I am Iron Man…

There is one thing that is required of a groom on the day of the wedding (other than showing up early and worrying about his bride to be showing up) and that is to look sharp, dapper, distinguished; basically he has to scrub up well. This post will centre on my hunt for the lads suits.

 

When I took the time to sit back and ponder what I would be wearing that day 2 styles came to mind, one was slightly outrageous and the other ever so slightly less outrageous. I ended up choosing the latter. (I will not go into my choice, as I believe it should be as much a secret as the brides dress, however I did get Catherine’s approval.)

 

I did say that I had something in mind but it was more of a general idea than a set in stone plan. My first stop was SD Kells in Omagh. Catherine and I were on one of our frequent visits to the lovely Morris’s when the talk turned to wedding. I had shared my ideas with Catherine and Rosemarie and after a quick google image search they understood what I was after, and I was met swiftly by “Sure go down the town and see what you can see”. Off to the suit emporium.

 

I am no stranger dressing up and looking snappy, let’s just say when I arrived at SD kells I was like a kid in a “suit” (sweet) shop. 

There is nothing better than suiting up. I don't know a man who doesn’t derive pleasure from sticking on a suit and imagining he is James Bond on his way to Monte Carlo as he promenades in front of the mirror. The selection in SD Kells was very impressive and was quite reasonable on price for a package. I received a brochure that I could peruse at my leisure and bit of advice… “It’s great you are taking an interest but grooms usually wait a bit closer to the time”. It dawned on me then that although I do not give off the impression, I am a complete GROOMZILLA.

 

Whilst in town, I visited Bowes Brothers of Omagh, another establishment that deals in suits of the wedding variety. They were also very helpful and they directed me to their distributor Debonair in Magherfelt.

 

I decided that I would leave my hunt for a couple of weekends and check online what was available.

 

My next trip would kill three birds with one stone. I checked out the selection in Tom Morrows in Dungannon, RED in Cookstown and Debonair in Magherfelt. In one day I made it to all three comparing prices and selection. First stop Tom Morrows, very affordable local and friendly, however the only suit that I like was the one Dinky had used for his wedding and this just wouldn’t do. 

Next on my travels was RED, a lot of selection however it seemed too modern, I… like my good wife to be, have quite vintage tastes. Lastly Debonair, this was the only place that I could find any hint of my first slightly outrageous idea but alas it was too much even for them and I headed home. It was this drive home that I made my decision.

 

I burst through the doors and excitedly started to ramble that I had chose what and where. Turned out that it was simply incoherent babbling forcing Catherine to use the phrase I’ve heard so many times whiles excited “James… use your words”. After calming down and actually explaining what I had planned, Catherine seemed puzzled. I tried a Google image search but my efforts were fruitless. 

I ended up in the closet finding different parts of suits that could possible show what I was thinking. Finally she got it. 

Job done.

The Search continues…

First and foremost let’s clear something up… Any super sleuth (Sherlock) facebookers that noticed when Catherine shared her post on facebook “with James Muldoon” in “Las Vegas”, we did not jet off to the Little White Chapel and get married by Elvis Presley in a 1960s Cadillac Coupe Deville. This was an idea of mine but was shot down really quickly, however I still think it would have been epic!!! Sadly Catherine is there on business and I am left home alone. (Sidenote: do not watch Home Alone whilst acutally being home alone, freaked me out, there are booby traps everywhere now!!!)

As I have previously posted we have had many venues to consider all with their pros and cons.

A major contender was the Sliverbirch hotel in Omagh. The ceremony will be taking place in Omagh so this would have been really handy for us and our guests. The Sliverbirch islocated 5 minutes from the Sacred Heart Church. The grounds surrounding the hotel are very nice and the hotel itself is great. The only and reason we went against the Silverbirch Hotelwas that they hosted my sister’s wedding back in July 2013. Thanks to both my sisters the Greenvale and Silverbirch were off the list.

 

Next up was Corick House Hotel and Spa in Clogher. Once again this venue looks stunning and has loads of great places for wedding photographs. The staff are friendly and they have loads of space that could accommodate our entire guest list doubled. This however wasn’t the place for us. The fact that I would be traveling to Omagh from Aughnacloy just to go back down the road again was too much for my compulsive nature to comprehend. Added to this my best mate (Dinky) had his reception there not but 4 months ago, we share a lot of friends.

 

 

It seems that when you really start to look into it, there are a vast number of venues you can choose from, even in a not so big corner of the world like Northern Ireland. This brings me to our next choice. The Great Northern Hotel Bundoran, Ireland. This venue is located on a golf course right next to the beach. The décor is stunning and it is altogether not that far out of the way from Omagh. However it just wasn’t right for us.

 

 

At this point I can say that yes, Catherine and I have chosen our venue. However I think it would be better coming from her. But what can I say about it without giving it all away.“Spoilers” – (Doctor Who reference.)

The venue drew Catherine and I too it. It was almost like we didn’t go looking for it, it simply found us. It was one of the first places we went to go and visit when we were deciding on a venue. From the moment we left there we were telling ourselves “that was nice… really nice… hmmmm… we had better keep checking around tho”. The telling sign for us was that every other venue we went to see and thought about we inadvertently compared it to ours. I think the both of us fell for the place. I think it got to the point we were already making plans around our chosen venue whilst looking at others. My only advice would be do go looking around elsewhere and do consider different places there are loads out there and without looking and comparing them you will not find the one that is perfect for you. We spent many nights discussing the pros and cons of them all, eventually it will click together and the place that reflects you as a couple will emerge from the pack and you will think to yourself why did you waste the time looking around. Believe me that wasn’t time wasted, for us it simply concreted our desire for our chosen spot.

Choosing a venue is probably one of most important decisions to make when organising a wedding, I am overjoyed with our choice, so much so that I find myself every now and againdaydreaming and imagining our wedding photographs together. I’d be standing in the most fantastic surroundings holding tightly the most beautiful girl I could very have dreamed up for myself.

Check out Catherine’s post on Thursday for the venue to be revealed…

Change of Plans

I want to apologise for the major delay in this post. I am currently over in Las Vegas and the travel/prep kind of took over! Don't worry, James isn't with me, we aren't eloping or even planning the stag/hen dos here! I am here working! Promise!

Anyway, on with the reason you are reading this! Back to the wedding. This is going to be a short one!

We've had to make a bit of a reshuffle with the date of the wedding. 

People had said from the beginning that things will happen that mess things up, but not to worry too much. We've had one of those! I I'll probably write about it further down the line, it was a tough shock but it want eh end if the world and we've dealt with it now!

We are now getting married on the 9th of October! That means one less week until I am Mrs Muldoon! It's actually crazy to think that next Thursday will be 9 months to the wedding!