- Wedding Venue: Carton Hotel Tralee
- Wedding Photographer: John Walsh
Hi Claire and Nigel, what made you choose The Carlton Hotel Tralee for your wedding?
We felt The Carlton Hotel Traleeoffered a contemporary, classical, and elegant venue for our wedding. We stayed in many hotels over the years and felt that the Carlton suited our style. Another deciding factor for us was the manner in which the hotel worked with us from the initial meeting. Orla Barrero, Events and Marketing Executive, worked closely with us to create the day we wanted. For us the small details were important and Orla was focused, professional and shared her expertise. We truly felt that we established a relationship that helped us create the special day we wanted.
What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
There were so many parts of the day that were memorable for different reasons! Getting ready at home, the wedding ceremony in St. John’s Church was very special, our photos at Fenit on a glorious afternoon, and following that I think taking our seat at the top table in the Carlton amongst family and friends was certainly a highlight. To be there with everyone was just amazing!
Tell us about your wedding menu?
We thought a lot about our guests when selecting our wedding menu and we wanted to ensure that we catered for all tastes. Fortunately the Carlton offered a superb choice of cuisine. Following our menu tasting, we met with the wedding planners in the Carlton to discuss our preferences and choices. We achieved a balance between old and new world cuisine blended with classic options. For starters we selected a choice of Oaked Smoked Salmon, Crushed New Potatoes, Soft Herb Salad and Lemon Oil or Bruschetta of Mediterranean Vegetables and Goats Cheese, Roasted Vine Tomato Dressing. This was followed by Cream of Lightly Spiced Roast Parsnip & Carrot Soup, Sesame Grissini. For our mains we chose Baked Fillet of Sea Bass, Caponata of Bell Peppers,Prawn Bisque scented with Truffle Oil and Roast Fillet of Irish Beef Lyonnaise potatoes, Bushmills and Peppercorn Jus. To finish the meal with selected a choice of Meringue Nest with Fruit Compote or Apple & Cinnamon Strudel with Vanilla Pod Ice Cream! Overall the standard and service was second to none!
Did you have any wedding trends or fun ideas?
We really wanted to create a contemporary and elegant theme throughout the wedding day. I think we achieved this through our music at the church by Affiniti, and then through our décor in the venue. Given our Kerry-Mayo backgrounds we incorporated a sense of where we came from through a few touches including a specially designed cake topper which included Nigel in a Mayo jersey and a miniature Sam Maguire Cup. We also called each table an island of the Kerry or Mayo coast with a brief synopsis of the background of each island. Our islands included Achill, Skellig, Innisturk, and Valentia. Members of the wedding party, family and friends also presented with specially created jerseys and keepsakes to remind us of our origins!
Tell us about the wedding dress!
I chose a dress by Ellis London from the Centenary Collection 2012. It was an ivory v-neck on the shoulder pleated taffeta gown with crystal embellishments placed on the shoulders, waist, and lower back. The v shaped back was finished with buttoned detail along the train.
If you could relieve any part of your day, what would it be?
I think for us being in the Carlton, sitting with the wedding party amongst family and friends was the most memorable part of the day for us. We were able to just sit back and take it all in at that point. For both of us, we would love to go back to that part of the day and experience it all again!
What is your favourite part of Carlton Hotel?
We loved the Riverview Banqueting Suite with warm, luxurious décor complemented by soft mood lighting. We also loved the Bridal Suite with it’s modern and elegant décor.
Did you have a first dance song? What was it?
We had a few ideas about our first song while we were planning the wedding and then at some point along the way, we heard a song, and knew instantly that it was the song for us! Friends in Time by the Golden Hoard.
How long were you planning your wedding for? What was your favourite part of the planning?
We got engaged in November 2011 and set our date that Christmas for 28th September 2012. We had 9 months to plan! There were so many aspects to the wedding planning that we enjoyed. I think the whole process of focusing on the detail of each part of the wedding was most enjoyable – the music, flowers, décor, dresses, meal, etc. There is a lot of planning involved, I think knowing what you like and what you want is the first part, the next step is doing the research to find it. I loved looking through various magazines and websites getting ideas. I certainly loved every moment of the planning!
What was the most difficult part of planning it?
Probably just co-ordinating everything! For us at that time we were both living away from each other in Mayo and Dublin, and so planning the wedding in Tralee required a lot of co-ordination and making the most of phone contact, e-mail and maximizing the time at home by planning meetings with florists, hotels etc.
Lastly, do you have any advice for couples planning to their wedding?
Enjoy every minute of it!!! Make sure you take time to enjoy and plan the parts of the wedding that are most important to you!
