As they get ready to celebrate one year of marriage on 23rd June, we take a look back at Dominique and Patrick’s stylish wedding celebrations at Boyne Hill House, which featured in our annual edition back in January.
How did you both meet?
‘We first met in a hostel in Brisbane in October of 2012. Hostel living was not for me and I only lasted one night there. I moved into an apartment nearby but still visited the hostel and Patrick almost every evening for the fun and parties. We dated for three months before I moved on to Darwin. He dropped me to the airport in February 2013 and I thought that was the end of us, a holiday romance to remember. ‘Fast forward eight years to the day that he dropped me off at the airport in Brisbane and we had our first date in Bushy Park In Dublin on 2nd February 2021. He heard from his sister on Christmas Day that I was single and decided to get back in contact. Our wedding theme was ‘it was written in the stars’ because I felt like everything that happened was meant to be and it was always supposed to be us two together.’
How did Patrick propose?
‘He proposed on my birthday, the 1st August 2022, while we were holidaying on the Amalfi Coast. We were only together 18 months, so I had no idea that it was even on his mind yet. It was the best surprise ever. We were having a drink on the balcony in our room and he said he had to go our hotel reception to see why they hadn’t brought the birthday surprise he requested. I assumed he had ordered a bottle of bubbles that never arrived. A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door and I was greeted with a staff member holding a rose and a scroll. She asked me to follow her and led me through the hotel, stopping at different points to hand me love letters and single roses. She handed me the third and final letter which read I have a question to ask you? It still feels surreal when I think of it. I was met at the hotel’s private cliff look-out area with a nervous looking Patrick surrounded by vases of roses and petals on the ground. Lana del Rey ‘Young and Beautiful’ was playing while he popped the question and it was one of the most perfect moments of my life.’
How did you decide on the wedding venue?
‘After our holiday to the Amalfi Coast we flew onto my family in Nice. We started looking up venues while there and had our first venue set up to view when we arrived home from France. I had done an internet search on country house venues and Boyne Hill House popped. I loved the pink manor house and I requested a brochure. I emailed it straight on to Patrick and he put it into his Google maps to see where it was. Anyway, we had booked to go and see another venue that day, but because Paddy had put Boyne Hill House into his maps earlier that’s where we accidentally showed up. The venue we were supposed to be at at 1pm that day was 20 minutes from there.
‘We took it as a sign and drove in to take a closer look. I got goosebumps and was like this is it! They are an exclusive wedding venue and were dismantling the wedding from the night before. They had no wedding that day and had had 15 in a row in the days prior and had another the next day. There was nobody to show us around, but they were unbelievably accommodating and Elaine, who is in charge of the food service, walked us through everything. What were the chances they had no wedding that day, if they had of we couldn’t have looked around.
‘We had our hearts set on a summer wedding in 2023. They were extremely limited, but the date they had got, Friday the 23rd June, is my dad’s birthday. We booked it later that evening on the 22nd August 2022. For some reason all the dates of significance for us have lots of twos in them and I remember googling it and it saying that its your angels letting you know you’re on the right path!’
Who else helped you bring your day to life?
‘Both my make-up artist Lisa Shannon and hair stylist Carla Rose are people I have known for years and would consider friends. Again by chance, Lisa was available as she had booked herself off for holidays, but said she would love to do my bridal make-up, I was so grateful. They both made me, my mam and my sisters feel amazing on the day. My friend Ali Dee styled the hair of my five flowergirls’ on the morning of the wedding too.
My florist Chantal from La Luna Floral Studio and stylist Eliza from Mano Bespoke had created the dream ceremony in the venue’s secret garden.
The weather had been clear all morning, but as soon as our guests took their seats and Patrick and his groomsmen arrived, the heavens opened! There was a panic to get everybody inside out of the torrential rain and we had to go to plan B – an indoor ceremony room. This was never an option initially because the room only held 120 and we had 150, it was tight to say the least. The guests were spilling out into the aisle, but it made it all the more intimate.
Our singer Niamh Kirby was amazing and the atmosphere in the room was electric. Grainne, our celebrant told our love story brilliantly and from then on it was party mode activated and our band Riff Shop were unbelievable and everybody still speaks about how amazing they were.’
Who captured your day?
‘My photographer Ella O’Callaghan was amazing! We said we wanted natural photos verses really posed ones and she captured the day perfectly for us. She was lovely to have around too and I couldn’t recommend her enough. Richard from Bigday.ie was our videographer and he took amazing footage. With me basically having a career on social media he created reels that I could share online and we loved them too. It’s so nice to look back on the day in action.’
What did you wear?
‘My sister Sarah actually found the dress on Instagram and sent it on to me. My dress was Christie Nicole and I bought it in The White Gallery in Newry. I think everyone knows I’m fond of a puff sleeve and when I saw this one I knew it was the one before I even tried it on. I changed into a Rue de Seine dress in the evening.
The bridesmaids dresses were from Anne Louise Boutique in Arnotts. I thought they complemented my dress really well. We got Patrick’s suit from Louis Copeland and David (Style Doc) was with us through the whole process. My dad and the groomsmen’s suits were hired from Morleys in Cork and I thought all the looks came together amazingly. They were so elegant and timeless.
What were your favourite moments?
‘We both agreed our favourite moment was getting to see each other for the first time that day. Seeing Patrick is a moment I’ll never forget, I can still see the emotion on his face. Ella captured a photo of him when the doors opened and our eyes met and it’s one of my favourite from our wedding. Patrick said he could see the silhouette of my big sleeves through the doors before they opened. He said he could actually feel my presence before I walked in. I walked up the aisle to Lana del Rey ‘Young and Beautiful’, the song he had playing when he proposed. We wrote our own vows and they were from the heart, so that was another really special moment. The band was also a real highlight, we didn’t get off the dance floor from the moment they started playing.’
Dominique & Patrick’s Dream Team
Photography: Ella O’Callaghan Photography
Videography: bigday.ie
Celebrant: Atlantic Vows
Venue: Boyne Hill House
Venue Styling: Mano Bespoke Décor Styling
Florist: La Luna Floral Studio
Wedding Dress: The White Gallery
Bridesmaids Dresses: Anne Louise Boutique at Arnotts
Groom’s Suiting: Louis Copeland
Groomswear: Morleys
Wedding Singer: Niamh Kirby
Wedding Band: Riff Shop
Make-up: Lisa Shannon
Hair: Carla Rose
