Cait and David

Cáit and David first met when they bumped into each other in Crawdaddy in Dublin ten years ago.

They met when they were both first year students and were inseparable throughout college. In 2012, Cáit made the tough decision to move to Singapore for work. “Although long distance was not easy we stuck together. After a year and a half David moved to Singapore too, we were so delighted to be back together!” says Cáit. Three years later they planned a holiday away together in Japan. Little did Cáit know that David had other plans for that trip. “We were walking around Lake Kawaguchiko looking at Mount Fuji in the distance, when David suggested we stop for a minute to have a snack,” Cáit recalls. “Instead of an orange coming out of the bag, a box was produced, and David got down on one knee and proposed! We had great craic Skyping home to tell family and friends – it was Monday morning in Ireland, so the reactions were absolutely priceless!”

Whilst planning their wedding, Cáit and David were still based in Singapore. They both decided early on that they wanted to get married in Ardattin (just down the road from Cáit’s home). “We looked at about five or six venues online but the Step House was the one that really caught our eye. We arranged to view it on a trip home at Christmas, and that was it! We didn’t need to see any other venues as we knew this was the one for us!” The Step House is a family run house hotel, with a friendly intimate feel, a cosy drinks reception rooms upstairs and stunning views across to Mount Leinster. “The real draw for us was the way the function room opens out onto the beautiful gardens, making it feel relaxed, light and airy. From the moment we walked in the doors on that first visit we knew it was a special place, and really felt it suited our personalities.”

A lot of the planning was done over email and on trips home. “We made sure not to get too bogged down in little details. Our vision for the day was that it would be relaxed and fun, and we wanted it to reflect our personalities and our story. At the end of the day, the important part was that we were getting married surrounded by people who were important to us,” Cáit recalls. Cáit bought her wedding dress in the second shop she visited on a trip home. “I had tried on plenty of dresses that were lovely options, but once I tried on my dress I knew that was it! There may even have been a few tears when the veil went on… It took another day of dress shopping before I fully committed, but no other dress had the same effect so it was back to Mullingar to seal the deal!” she says. As David had proposed in Japan, the couple wanted to incorporate a Japanese wedding tradition called Senbazuru into their own wedding. This is where the bride makes 1000 paper cranes in the lead up to the wedding. Cranes are believed to mate for life and are a symbol of long life, happiness and good luck. These brides who make 1,000 cranes show extreme patience, fortitude and commitment – also important qualities in a successful marriage! Cáit undertook this labour of love and the cranes were hung along the glass corridor, displayed on a branch and one crane was placed at each guest’s place setting together with the favours.

On the wedding day, the weather turned, but despite some worrying over it, it didn’t make any difference at all. “The week before our wedding was a scorcher, and the days afterwards were the same, but our actual wedding day was a grey cloudy and windy day – but do you know what it didn’t matter at all. We had such a fun day, with friends and family travelling from near and far and I don’t think we ever stopped laughing and smiling,” she says. There were a few little hiccups on the day, but the couple didn’t let it affect them. ” The hiccups mainly happened during the ceremony itself – David’s ring didn’t want to go on, he came away from the first kiss with a beautiful set of red lips and the marriage candle took a few attempts to light, but these are actually some of the funniest memories we have as we played along with them and they all got a good laugh!” The pair had a brilliant day and in the end. “We wouldn’t change a thing! We’d just like to have the whole day again!” says Cáit. “The best advice we got in the lead up to the day was to be mindful throughout the day and experience each moment as it comes, it goes by so quickly.”