I am very excited at this moment in time! That is because we have a treat for you, my first real wedding at WeddingDates!! Melanie and Ross held their wedding reception at the marvelous Jacks Coastguard Restaurant. I am sure after reading this and drooling over the images, I won’t be the only who who wishes I had gotten an invite!
Melanie and Ross’s wedding took place on Friday 24th August. They had the ceremony at Ard na Sidhe which has a stunning location overlooking Caragh Lake, and the reception at Jacks which has an equally amazing location overlooking the sea. Jacks Coastguard Restaurant is located in a beautiful seaside village called Cromane, just 5 minutes from Killorglin in Co Kerry. After the ceremony, it lashed rain but the couple and their guests persevered with umbrellas and took a boat across Caragh Lake, how magical!
I had the opportunity to catch a few moments with the bride, Mel, who shared the details of her spectacular wedding with us!
“I didn’t really have official bridesmaids but my 2 year old nephew was ‘Best Boy’ and walked me down the aisle with my dad. My sisters Claire and Siobhan and best friends Kim and Helen all had roles on the day but wore whatever they wanted. I absolutely loved my wedding dress which was made by an Irish designer Suzanne Neville and I bought it at Sharon Hoey in Dublin, it is absolutely trashed now though, long and white were not a good combination with the torrential rain, boat trip, a game of pool in a pub en route to Jacks, all the dancing, and the Guinness!!!”
How did you decide to choose Jack’s for your wedding reception?
I have been going to Kerry for as long as I remember as we have a holiday house there and have known Brian, the Manager of Jack’s all my life. We have had many a happy occasion at Jack’s and with its amazing location, and delicious food it was an easy choice.
What made Jacks the ideal location for your wedding?
I think the views speak for themself, this combined with the phenomenal food, and very relaxed ‘can-do’ attitude made it absolutely ideal. They are also so flexible and accommodating that it would make the ideal location for anyone wanting the complete comfort of knowing you are in great hands, along with the ability to make your wedding as unique to you as you like.
Why did you choose a marquee wedding?
To accommodate all the people! Jack’s also lent itself really well to a marquee but we felt really strongly about having a marquee with clear sides to take in the panoramic views.
What did you have as the wedding menu?
We wanted the food to be really relaxed and social. We had an amazing selection of seafood for canapes including oysters, tempura prawns, and mussels. For starters there were a mixture of crab tians and tomato and mozzarella tarts for people to swap and share between them. We then had super special fish pies packed with local seafood which the ‘chefs’ of the tables had to serve out wearing the chef hats given to them, this all came with plenty of green veg, and being Kerry plenty more potatoes. There were then sharing platters of miniature desserts, and cheese boards.
Did your wedding have any unique or unusual touches?
I think the random jugs of wild flowers that my Mum put together with the help of our local neighbour Geraldine were quite unusual. My now husband Ross also created the log candle holders. Oh, and we had no seating plan. People had to pick their places out of a hat, which I think was quite unusual but worked really well getting people to socialise and mix with people they might not have done otherwise. We also had a box of fancy dress for when the party got going later on.
Did you have an overall wedding theme?
Not really, I guess ‘rustic’ would be as close to a theme as we got with random chairs, hessian runners, jugs of wild flowers, coloured napkins, and bunting. We were actually inspired by our wedding to set up a business renting out unique wedding decor items, we plan to call it Colour Pop so watch this space!
Did you have wedding favours?
No, my Mum was always against party bags when we were kids as she felt that she gave such good parties that she didn’t need to give party bags as well. I think the guests would agree that we gave them a pretty good party which I hope was favour enough!
What type of wedding cake did you have?
We didn’t have a wedding cake but had a champagne fountain instead. We opened bottles of champagne with swords which is called sabrage, and then poured it into a fountain made up of champagne glasses. This was something Brian’s dad Danny did for us one meal at the Glenbeigh Hotel and I’ve never forgotten it.
What was your main priority in your wedding?
For it to be relaxed and fun. I think people can get quite uptight about weddings and feel that everything has to be absolutely perfect but I think it is more important to go with the flow and enjoy the day as much as possible. Having the wedding at Jack’s really helped as they took care of so much for us so all we had to do was add a few personal touches and turn up and enjoy ourselves.
What could you have not done without on your wedding day?
Brian (manager), and the rest of the team at Jack’s. I cannot emphasise enough how amazing they all were.
Thanks to Melanie and Ross for sharing their fabulous wedding with us at Jacks Coastguard Restaurant. The ultimate wedding venue in a unique location, you need look no further. It really is breathtakingly beautiful! Check availability for this wedding venue in Kerry.
The couple plan to set up a website renting bunting and unique wedding decor called ‘Colour Pop’ so keep an eye out!
{Images of Melanie and Ross’s wedding were taken by their talented photographer Nina Finn-Kelcey. Check her out if you wish to see some more images of Melanie and Ross’s wedding}
