A co-down couple shared a look at their gorgeous marquee wedding on a family farm.
Megan Murnion, 23, from Hilltown and Conall McPolin, 24, from Dundrum have been together for seven years and got married on July 10th of this year.
In Bes new weekly feature “Inside My Wedding” couples give an insight into their wedding to give you tips and ideas for your big day.
The bio-medicine and dairy farmer originally planned to spend his big day at Bellingham Castle, Co. Louth, but moved to his family farm due to Covid restrictions.
Megan told us all about her and Conall’s big day, with a very special surprise.
Megan prepares for her big day
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
How did you start planning your wedding?
Initially, my first port of call was my very talented best friend who is a florist as I wanted flowers to be a big part of my wedding.
Charlotte (of Charlotte Floral Design) who was also my bridesmaid helped me create the look I wanted.
We both have big families and we knew we wanted them all with us on our special day, so we sat down and made our guest list so we knew which venues were right for us, and then we went to those We found venues we liked and went looking.
Tell us about your venue and how you chose it.
At first we fell in love with Bellingham Castle, Co Louth, it was the beautiful grounds and breathtaking castle that we both immediately fell in love with. We had a guest list of 230 which was the castle’s absolute max, but we were so over the moon with our venue.
At this point we checked to see if our priest or church was available for the appointment, and so did our band as that was a big part of our day.
However, Covid-19 had different plans and due to the different restrictions in Northern and Southern Ireland we decided at the end of May 2021 to reschedule our whole day.
Instead of our Castle Fairy Tale Day, we have decided to have our loved ones together on our family farm.
It wasn’t what we planned, but honestly it was the best weekend of our lives. We now know it was the best decision we ever made regarding wedding plans, better than any wedding anniversary at the castle.
Megan on her way to her big day
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
Tell me all about your wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses?
About 14 months before the big day, I started looking for my dream wedding dress. Clothing stores always say 12 months in advance, but I wanted to give myself a little more time as anyone who knows me can agree that I can be very indecisive and picky.
I looked around the country and tried on dresses until one afternoon in my hometown I walked into Newry Elody Bride. When I tried the dress on, I just knew it was an Enzoani and Sharon dress and the team couldn’t have done enough for me.
Just Married!
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
Not only did I have the dreamy bespoke headgear made by the absolutely amazing Aimee Farrell Designs, I also knew I wanted a bespoke veil. Sharon was able to get the exact tip from the designer and create the veil of my dreams.
For my bridesmaids, I knew I wanted my cousin Emma Murnion Fashion Design to make my bridal shower dresses as her job is absolutely amazing and in my opinion nobody is like her in the industry.
I went to Emma because I knew I wanted something different and she helped me design the most beautiful ivory colored dresses with detachable capes, as well as my mother’s dress to complement my own.
The bridal shower
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
What was the best part in preparing for your day?
The best part of setting up the day for me was seeing our two families working hard together to prepare our venue on our farm – it was really nice to see two families become one before we even got married.
Mother of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
What was the best moment of your day?
Throughout the wedding planning process, Conall was very casual about the details and was really happy as long as I was. He said as long as we get married that’s all he really cares about and that’s nice, but it didn’t feel like Conall’s personality was coming through.
Conall’s family had secretly restored a family member’s vintage tractor for the big day that arrived after the ceremony to take us to our photos. Seeing his face and joy was the best moment of the day in my opinion.
Conall and his groomsmen
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
What would you advise other brides to plan first?
People always say that diners will forget what they put on or who said what, but they will always remember their experiences with the food, entertainment, and music – so I would focus on doing the research first Which live band, DJ or other entertainer fit the topic and adjust the mood of your guests.
Gorgeous wedding cake
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
What was the hardest thing to plan?
Honestly, I wouldn’t say everything is hard to plan, I’m a very organized person by nature and knew exactly what to do when, but other than that due to Covid-19, I could have a whole wedding in a few Have to Reschedule Weeks, Under “normal” circumstances I would say that after you’ve originally booked the most important parts of your day ie ceremony, venue, music / entertainment and photography, you’ve really got most of it planned.
Megan and Conall had classic wedding cars
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
What was your topic
Our wedding theme was classic – whether that was the classic theme of the ivory and green flowers with the ivory dresses throughout the wedding, or whether it was the vintage cars from C4 Wedding Car Hire that couldn’t do enough for us, or the fabulous vintage car – Tractor – we just wanted our wedding to be timeless.
The nice reception
(Image: Ciaran O’Neill Photography)
Would you do something differently and do you wish there was something you didn’t have to worry about?
The only thing I will advise others is not to care about other people’s opinions about your wedding day. I was really worried about people’s opinions on our style, food, entertainment and I asked everyone if they were having a good time instead of Conall and I relaxing and enjoying OUR day.
Would you like to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk to be featured!
