he asked me ! he asked me !!!!!!

[Rockchick]

Amazing pictures!

You look so pretty and happy!

 

[Erin]

Thanks so much for letting us see you on your special day. I thought the Croi-bie wedding doll was cute but you look stunning. Congratulations Mrs.

 

[JCJD]

You look so beautiful. So radiant and happy! Your dress is wonderful and perfect - I can''t believe you and your mom made it!! Thank you for sharing your beautiful self (and your beautiful day!) with us!

(tears of joy)

 

[Blue824]

I dont know how I missed the other pictures before...your nephews are so adorable all dressed up with the bridesmaids! And the one of you and your dh with the stained glass in the church is great! Looks like you got some photos that really captured the day perfectly for you! Thank you for sharing

 

[icekid]

oh Croí- you are so cute! both you and your dress look absolutely amazing.... i love your updates! they always make my day. i love the halter dress (at least it looks like a halter?). i can''t believe you made it. sooo pretty, and what a beautiful day too!

 

[NoonersMom]

Croi....it can''t be said enough. You are just glowing...both through your post and your pictures. Congrats on being a Mrs! I hope that this is only the beginning of a lifetime of happiness. Thank you for sharing the entire process with us. You truly are a gem!

 

[ky6]

Wow. That last pic of you on the beach- breathtaking! Here''s to many years filled with happiness and love.

 

[Croí]

thank you darlings ........... I''m beet red from your lovely compliments !!




so, shall I continue with our story then ?!?

so Saturday I married the man of my dreams and we had a truly blissful day and then we went home, changed and went out and met with all our friends and family who were arriving for Sunday''s celebration.

(note: when we got home I rinsed the bottom of my dress in the bathroom sink (the end had got all grubby from being on the beach and climbing rocks and whatnot!!)

stayed out on Saturday until the pub closed - had a lovely, lovely evening of chatting with people and it wasn''t loud in there so you could have a nice conversation without having to shout at the person you were talking to !
I also got to meet Ileana then (this is my online friend who flew home for my wedding) and THAT was so terrific ! we shared big hugs and just couldn''t stop yakking and saying "ohmigod, I can''t believe we''ve finally met !!" - it was all fantastic.

SUNDAY MORNING

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired. I mean totally bone-weary-exhausted. It''s been five days since we got home and we have had so little sleep and have been on the go (at hyperspeed!) the entire five days. All of a sudden, it all hits, I am GLUED to the bed !!!

But I can''t stay there - we have guests and whatnot expecting to be fed in the afternoon. My sister had organised most of the food through the hotel where she works as a chef. It still needed to be brought out to the marquee and set up though. We went shopping for last minute bits and pieces and then up home to my Mom''s, collected all the food (car is PACKED) and head out. Now, we are running late at this point and we have to set things up, get back home, change back into our wedding attire and go back out again ........ (each to and fro is a twenty to twenty-five minute drive).
Well, I was tired but still on a high from Saturday but I was also totally at ease and relaxed. We got out there and started setting things up but it was very much chaos (and not even organised chaos at that !)

to be continued ....... (must close this window, will be back !)

 

[Croí]

I''m SUCH a silly romantic goofball (as hubby loves to call me) He tells me that I suffer from terminal ''buy-the-world-a-coke'' syndrome and when that new ad comes on the TV with them singing that song (only they have now changed ''sing'' to ''chill'' ) he waves his arms back and forth in the air in time to the music and at the end of each line in the song points at me !!! HE''S the goofball !!! )



anyway, INCREDIBLE as this is we are married three months and almost one week (Saturday) and I''m stunned that it is that ''long'' because sometimes when I''m thinking back on it, I just feel like I''m waking up the very next morning after saying ''I do'' .....

and that prompted me to come back to my thread for a stroll down memory lane and I was reading and realised that I never actually FINISHED the story so I thought I''d have a go.

I hope you all don''t mind but even though it happened more or less by accident this LIW thread is really the blog of my engagement and wedding - and it''s BRILLIANT to have it here.


SO -
Sunday. We are out at the marquee, setting up all the food. Here is a pic of the set-up (already posted in another thread but I want to have it on here too !)

