WeddingDates.ie

We have talked about Wedding Gifts here on the blog before and I personally like the unusual and original gifts for people that show you have put a bit of thought into it and that it will be something that people will remember you gave to them as oppossed to money.

I have recently come across two very unusual gift ideas - original handmade art.  These could be used as Engagement Gifts for the couples home, they could be a nice gift to give to the bridesmaids in your wedding, or as a Wedding Gift for the couple.  As with anything creative like this, the only limit is your imagination!

Audrey Shallow is based in Cork and she makes “Create Wish Angels” beautifully handcrafted angels which look stunning framed and carry a message along with the 3-dimensional handmade angel.  ”Angel” is from the Greek angelos meaning ‘messenger’. May this angel be the messenger of your heartfelt wish…

Angel of My Heart

You can get individual framed Angels like the Angel of My Heart above, or a double like the Angel of Love and Angel of Promise for the happy couple:

Audrey also can create “custom” angels, so give her a shout if there is any specifics you want, like the wedding date inscribed or the couples names etc.  These also make ADORABLE baby gifts by the way!!  The individual framed angels start at €45 and you can get one customized for only €55.

Another Cork artist is Martha Cashman who does Ceramic and Porcelain Sculpture.

Martha’s work is in glazed paper porcelain.  She creates very fine kitchen utensils (non functional), some pieces interspersed with woven wire, carved birch and ash wood to accentuate and enhance the delicate white porcelain.  The pieces are box framed using limed ash and make really unusual and stunning pieces when displayed in the home.

I think these are really unique Engagement Gifts and would be lovely to give to a couple who had moved into a new home together.  The framed pieces cost €110.

Kerry Collins is painter based in Crosshaven in Cork and you can buy her prints directly from her website.  She has really colourful work which you can get printed on paper and frame yourself or get it on canvas.  I like the largest canvas (50 X 37cm) for €110.00.

She has some really funky stuff including clowns and cows, but I like the landscapes and modern stuff for wedding gifts.

Great to support local Irish artists and crafts and really great as an unusual and highly personal wedding or engagement gift!

Apart from the weddingdates.ie blog, I also post photos of venues I visit and love quotes to my Tumblr blog, and I stumbled on this the other day and its such a great quirky idea, I just HAD to share it!

Have your wedding guests sign a record containing your first dance song with metallic permanent markers, and then frame it.  Music lovers should definitely consider this idea.

There’s a reason why actors say you should never work with children or animals; they are the most unpredictable creatures on the planet! A key decision when deciding on your guest list is if you are going to have children at the wedding.  If you ARE, then make sure you read my guest post over on the Confetti.ie blog about How to Keep Kids Entertained at a Wedding

Gift-giving is always tricky with weddings.  Guests nowadays give money as standard, but what about the gifts to each to other or to the wedding party?  What do you get for the groom who has everything?  Recently I heard about a unique concept - personalized cufflinks.  Littlepinkies.co.uk handmakes cufflinks in solid silver using a loved one’s fingerprint.  Ideal for the groom/best man/father of the bride etc.

These must be one of the most memorable gifts you could ever give!  The bride could get her finger prints made into unique cufflinks as a present for her groom or her own father for the day.  If the couple has children already, how about the fingerprints of the child/baby to mark the family commitment?  Very few types of jewellery are as different and as memorable as this.  Want to give it as a surprise gift on the day and can’t get do the fingerprint casting?  Get the couples initials or wedding date engraved instead and give as a unique and memorable wedding gift.

LittlePinkies.co.uk ship to Ireland, and they have kindly offered us a custom pair of cufflinks as this months prize!  So, to be in with a chance of winning just sign up to (or stay subscribed) our newsletter in the pink box on the right and forward it on to any other engaged friends out there that would like a monthly wedding jolt along with top prizes!

• Makeup and beauty tools
• Nail file
• Nail polish in the same colour she’s wearing
• Pain killers/headache tablets
• Perfume
• Safety pins - prob the most important of the lot!  For holding things in…or up.
• Small sewing kit - tears in the dress/veil, hems etc.  It DOES happen!
• Snack
• Stain-remover wipes
• Tissues
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Water and a drinking straw
• White ballet flats
• White chalk for covering up dress stains
• White gaffer’s tape (available at hardware stores) to patch tears in your dress - might be a bit on the extreme side but hey, you never know!

FOR THE GROOM

• Breath mints
• Cologne
• Compact steamer for creases in the shirt/suit (this is probably only for the extreme best, Best Men!)
• Deodorant
• Extra bowtie or tie in case the groom or a groomsman forgets
• Extra buttons
• Extra copy of the groom’s vows
• Extra cuff links
• Extra dress socks
• Extra handkerchief or pocket square
• Extra shoelaces
• Floss
• Hair styling products and tools
• Lint brush
• Pain killers/headache tablets (coz he probably had a few drinks the night before/morning to calm the nerves!)
• Razor
• Shoe polish kit
• Small sewing kit
• Snack
• Stain-remover wipes
• Toothbrush and toothpaste

While not strictly a wedding-event, when I got the brochure from the Celtic Ross Hotel about their Girlie weekend package in aid of Action Breast Cancer, I thought it would be a great bonding weekend for a bride and her bridesmaids, or mother-of-the-bride/groom, or indeed a chilled low key hen event.

It’s on the weekend of the 9th –11th October down in Rosscarbery, West Cork.  For €175 per person, there is a full weekend of activities all based in and around the hotel, sounds like a nice break-away-from-it all for the girls!  It includes 2 nights Bed and breakfast in the hotel and dinner on the Saturday night.  There are a host of activities on Saturday afternoon AND  you get a Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage in the Holistic Suite….now that’s what I call value for a weekend break away!

