Milena and Cathal, from Poland and Ireland, met in Dublin and chose the magnificent Waterford Castle to marry in. Their wedding incorporated both Irish and Polish wedding traditions and guests flew from around the world to attend, extending their stay to make their visit a holiday in Ireland. The excellent Rafal Borek went along to capture their beautiful day.

HOW THEY MET

We met in one of the most famous Dublin establishment (at the time), unfortunately no longer in existence - Redz nightclub on Monday which was 'student' night. For the first date (day after we met) Cathal brought me to the hills of romantic Howth. We were watching the stars through the sunroof of his car and listening to 'With or Without You' by U2. Cathal made me a love song CD for the first date, we also shared a first kiss that night.
How did you get engaged? We were away is Spain and Cathal proposed to me in the most magical city, Ronda up in the mountains. It was exactly our six and a half year anniversary, 19th September 2013. He had the ring on him all the time, even when swimming in the Sea, as he was waiting for the special moment. I didn't have a clue and even at one stage he had the ring in my handbag(!!!). While in Ronda, Cathal insisted on going for a walk to see the gorgeous view point. I had killer high heels on so wasn't too keen, but he took my shoes off me and I was walking barefoot: I remember I kept saying "This view be better worth it!". The view was absolutely breathtaking. Cathal asked me to take a picture of him with the cliffs behind him. I took his phone out and he kept telling me to go back in order to get the picture of the whole cliff. When I turned around I looked through the camera screen and I seen Cathal on his knee saying; "Before you take a picture of me, will you spend the rest of your life with me?" I couldn't believe it, I thought I was dreaming. But he put the ring, which he designed himself, on my finger. The barefoot journey down the mountain was most certainly worth it!

DECIDING THE LOCATION

We were set on a castle wedding from the beginning. We spent a lot of weekends exploring and staying in a number of different castles around the country. Waterford Castle impressed us by its stunning grounds not to mention the fairy tale feeling of the island. We both planned our wedding from a to z but did use a wedding coordinator, Mirka from Waterford Castle, who was extremely helpful in organising all little details. My bridesmaid Philippa also helped, she made our sweet table, which was beautiful and guests really enjoyed it. My other bridesmaid Edel helped making the table plan and other stationery. We had members of family coming over from Australia, USA,Poland and from many different corners of Ireland and sent our invitations three months in advance.

STYLE AND THEME

We went for an elegant Victorian castle style. The room was decorated in that manner with silver candelabras with pearl chains as our centerpieces. Table numbers were displayed as old books, each with an old love quote. Staff members were dressed up in a Victorian outfits, to greet the guests only by referring to them 'my lord' and 'my lady' with glass of bubbly and chocolate strawberries decorated as bride and groom. We also demanded that all staff will wear white gloves while serving the food/drink during the dinner. We also used stage wigs and blow up guitars for the dancing part. And it was a great ice breaker, the dance floor was never empty. Guests really enjoyed playing with the accessories.

INCORPORATING TRADITIONS

My mother organised traditional Polish dancers to perform for everybody after our first dance. She also did a short speech in English and Cathal's mother Maeve did a a speech in Polish, which was very special as she does not speak Polish. We also incorporated the Polish tradition of both of our mothers welcoming us at the venue with the bread and salt, which is symbolic for good luck and wealth, which we fed each other. Then we were served two shot glasses, one had water in it another had vodka. Whoever picks vodka, will be the boss in the relationship. Funny enough I picked the vodka, but I am not fan of it so could not drink it all and Cathal finished it off, so I guess we are equal! After finishing the drink, both glasses were tied up with ribbon and we had to throw them behind us to smash them. We also had a snow machine outside the castle to make it more magical while we were sending off Chinese lanterns with wishes written on them. Milena's grandparents could not make it from Poland so Cathal put a lot of effort and organised a video message from them, which was very emotional and special moment for me.

ADVICE

The whole day was just wonderful, but also busy. Our most memorable moments were seeing each other at the altar and the first dance. Our guests told us that our first dance was the most romantic thing they ever saw! We have no regrets about the day and if we had advice, it would be to tell every bride and groom, enjoy every single second and make sure you spend even 10 minutes alone to soak up all the enjoyment. We had 20 minutes in our room before the dinner, this was magical, first time you use husband and wife titles and also you can chat about the day so far.
Photography: Rafal Borek | Ceremony Venue: Crooke Church, Co Waterford | Reception Venue: Waterford Castle | Wedding Coordinator: Mirka Krajnikova of Waterford Castle | Florist: Flowers by Lucy | Cake: Gracie's Buns and Cakes | Catering: Waterford Castle | Wedding Dress: Enzoani | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Packham | Groom's Suit: DKNY | Groomswear: Custom by Dorian Black | Groom's Shoes: Hugo Boss | Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bride's Jewellery: Newbridge & Tower Jewellers | Car Hire: The Limo Company | Bridesmaids' Jewellery: Newbridge | Wedding Celebrant: Fr. Michael Mullins