 

[Croí]

sorry - forgot I had to change the file name !

C

 

[Croí]

I also REALLY wanted to share (and show off !) my amazing flowers .........

I can honestly tell you all that I just kept commenting to my now-hubby in the church about them, I was BLOWN AWAY. Totally !

This is the arrangement that was on the altar ........

 

[Croí]

the pics are very big - don''t know why that is ......... hmmmmmmmmmm

these are the flowers that were in front of the pulpit

 

[teebee]

Ohmygosh Croi - your flowers were just amazing. Really beautiful arrangement & selection! And what a lovely intimate setting for your reception!! Wow!!

 

[Croí]

me again, I have to say I love re-visiting on here.

I am just going to continue - this is now as much for me as anything. I just want to get the whole story down in one place !

thanks for indulging me !


so, we are out at the marquee and setting up all the food - my sisters, bro-in-laws, Mom etc. were all there helping, arranging the table settings and getting all the food organised. it took us quite a while. two friends and their little girl arrived out early and were laughing at us (but know us were so weren''t in the least surprised!) that things were not ready but they went off to the beach for a hour or two and said they''d be back.


***** hmmm, I should add here that my DH Peter has now learned that there is a distinct difference between ''U.S. time'' and ''Irish time''. Now, when we plan something he''ll ask (in all seriousness) if it is ''U.S. time'' or ''Irish time''. Irish people are very laid back, saying you''ll see someone at such-a-time is just a time reference more-so than an actual time to meet. In other words, most of us are not punctual ! It''s not just me, it''s not disrespect or rudeness (which was what he first thought) - it is simply that we are not ruled by time in the same way as people over here. Being ten, fifteen or even twenty minutes late is not any cause for concern or upset amongst Irish people. We have sayings for everything and my father (a terminally late person) always says " The man who made time, made enough of it". So there you go !! ******and to add to this, when I first started seeing Peter, my best friend''s hubby (also American) said "You can tell she is dating an American, they are on time now !" heheheh

ANYHOOOOOO
we did get off to a late start and I did feel a bit badly (only because of some older relatives) but not really ! Everything went really well once we got started. Granted people didn''t really get the idea I had had in mind when I said it was going to be casual seating etc. but it worked out okay.

We had cold-cuts of beef, ham and smoked ham from a local butcher, using meat from local farms - it was REALLY good. Lots of salad sides, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, peppers, all the usual fixings ... potatoe salad, coleslaw etc. (I like coleslaw; it''s not like it''s my favourite food in the universe but so many people commented on the coleslaw that day - that it was the best they''d had ! I was so lucky to have my sister and her hubby (both chefs) take care of the food for me). We had two full smoked salmons (I LOVE smoked salmon). Not forgetting my hubby''s heritage and culinary tastes, we also had salami and prosciutto (again butcher direct, not store bought, both were highly praised so I was relieved (not being a connoisseur of italian cold cuts myself, I would not have known if it was good or bad!). Breads and cheeses made up the rest of it. We had great cheeses too, one huge wheel of this soft garlic cheddar that was so delicious ! Oh, and fruit ! We did grapes, apples, pears, strawberries. So the food was really basic and simple but also very good so everyone was full and happy and could go back for seconds to their heart''s content. We supplied the wine but the rest of the drink was bought at the pub - so the pints were perfect !


Then the desserts which were out of this world really. My sister is a pastry chef by trade and did all of them herself. There were individual raspberry cheesecake hearts; incredible chocolate cake with chocolate butter-cream filling and chocolate icing !; shortbread hearts with fruit and fresh whipped cream; fruit filled meringues again with fresh cream and our cake ! One layer was a lemon medeira, the next lavendar (which I gave her free rein with, she promised I''d love it and I did, it tasted amazing !!) and the top was fruit cake (traditional wedding cake at home - used sometimes as a ''groom''s cake'' over here I think).

 

[Croí]

one of the lads who came and surprised Peter took this pic. the ''Guinness supply'' for the wedding ! cheeky pup !!

I thought the pic was funny though and copious amounts of the black stuff was indeed drank that weekend and all that week !

