James + Annika: Spring Romance at Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Limerick

18th May 2018 Real Weddings

The stars were aligned the day James and Annika met by chance at a Munster rugby game…

After a surprise proposal at Annika’s family home in Germany, the couple decided to celebrate their nuptials at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Limerick. With stunning, yet simple touches for their spring wedding, the day was positively sparkling from beginning to end. Their day was so lovely in fact, that they’ll be back for their 1st anniversary to celebrate the wedding of close friends!

Don’t miss their gorgeous wedding photos by photographer Florian, who travelled all the way from Germany to capture their special day. You won’t be able to resist this sweet couple’s infectious smiles and the beautifully captured moments from their day at Radisson Blu Limerick.

The Beginning

James – “I was working in Dublin at the time. A huge Munster rugby fan, I was in the Dublin Branch of the Munster Supporters Club (MRSC Dublin) one day for a game. The game finished (we lost to Ulster that day) and I was about 2 minutes from heading home when I was invited by another MRSC member to join his table. Annika, whom I’d never seen or met before, was already at that table. We got talking and the rest is history…”

Annika- “I’m from the Ruhr Valley in Germany and work as a translator. The day I met James, I was supposed to go to rugby training with a friend, just to have a look. I have zero talent, I’m afraid, but the pitch was flooded and it was called off. So instead we went into town to watch the Munster game and James and I got talking. It was the best place to meet. There are never any arguments in our house about whether to watch the rugby.”

The Proposal

James – “I brought my Mam and my Aunt to Annika’s childhood home in Germany for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, once the presents had been opened, I proposed to Annika upstairs in private, in German with a ring in hand & down on one knee. We then joined the rest of the family to give them the good news.”

Annika – “James proposed to me in my childhood home late on Christmas Eve night after all the official Christmas stuff was done, just the two of us, which was perfect because I’m not much for big gestures in front of other people. And he did it in German! It was great to be able to celebrate with our families straight after and I still remember my mum saying she would have saved the good champagne for later in the night if she had known.”

The Rings

“Special mention to Gleeson’s Goldsmiths in Ballycasey, Shannon for the rings. They are friends of the family for years and they were really good to us. They helped us design the wedding ring to compliment/match the engagement ring and they were brilliant. They even polished up our existing rings so we looked in tip-top shape for the big day.”

The Wedding Venue

“We obviously looked at several places but happily decided on the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Limerick for a number of reasons. We wanted to get married in James’ hometown church in Sixmilebridge, so it was great to have the hotel so close by. We both liked the modern feel and the bright room and had heard many good things about the food, but what really decided it was the staff. From the start, when John first showed us around, we just loved the uncomplicated friendliness of the hotel. It perfectly matched the excellent service you’d expect from a four-star hotel with down-to-earth friendliness.”

“The wow factor was the whole thing. We had brilliant weather on the day (hottest day of the year!), so they moved a large table outside onto the lawn and had some of our champagne and other refreshments in chillers in the garden. It looked amazing as we drove up in the wedding car after the photos and we had an opportunity to get beautiful photos with our guests out in the sunshine. The room looked incredible also. We were not sure about some of the more regular table decorations and went with some of our own decorations made by Annika’s Mam. The staff then added details in our colours to that and with the beautiful table settings, it looked truly special. The food was unbelievable. Every course was beautifully presented and tasted amazing and the service was just brilliant. Each course was brought out all at once per table, each waiter/waitress placed the plates together and lifted the silver lids together. It’s just a detail, but it made for a perfect presentation and everybody was very impressed. With Annika being from Germany, we asked if we could have a traditional dish called currywurst served at the afters meal. The chef asked what was required and without any fuss or hesitation, really good currywurst was duly served at night. What we thought might be difficult things to ask for were delivered without any fuss or problem whatsoever.”

The Wedding Theme

“We had a spring wedding so we kept everything nice and simple. Green was our main colour with yellow roses and simple daisies throughout. The main room in the Radisson has mood lighting so that even matched our colour scheme. Pretty cool!”

“One thing we did have was a Cupcake Tower as our main wedding cake feature. Graham from The Cupcake Bloke in Dublin made it for us and supplied everything we needed, including the stand. Everyone was raving about how it looked and how the cupcakes tasted. It was a huge hit. In addition, James’ aunt iced a small cake for us and we got replica bride and groom in Munster jerseys for the cake topper from The Danes Bakery in Limerick to remind us of our first meeting.”

The Wedding Attire

James – “The suits were by Patrick Bourke in Ennis. Really easy to deal with and always willing to try as many suits as required before I was happy with the selection. Would recommend them no problem. We went for blue suits, matched with ivory and silver ties.”

Annika – “I bought my dress in Germany, so my mum and I could go to the shops together. I’m not at all into fashion, so I couldn’t tell you much, but I had a fairly simple dress with a short train and I absolutely loved it. I got my hair and make-up done in Ravens Hair Salon in the Radisson Blue Spa. Mike did my hair and Niamh my make-up and it was just perfect. Absolutely beautiful and it lasted for the whole day and night, despite the heat, the dancing and getting stuck in hedges while taking photos in Bunratty!”

“As I’m a lot shorter than James, I also had very high shoes and I’d made a pact with my bridesmaids that, should I fall on my way down the aisle, they’d tell everybody that it’s a German tradition to do so and it’s good luck.”

Special Moments

James – “The ceremony was really special. We know our priest and he was great which allowed us to relax and enjoy it. The music in the church was beautiful. Stella has some voice! I also think that sharing it with our friends and families, being able to have the crack with them all throughout the day was a really big part of it.”

Annika – “I can’t really decide on only one special moment. The whole day was just brilliant. Walking into the church, actually putting the rings on each other’s hands, the speeches from our families… There were so many brilliant moments. We also had a fantastic church singer in Stella Bass from Dublin and she and her band ‘Rewind’ then played at our reception. There was never a quiet moment on the dance floor.”

“I was never among those who dreamt of their wedding for years and the first time I really thought about details was after we got engaged, so it wasn’t easy to decide on everything. I really didn’t expect to enjoy the day so much, but I just loved every minute of it and we talk about our wedding day all the time.”

The Photographer

“Our photographer came from Germany. Florian worked on Annika’s brother’s wedding and we were so impressed with his photos that we said we’d chance our arm and ask. It turned out he was available and very eager to do an Irish wedding. Florian is class. He worked all day long (until 1am), tirelessly taking photos but more than that, his fun manner and friendliness meant it was so easy to enjoy our day without really noticing he was there. He also took us for a second shoot on the following Tuesday to the West coast of Clare and the images from both days are genuinely amazing. Neither of us is too much into being photographed, so we’re delighted to have such great pictures.”

Special Additions

“Actually, it’s quite funny, but we’re actually going to a wedding in the Radisson Blue Limerick on our one-year anniversary! A couple who was at our own wedding loved the venue so much that they booked it for their own wedding. So we’ll be celebrating their wedding with them and having a great reminder of our own fantastic day.”