pink weddings magazine » 37
NOel AND STeve
section of the evening, we had the venue lit so that the
overall mood and tone of the spaces could be changed. The
ceremony was lit with a warm glow, which changed to
moving spotlights during the band and ceilidh dance. The
lighting changed again to a deep blue ‘nightclub’ for the
disco at the end. We also kept the seating area lit with a so
glow, which created two completely different atmospheres.
There was a buffet for guests a er the ceremony while
pictures were being taken, and then the ceilidh band started
the evening at 7pm. To start the ceilidh dance, Noel, Debs
(our daughter) and his younger sister Trish performed an
Irish reel to
Lord of the Dance
.
This was a great way to involve all the guests, young and
old, as the caller was down and in among the crowd getting
people into groups and overcoming any shyness. Then at
9pm, the DJ took over – the lights changed, the tempo
increased and our guests began to move to our favourite
dance music.
They had a great time. We had used social media to keep
guests informed of what the plans were and our growing
excitement as we approached the day. What was nice was
they were all the same sort of people: up for a laugh. There
was no holding back on the dance floor – which is something
a lot of them commented on.
A lot of people enjoyed seeing old friends from university
or different places we had worked, a lot of fun was had with
the photobooth we set up – but nearly everyone we have
spoken to since was amazed by our children’s speeches.
It can be so stressful trying to organise such an event –
even if you have people helping you. You get to the point
where you just want the day to arrive! But in the end, it was
amazing.
It was great seeing all of our friends and family in one
place. The venue worked really well and everyone enjoyed
themselves, which is what we had worried about the most.
However, despite the two previous ones, it was a lovely
wedding where we got to devote ourselves to each other
again 20 years on since we first met.
Our advice to other couples is to
realise that you will spend most of
your night apart trying to talk to
everyone there!
Plan out the whole event so that there isn’t a lot of dead
time between the ceremony and the evening – going straight
through from 5pm meant that everyone got involved straight-
away and kept a real party mood going throughout the night.
Chill out – it will inevitably be alright on the night!