 

[Croí]

this is the view outward from the marquee. I really chose this location for a few reasons, the amazing view and the clear sea air and the fact that it is not far from my house AND the great pub and owner Mike; who went all out to make us feel at home.

when I go home in a few weeks I''m going to try to get out there to take some more photos.

 

[Croí]

after all the food and stuff, we had our first dance, we did this outdoors just as the last of the daylight was leaving. I have wonderful photos of this but I''m still being ''good'' and respecting hubby''s wishes not to be up on site but I''ll GLADLY share with anyone who wants to see - just PM me.

we danced to Willie Nelson''s ''Valentine''

Valentine
Won''t you be my Valentine
And introduce your heart to mine
And be my Valentine

Summertime
We could run and play like summertime
With storybooks and nursury rhymes
so be my Valentine
Candy heart
if anyone could, you could have a candy heart
You''re the sweetest of all sweethearts
won''t you give your heart to me

Can''t you see
I love you valentine won''t you be my Valentine
And won''t you share your space with mine
And be my Valentine
Willie Nelson

 

[Croí]

our other songs were as follows and I put them all in a booklet which we gave to everyone on Sunday, it had a ''thank-you'' on the back page thanking everyone .... and this was a good idea because it took the pressure off of trying to remember everyone we needed to thank on the spur of the moment.

our second song was ''At Last'' but not the original Etta James'' version, the Eva Cassidy version. Eva''s voice is just so gorgeous on this song ...

later in the night on the Sunday, Ileana sang this song for us with just my sister''s bf on guitar for accompaniment ( no amplification ) and she was INCREDIBLE - she had an amazing voice, everyone was riveted. It was one of the highlights of our day for sure and SUCH a beautiful and generous spontaneous wedding-gift on her part !!

At last
My love has come along
My lonely days over
And life is like a song
Ooh, at last
The skies above are blue
Well my heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream
That I could speak to
A dream that I could call my own
I found a thrill
To press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Well
You smile, you smile
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine at last

Eva Cassidy

 

[Croí]

the third song was one which TOTALLY resonated with me regarding what I felt about marrying Peter. my youngest sister sent me this song just a few weeks before the wedding. it was so perfect, I had to use it. It''s "Wedding Song" by Tracy Chapman



I’ve been having dreams and visions
In them you are always standing
Right beside me
I reach out for your hand
To see your arms extending
Outstretched towards me
For you I don the veil
By your light
Others pale by comparison
I place my faith in love
My fate in this communion
I’ve been having dreams and visions
In them you are always standing
Right beside me
I reach out for your hand
To see your arms extending
Outstretched towards me
To you I give my pledge
I honor all that’s good
In this life we’re living
To think not only of myself
But of the greater union
Can I get a witness
There is salvation and rapture for the lonely
Can I get a witness
Bless this day sacred and holy
Sacred and holy
I’ve been having dreams and visions
In them you are always standing
Right beside me
I reach out for your hand
To see your arms extending
Outstretched towards me
With you I am revealed
All my shame all my faults and virtues
Behold body mind and spirit
Heart and soul devoted all to you

 

[Croí]

sorry, for getting on a roll with this - only two to go !!

fourth song which ''had to be played'' was "Be Mine" by David Gray. While it is true that the lyrics were ones which Peter said really rang true for him (he used to listen to this song all the time) there was another reason for picking this song. Whenever I am feeling homesick he takes me to dinner in an Irish pub-restaurant called '' The Holy Ground ''. The first time we went there, he was the only American in the place ! Almost all of those who go there are Irish (from Ireland) emigrants. The funny thing was in the beginning he couldn''t remember the name of it and used to call it the ''Holy Cow'' and it became a joke between us and that is what we call it now. And that line is in this song ...........


