Our #GLBride of the week is Máiréad, who wore our Fabiana gown on her special day. Máiréad and her fiancé, Joe, celebrated their nuptials at the stunning Finca Monasterio resort in Spain's beautiful Cadiz countryside. In the following interview, Máiréad shares with us the moments she’ll cherish forever and the experience of finding her dream gown. As told by Máiréad:
Where to start with this gown. I love the beading and the intricacy. It’s the most romantic and feminine dress I have ever seen and I felt like an absolute princess the moment I put it on. It has such a womanly air about it. I felt like it was made for me and moulded to my body so well, from the corset to how it sits and falls around your stomach and hips. It is so flattering.
What is one piece of advice you would give to other brides-to-be?
Try to enjoy every moment of the “build-up” and don’t get too stressed out if things haven’t fallen into place as far in advance as you would have liked. You’ll only ever look back and wish you’d enjoyed it more if you don’t. I tried so hard to be super organized to avoid stress in the last few days but it’s inevitable that there will be so much to do last minute and it’s pretty unavoidable. Everyone will step up and spring into action when the time comes. Keep the faith!
In the car on the way to the church I was feeling very nervous and overwhelmed. My brother Paul (who was driving the wedding car) must have noticed and quickly told me about the ‘54321 technique’. He told me that nerves/anxiety and excitement are similar emotions and that you can try to change how your body processes the emotion by saying ‘54321..I’m excited. My Dad and I recited this over and over in the car and it helped so much. Forever grateful for that piece of well-timed advice.
What was the highlight of your wedding?
It’s so hard to choose! For me, it really was finally meeting Joe, my husband at the top of the altar. It was the most emotional and overwhelming experience of my life and something I knew I would never have the opportunity to relive, so I wanted to soak up every second of it.
I actually saw a picture of the dress long before our engagement on Tali Photography’s Instagram page. At the time, I didn’t know the dress designer and hadn’t started my search yet but I saved the picture for future reference. When I started my search, I hadn’t looked back at the picture but I think it must have been in the back of my mind because I was definitely searching for something similar and naturally, nothing could compare.
I then hunted the dress down and found it was stocked in Browns Bride in London. I visited during a covid lockdown and had to go to the first appointment on my own. After that, my lovely Mum flew over from Ireland so she could see the dress in person. She had been to a few boutiques with me previously and hadn’t seen anything she thought was the one either – she’s very picky. I think I was really waiting for that reaction from her to confirm what I already knew. As soon as I walked into the room wearing Fabiana, she said ‘That is your dress Máiréad!’ and I knew it was the one from that moment.
Who had the best reaction to your dress?
I think my new Husband Joe. He was so overwhelmed with emotion when I got to the top of the altar and said it was the best dress he’d ever seen in his life.
What was your favorite part of your wedding dress experience?
I loved the day I found the dress at Browns. I hadn’t seen my Mum in quite some time and Laura at Browns made the appointment very special and exciting! I also loved my fitting appointments as they were an opportunity to bring one of my lovely bridesmaids each time and we were always made to feel super special. It was like a mini celebration each time I had a fitting appointment.
I met my husband Joe in March 2015. My best friend Ashley worked at a recruitment company in London at the time with her now-husband Daniel (who is friends with my husband from university) and they organized a work ski trip every year. Two people dropped out of the trip and we both received last-minute invitations.
On the trip, we spoke a little but didn’t spend much time together. When we got back from the trip, I invited everyone to my birthday party. The next day Joe messaged me on Facebook to say that he was sorry that he couldn’t make it, but that he had to go home and help his parents out at their farm.
He sent a picture of a dozen farm eggs strapped into the passenger seat and asked if he could drop them off to me as a birthday present. I politely declined but after a few days changed my mind and got in touch to ask if the eggs could still be delivered. He said he’d already eaten them but asked if I would like to go and watch a rugby match at Wembley stadium instead and the rest is history.
How did you find working with the team at Galia Lahav?
Amazing from start to finish. My stylist was Laura Lattimore and she made me feel a part of the Browns Bride family by the end of my journey with them. My seamstress was also absolutely fantastic.
How did your husband propose? Did you know it was coming?
A few months before the proposal, Joe followed tradition and flew to Belfast to meet my Father at the airport to ask for my hand – I had no idea!
He then booked a surprise trip to Lough Erne Hotel in Ireland for my Christmas present. We had been to the resort before, my 30th and my brother’s wedding – it’d become quite special to us. When we arrived, he asked the hotel to tell us that the room wasn’t ready yet so he could take me for a walk around the lough.
He was frantically checking the map looking pretty grey, I tried to put the thought of a proposal out of my head in case I was wrong and I would end up disappointed. We walked for a while before coming to a lovely little jetty which Joe suggested we walk out on. We walked out and took in the views. When I was walking back off the jetty he was behind me and said ‘Oh, one more thing’ and pulled me back.
When I turned around he was on one knee and asked me to marry him. We then took a few hours to ourselves soaking it all in before calling all of our friends and family. The next day, my family drove down to surprise us and we started the celebrations!
