Originally built in 1865 for the Estate Manager of 800-year-old Ashford Castle, The Lodge at Ashford Castle offers country house charm, awe-inspiring views of Lough Corrib and warm Irish hospitality with a modern appeal. This chic and elegant sanctuary was the perfect setting for nurse Amy Minton to marry prestige accounts manager, Lewis Cooke, on the 10th of August 2024. Captured by Wedding Moments, you're going to love this late summer celebration!
The couple met while living in Australia in 2018 (Lewis had mentioned the creator of Tinder in his wedding speech- we will leave it at that!). Due to a (supposed!) Uber delay, Amy was 45 minutes late to their first date, but despite the rocky start, the date went swimmingly and led to more and more meetups. After this, like many other couples, the pair battled through COVID but came out stronger on the other side and moved to London.
"I took Amy to Barbados for her 30th Birthday. I’d decided to propose whilst staying at the Hilton Hotel in Bridgetown, and corralled the hotel staff to help secretly take a video during it so I had some evidence of the deed. So, during sunset overlooking the Caribbean Sea, I got down on one knee and asked the big question, and she happily said yes. After this, she spent the evening on the phone with her family while we enjoyed a champagne-fuelled dinner overlooking the same sea. It remains one of the best holidays we’ve ever had and certainly one we will never forget."
Not a huge makeup lover, Amy wasn't sure who to hire for her wedding day, so she turned to her maid of honour, Claire, to see if she knew of a makeup artist who could create an elevated natural look. She immediately mentioned Claudia, a sister of a friend of hers, and after browsing her Instagram, Amy knew she had found her artist. "She did a fantastic job, and we were at ease on the wedding morning! I had my trial in Limerick before my hen do, and when the makeup lasted through a wild two days and nights with the girls in Carlingford, jacuzzi and all, I knew I had made the right decision." For her hair, Amy turned to her longtime salon, Visage Hair Salon in Galway, for a recommendation, and they mentioned Aoife Creaby. "I went to Westport for a hair trial and had so much craic chatting with Aoife that I was delighted to have her on the wedding day. Nothing was too much of an ask, and she added to the fun along with Claudia!"
Amy's first dress appointment was with three of her bridesmaids in London—fuelled by Prosecco, of course! Despite not finding her dress, the group had a whale of a time and helped her narrow down the styles she liked and didn't like. After that, she booked two more appointments in Ireland and a final appointment at Made With Love Bridal in Whitechapel while her parents were visiting her in London. "Initially, it was just me and my mum attending the appointment, but I didn’t want my dad to miss out; he has three brothers but never had a sister. I felt that because I was the only daughter, it would have been a shame if he weren’t included in picking the dress. We went on a stormy London day, and I chose my dress with both of my parents present. To me, that was the most special part of the process."
"I decided with my groomsmen that we wanted to do something timeless and classic. Therefore, we decided to go with tuxedos. I wanted to use a brand that I knew and respected, and one of the groomsmen used to work for Ted Baker, and he suggested going with them for the tuxes. We were pleased with how it all looked on the day, and think they will stand the test of time in our wedding photos."
Amy had four bridesmaids in total, including her three cousins Claire, Elena, and Shauna and her close friend, Niamh. "I wanted the dresses to be comfortable; everyone agreed that nobody wanted satin. I thought a crepe bridesmaid dress would be best because my dress was crepe. I did a lot of research and ended up finding Maids to Measure. It was a great decision. The girls looked gorgeous, and the sage green colour worked well on everyone."
"We knew that we wanted a ceremony that would be true to ourselves. We decided to go with a humanist ceremony, because it could be personal and not too dragged out. We knew everyone would be keen to get the party started! Our humanist was Gail Quinn, and she did an incredible job. She listened to everything we wanted from our first Zoom meeting to the wedding day. My favourite memory is my dad telling me that she had put suncream on his head for him (it was 23 degrees on the day, incredible for Ireland!). We also did a wine box, which we wrote letters for each other to open on our first anniversary, and left a bottle of our favourite wine that a good friend very kindly brought over from Australia. That was another highlight of our ceremony. It felt personal, and we enjoyed every second of it."
Due to the fact that they were based in London but planning a wedding in Ireland, the pair found it quite challenging to pick wedding venues. It was hard to visualise anything when they were busy with work and found it easier to view it in person, so Amy asked her mum to help choose places to view. "When she mentioned the Lodge at Ashford Castle, I had heard of it but had never been there. Thankfully, my parents went to view it and they encouraged us to book it. The staff had been invaluable, and they had a date that we wanted. What I loved most about the Lodge was how welcome they made us feel. They had given us the bridal suite on the morning of the wedding, and all the nerves were put aside. The day after the wedding, they also gave us a framed picture of the lodge with our names and wedding date on it. I thought that was such a gorgeous touch."
"I share a love of music with my Dad, and I asked him to look into wedding bands for me. I’ve got a cousin in a wedding band himself, and Dad had asked him for suggestions. One of those was The Rascals, who play a lot locally in Galway. We decided to book them and saw them playing in Galway on one of our many trips home. At that time, they had a girl named Tracey who was playing with them. We asked Tracey to join them for our wedding; she was part of the ceremony. They were such an incredible band to have, keeping things lively throughout the day. Everyone was commenting on how good they were!"
Regarding the best decision, Amy said, "Getting ready in my childhood home on the morning of. It meant my family and friends surrounded me. We even had a visit from our neighbour's golden retriever puppy, which made the morning even better!"
- Gráinne