stamping 150 place names - it was very time-consuming," says Kevin.
"One part of the day that stood out for us was our couple shots. While we were in the barley fields behind Tankardstown, our photographer encouraged us to close our eyes and think back to when we first met. This was pretty special and was worth getting grass stains on my dress," Elaine laughs.
Their advice is to relax and don't stress about the finer details. "So much time and effort has been put into planning the day, so it really is important that you enjoy everything and soak up the atmosphere."
