‘People were dancing on tables until 5am’

We got married on October 17, 2009, in Dunlavin Church in Wicklow with the afters in Rathsallagh Country House.

We had visited a few venues but this stood out. It’s so lovely and, as an interior designer, I loved all the different bedrooms — they each had their own names, like the Buttercup Room, for example. It was autumn time, too, so they had lovely fires in the rooms and it made the whole place so cosy and homely.

It was a big enough wedding with 140 guests. We planned the wedding ourselves but I had great help from my mom, who was a wedding planner extraordinaire.

My sister actually got married three months before me so, when we got engaged, the planning for her wedding was in full swing and my mom was all over it. She then took on our wedding planning too. 

The three of us were in full-on wedding-planning land — it was lovely doing all the bits and pieces together, including wedding dress shopping.

We loved the buzz of wedding dress shopping. We enjoyed going to all the bridal boutiques and then going for something to eat afterwards. It was like a day out every time.

But there was a bit of drama with my dress. After all the wedding dress shopping, I actually decided to have it made. 

Sarah Louise Dunne and her husband Cormac share a kiss

It was going to be off-the-shoulder with individual flowers sewn on. A week before the wedding, I went into the shop to do the final try-on only to find that they had taken it up too short. 

You could see my shoes, and it just ruined the whole dress. I was the bride crying in the middle of the shop that they were trying to usher into the changing room.

The dress was meant to have a long, luxurious-looking train but it was now too short. It went from dream dress to nightmare. 

We needed a plan quickly. We eventually decided to take off all the individual flowers and put lace over the dress, which made it longer. The dress completely changed but I still loved it.

I had five bridesmaids: my two sisters and three good friends. Their dresses were a deep pink, almost burgundy colour. Then the flowers were taken care of by my mother in-law. She did all the wedding flowers, all the bouquets, and everything. I left her off with them, and she knew what she was doing. 

Sarah Louise Dunne and her husband Cormac cut the cake

I know it was the middle of October but we woke up to what felt like a summer day. It was lovely and warm, with blue skies. I enjoyed the morning of the wedding so much. I always say it was my favourite part of the wedding. 

There were literally horses directly outside my window. The room where we were getting ready was beautiful. It was the pink room, and everything was really girly in there. We had hair and make-up stylists arriving, and my sisters were there, my friends were coming in and out, my mom and my dad, my brother. It was just a really lovely morning.

And we both really enjoyed the ceremony. The priest was a friend of Cormac’s late dad Peader, and we were delighted he could come and do the mass for us. After the ceremony, we all headed to the hotel. It was lovely to see everyone and chat, and there was loads of hugging and excitement. 

Sarah Louise Dunne and her husband Cormac after their wedding ceremony

We had the speeches after the meal. Now I didn’t make a speech but my mom did and had everyone in tears. Her speech was unbelievable. She included the Seamus Heaney poem Scaffolding in her speech and the way she spoke was so emotional and lovely. Then we had the band, and our first dance, which was to Better by Tom Baxter. 

The night was brilliant, everyone really got into it, even my dad was up dancing. I remember my dad coming over to me and my two sisters on the dance floor and giving us all a big hug — it was a lovely moment, all of us together.

And then one funny thing later in the night. Because my mom was so involved in planning the wedding with myself and my sister, my husband Cormac really didn’t have to do much with the wedding at all. But, unbeknownst to me, he had planned something for when the DJ finished…

So we all moved into a room next to the function room, and Cormac had arranged for this guy who played the guitar and sang in his local bar in Rathfarnham, who all his friends would know well, to come up to Rathsallagh and do a set. He was brilliant. 

He had people up dancing on the tables and everything. It went on till about 5am. It was a great surprise and really kept the party going.

When I look back now, I just remember our friends and family around and just the feeling of warmth and cosiness in the hotel. The day went by so quickly but I wouldn’t change anything about the day — it was just perfect.

Sarah Louise Dunne is the owner of Sarah Louise Interiors, a design studio based in Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin and online at slouiseinteriors.com.