A luxury 4-star 12th-century castle hotel nestled in the heart of Dublin's suburbs, Clontarf Castle has a vibrant history and was the perfect venue for the wedding of HR business partner Rebecca Concannon to operations director Shane Slevin on December 27th, 2024. Captured by Timtim Media, we couldn't imagine a more beautiful winter wedding if we tried!
The pair first met on a Halloween night out in Dublin back in 2012. Rebecca was a polar bear, and Shane was a vampire; needless to say, thirteen years later, with the addition of one bouncing Bernese Mountain dog, Monty, the unlikely duo worked out perfectly!
Shane asked Rebecca to marry him on a summer's day in Florida, seven years after they met. "After a walk on the beach and dinner at a 360-degree revolving restaurant, we finished with a bottle of bubbly while viewing the sunset."
For her dress shopping, Rebecca took her crew to Verona Bridal in Belfast. "The place was gorgeous, and the prosecco eased the pressure!" As many brides do, she had looked at a few dresses online beforehand to get an idea of what she wanted to try on. It seemed her research paid off, as she ended up choosing the first dress she tried on (Martha by Elysian Bridal)!
"We wanted a black-tie wedding, and I had always wanted a black tuxedo from Louis Copeland & Sons, so that was an easy decision; they were great."
Naoise, Rebecca's sister, was the maid of honour with Treasa and Millie as her bridesmaids. "I knew I wanted a champagne colour theme, I searched high and low for the dresses and ended up finding the perfect dresses on Six Stories."
"The ceremony was so Christmassy, it was lovely seeing the Christmas decorations in the church. Our favourite part was seeing each other after I walked down the aisle to a mash-up of 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran and 'Lover' by Taylor Swift. At the end of the ceremony, we had our Bernese mountain dog, Monty, waiting outside in his tuxedo to help greet the guests. So, from walking down the aisle, avoiding burning the place down, lighting candles, to the first kiss, we had many favourite parts throughout."
Shane & Rebecca started their venue search back in 2019, before Covid, when they got engaged, but decided to wait until everything settled and have their dream wedding with everyone there. "We both love Christmas, and early on, we decided to have a Christmas-time wedding, which suited our black-tie style." With that in mind, what better than a castle venue? With a few must-haves on their list and after viewing several venues, it became clear that Clontarf Castle was the ideal venue for the pair. "It stood out not just by its beautiful ballroom, stunning interiors, and the amazing Christmas lights, but also by the service we received the first time we entered the castle. We were shown around the entire venue and then treated to a glass of bubbly and a cheese board, which sealed the deal."
The couple chose Ryan O’Shaughnessy for the music at Foxrock Church and the reception, having conducted extensive research. "He was a great success, and everyone kept mentioning to us afterwards how great he was!"
"For our wedding band, we went with Smash Hits, as 90’s kids, there was no one else really to get everyone going on the dance floor. We had both attended weddings and events where they had previously performed, and it was a matter of booking Smash Hits as soon as we finalised our wedding date. They did not disappoint on the night."
"We initially debated between a summer or winter wedding, but in the end, we were so happy with our winter celebration and recommend it to other couples. The weather was dry and relatively warm, and the cosy winter atmosphere made it magical. Also, being Christmas, we got to see the whole extended family together."
"The worst decision was forgetting our seating chart, which was a self-made, fairytale-like book. However, our wedding planner, Monica, left no stone unturned and had a backup plan in place. We didn’t even notice until we were walking into the ballroom. Deciding to do the stationery ourselves was great at the time, as we got to customise everything to our liking. However, in hindsight, it may have been an area to outsource and relieve some stress, such as forgetting the seating chart."
- Gráinne