From the very first moment I saw you
That’s when I knew
All the dreams I held in my heart
Had suddenly come true
Knock me over stone cold sober
Not a think I could say or do
’cos baby when I’m walking with you now
My eyes are so wide
Like you reached right into my head
And turned on the light inside
Turning on the light
Inside my mind hey
Come on baby it’s all right
Sunday monday day or night
Written blue on white it’s plain to see
That rainy shiny night or day
What’s the difference anyway
Baby till your heart belongs to me
If I had some influence girl
With the powers that be
I’d have them fire that arrow at you
Like they fired it right at me
And maybe when your heart and soul are burning
You might see
That everytime I’m talking with you
It’s always over too soon
That everyday feels so incomplete
Till you walk into the room
Say the word now girl
I’ll jump that moon hey
Come on baby it’s ok
Rainy shiny night or day
There’s nothing in the way now
Don’t you see
Winter summer day or night
Centigrade of fahrenheit
Baby till your heart belongs to me
Thursday friday short or long
When you got a love so strong
How can it be wrong now mercy me
Jumpin’ jesus holy cow!
What’s the difference anyhow
Baby till your heart belongs to me

 

[Croí]

In some ways, this song should nearly be the ''big song'' but you can''t waltz to it and it''s special in a sense of being totally "us" for always, rather than specifically for the wedding day and the emotions and rituals associated with that specific day. I am a long-time fan of The Waifs and this song EPITOMISED our relationship, not just the words but the energy and heart-felt emotion of the singing itself. It''s a duet between a guy and girl and the way they sing it you can tell they enjoyed every minute of creating this song about love.

Right from the earliest days in our relationship, this song felt ''right'' to me for us. I used to play it at crazy decibel levels in the truck if we were on a road-trip anywhere (like Labor Day weekend coming up - we are going to Tanglewood to see Tony Bennett - I can''t WAIT !) and/or play it at the house while cleaning and/or just at any old time really .... and I''d sing along at the top of my lungs (especially with the girl parts) and be totally hyper and giddy and make poor Peter nuts ! heheh !! It truly is the ''Song in the key of Us !!'' I wish I could play it for you all because it''s the delivery that makes it such a great one {and I always loved the ''damn right'' at the end too !!! }



When the night-time comes, you can hear
My heart calling
Calling to you my one true love
Thinking about you all of the while
Thinking about you it’s making me smile
Honey I’m sitting on top of the world, just
Thinking about you
In the morning light that’s when I’m feeling right
Another day come, another day go, another day closer till I make you my own
Honey I’m sitting on top of the world
Just thinking about you
I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true
Honey I’m in love with you
I’m going to show you what I can do
Come over here you’ve gotta be told,
My love for you is out of control
Honey I am sitting on top of the world,
Just thinking about you girl
I’m going to show you how much I care,
Marry you and take you away somewhere
Sit back here in a rocking chair, gonna rock all day with you my dear

Cause I love you, I love you I love you I love you

In the morning, in the evening, in the night time or in the middle of the afternoon

I love you I love you I love you I love you
Damn right

 

[Croí]

okay, after this we had some general time of chat and laughter and more food and then we moved out some of the tables so there could be dancing. my Mum was an All-Ireland Champion step-dancer in her day and still is a great dancer - we all dance and she doesn''t take "no" for an answer when it comes to getting up for sets. the pub has a trad band every Sunday and they agreed to play for us after their seissiún in the pub. the band consists of Jack (in his 70''s, local, been playing all his life - plays accordian), Gordon (retired from England, family from home - plays banjo/guitar) and Rose (Gordon''s wife, also retired, plays bodhrán). once they joined the fray things got very energetic, my Mum had everyone up dancing !!!

there is a problem with uploading pics right now ......... hmmm ..........

I''ll just tell some more stories I guess.

at one point I was standing in the middle of the marquee, just trying to decide which way to turn next when this woman I didn''t know came up to me and said " congratulations, you look beautiful, I wish you every happiness " ... then she said " I''m a neighbour from over the road, I saw the lights and heard the music and came to see what was going on - sure, isn''t this a great way to have your wedding ..... I just wanted to wish you the best and congratulate you !" ....
I was amazed but really amused too - I guess we became a bit of a talking point in the area. ours was the first wedding held at this location so it was pretty great. there is another one happening this month so I''ll have to write to Mike (the pub owner) and see how it went.

that was really something though ........ then this other fellow came out of the bar (lots of people came to the entrance and had a look-see !) and it turned out that he was a singer and his father knew my father from way back so he sang a few songs and that was really great too.
it was just like I''d hoped, very impromptu but plenty of entertainment - a real Irish seisiún for sure. it was great !!

going to try those pics again now ....... this one is of Gordon and Jack and that lad who sang the songs

oh well, no joy - will try again later.