The weekend will begin on the Fridaynight with a pink bubbly reception followed by some salsa and dirty dancing with Debbie from Salsa Train www.salsatrain.com!

On Saturday enjoy a leisurely breakfast until 11am, then take part in any or all of the activities below:

• Aqua Aerobics - a stint in the pool is always a nice way to start your day!
• Bootcamp - the new craze hitting the country. Join Mark from www.rebelbootcamp.ie for an outdoor workout. Includes a talk on nutrition.  Perfect for the bride-to-be wanting to shape up.
• Afternoon tea - with pink cupcakes of course!
• Make-up consultation with Colette O’Sullivan from Porcelain Make-up www.porcelain.ie - get all the tips you need.
• Cork Style Confidential – presented by Maeve and Molly will showcase all things stylish and sophisticated in the fashion industry www.maeveandmolly.com
• An Irish Cancer Society Health Promotion Advisor will give a talk on breast cancer awareness and general cancer awareness for women.

Chick flicks will be shown throughout the day in the Library Bar for those that just want to chill out for the weekend.

On Saturday night enjoy a pre-dinner drinks reception before a sumptuous 4-course meal. We will end the night dancing away to Karaoke and DJ.  On departure all guests will receive a Goodie Bag!

I think this is a great innovative package put together by the hotel and a really lovely idea for a chilled weekend to relax with friends.  Best of all - Action Breast Cancer will benefit from the proceeds of the weekend, so everyone wins!

You can download the full brochure here and to book, contact the hotel directly: by calling (023) 8848722 or emailing reservations@celticross.com.

We’ve all seen the funny wedding first dance vids on YouTube, but came across this yesterday and had to share……a VERY different church entrance dance - an aisle-walk with a difference!  Not sure how well this would go down in an Irish church, mind!  And HOW many groomsmen and bridesmaids do they have?!

With many places now getting stricter on hens and stags, its great to highlight the towns and accomodation offerings that not only are hen-friendly, but openly welcome a gaggle of women away for a weekend!

One such place is The Surf Lodge in the magnificent Inchydoney Beach, near Clonakilty in West Cork.  A stunning part of the country, Inchydoney will make you feel a million miles from your hectic everyday life, yet still is only a 3 minute spin from Clon, a bustling little town well known for its ledgendary music bar DeBarra’s.

The “Hen House” sleeps 16 people, dormatory style and overlooks the blue flag beach.  There are plenty of activities to keep the hens entertained for the weekend including Whale Watching, Spa treatments in the nearby Hotel, Moonlight Kayaking and naturally enough, Surfing Lessons.  These packages can be added on from €35 - €65 per person.

For a weekend in Wild West Cork - why not check out their fabulous packages for Hens?

I previously wrote a post about Gillian O’Sullivan Personal Trainer based in Cork who does one-on-one sessions with grooms and brides-to-be in preparation for the big wedding (and honeymoon!).  In the run up to my own cousins wedding, where I was a bridesmaid, I had to call in Gillian to help me get in shape to fit into the bridesmaids dress!!

My cousing bought the dresses off the rack in Coast and as she lives in Dublin and I live in Cork, we didn’t get to go shopping together.  “Just get me a size 10″ I said without hesitation.  Little did I realise, after the long winter, when I met her to collect the dress - it didn’t zip up on me!!!  She was a little worried (naturally) but I reassured her that the wedding was months away and I’d be grand.

Months passed and I put the dress and thoughts of the wedding  out of my mind.  Then, with only 6 weeks to go I tried on the dress again - only to find the zip STILL would not go up!!  Panic stations.  So, I called Gillian and told her my predicament.  6 weeks to fit into a dress.  There was no alternative, it was either that or be sacked as bridesmaid!

Gillian was brilliant for me, and I think it really shows that if you have a specific goal you can really work towards achieving it.  I am guilty of always saying, ” I want to loose a bit of weight, or shape up” but nothing has ever really spurred me into doing anything serious about it.  Well, I’m happy to say after 6 weeks with Gillian I was able to fit into the dress and looked fabulous on the day!  She has a really great approach, she’s not scary but at the same time you wouldn’t want to let her down.  I ate more sensibly and trained during the week too, running and weights at home.  I was out and about, getting fit and healthy and Gillian really gave me the motivation to do it.

Walking up the Aisle

I couldn’t recommend personal training highly enough to any bride (or indeed bridesmaid!) out there that wants to trim up before the wedding.  Having a goal, and an end in sight is a real motivator - and it’ll be all worth it for the bikini bod when you hit the honeymoon!  If you are based in Cork, why not call Gillian to get started!

Today is my cousin’s wedding day and I am off out of the office and attending to her every need as one of her bridesmaids!  I was so chuffed to be asked and this is my first time as a bridesmaid so its extra special for me.  I had to go on an intensive diet & exercise plan for the last 6 weeks just to fit into the dress!!  Elaine and I are only a year apart and were so close growing up.  She started going out with (her, now husband!) Gearoid when she was in her Leaving Cert in school and they have both come along way since, through travelling, college and exams and buying their first home together.

The Bride-To-Be at her Hen Party

I want to wish them both all the happiness in the world and as I write this I am crossing my fingers and toes for nice weather and a beautiful day for them both.

Normal blogging will resume next week - with a low down from the wedding and hopefully some pics to boot!