 

[Croí]

oh, maybe there''s just a problem with that one photo then.
this is some of the wedding guests outside the entrance to the marquee, just chatting etc. we set up those high bar-style tables outside so people would have somewhere to set their drinks down and they worked out well. this pic gives you a little glimpse of the mountains - those mountains are the McGillycuddy Reeks - Dingle is on the opposite side. the sky was wild too, amazing dark clouds with sun coming in bolts down through them {you can see this a little bit to the very right, in the background}.

another thing that is funny here are the boxes under the table, they had had bottles of wine in them - I guess no-one was too bothered with ''clean-up'' at this point ! heheh !

my Mum''s best friend loves a glass of wine and is a lovely lady but definitely speaks her mind! (not a bad thing but can be a bit ''yikes'' sometimes !)
when she first arrived out for our unconventional reception she confided in my bro-in-law that she wasn''t sure how it would all go and if I would be able to pull it off .... but later on she when she was singing up a storm, he noticed her glass was empty and brought her mroe wine and she told him that it was one of the best weddings she''d ever been to !!! hooorah !!

obviously, you think this yourself but you wonder if others really mean it when they say it - judging from my photos and from general second-hand feedback, I am fairly sure everyone really DID enjoy our day ... and I''m so glad !

 

[Croí]

strange - some pics will upload and others won''t and it''s not a file error, it tells me it can''t access the PS page at this time. hmmmmmmmmmm

anyway, this is my bro-in-law (in blue) and another sister''s SO (playing the guitar, he is a musician by trade and plays very well indeed). my bro-in-law comes from a family where everyone sings and he''s always willing to get up and do a song (or five !!) so here he is doing just that. they were very good and did a few trad songs that everyone was able to sing along with.

 

[Croí]

my sisters would probably have a fit if they knew I put this up here but I LOVE this candid photo of us waiting for the photographer to take a picture. I love everything about it, how natural it is, how we are not arranged by age (!), the background with the mountains and the overcast skies ....... how the flowers and dresses match in colour SO well !!

anyway, I just wanted to share this one

 

[Croí]

ha ! it worked this time ! this is Gordon and Jack and that lad who sang a few songs for us.

 

[Croí]

I''ve got this photo thing down now !!!

This is a view out along the canal. We stayed in a holiday apartment here. The canal is outside the window and back where the mountain is the canal joins the sea - you can walk all along the bank right out to the end. It''s really nice. I thought this photo came out pretty great - the shadow-colouring is pretty dramatic.

 

[teebee]

Croi - I just love this thread, your narration & all of the amazing photos. Seriously, I''ve always wanted to visit Ireland, but after seeing your pics makes me want to hop on the next plane. Watch out when you make your next trip, you may end up with a stowaway!!!

 

[Croí]

well, pack your bags teebee because I''m flying home again three weeks from tomorrow !!! my wonderful hubby got me a ticket for my birthday so I can go for my new niece''s Christening. she''ll be just over eight weeks old when I finally get to see her. I''m going to be godmother so I''m so excited !

I''m only going to have three days (I''m out of vacation days) so that is a bit crappy but it''ll be a GREAT three days and I can''t wait to see everyone and meet my new niece.




and this dragon has nothing whatsoever to do with anything but I just thought he was tooooo cute !


btw, thanks for saying that you enjoy this mad thread of mine, I have felt I have been a bit brazen to STILL be writing weeks later but I really do want to get the whole story together in one place and this LIW thread just became that place. thanks for the sweet enthusiasm teebee !

 

[njc]

Your pictures are great Croi! Im glad you are still taking the time to post them! Have a fun trip home... i remember when you were talking about your sister being pregnant before you got married... she the one that made your dress or the BM dresses right?