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Real Weddings: Sinead and Ana’s fun-filled Christmas wedding in Dublin

by Shayna Sappington
03rd Dec 2023

Due to an unforeseen illness, Sinead and Ana celebrated two beautiful weddings – one at the Dublin registry office and one at Dublin's unique Medley venue. With an aerialist, a mini cabaret show and vibrant florals from Sinead's own flower shop, the result was magical.

THE COUPLE
Sinead Crowe, owner of Adonis Flower Designers, and Ana Silva, operations manager.

THEY LIVE
in Kimmage, Dublin.

THE VENUE
Wedding 1: Registry Office, Dublin.
Wedding 2: Medley, Fleet Street, Dublin.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Elisha Clarke Photography.

THEY MET
We met via Tinder! After “matching”, we discovered that we had mutual friends – we managed not to meet each other at many events that our friends had hosted over the previous three years because one of us couldn’t make it.

We matched on Tinder, talked for hours, and Ana brought coffee to me at work the next day. We went for a walk to St Patrick’s Park, right beside the shop (at the time I was an employee), and we had a sneaky kiss on the way back to work. The world stopped. I knew I was in trouble.

Two days later, I was in Edinburgh with friends. Our friend Zoe and I went on a tour of The Royal Yacht Britannia and I talked non-stop about this person I had met, joking with Zoe that one day she would write a wedding speech for us… and she did five years later, as Ana’s “Best Person”.

THE PROPOSAL
I spotted a vintage silver Claddagh ring in an antique shop in Dublin city centre in November 2020 – I bought it and hid it because I had a plan! On January 11, 2021, the third anniversary of that fateful coffee in St Patrick’s Park, we went into town to walk around and maybe find some lunch. It was still lockdown times, we ended up getting Burger King and sitting in Stephen’s Green… so romantic!

We strolled along the streets and I cleverly planned our route so that we ended up at the entrance to St Patrick’s Park. We walked through it and I said, “Why not get us a coffee, and I’ll wait by the bench (the same one we had our first coffee on!), but there were people on it. I went over, told them my plan, and asked them to move if they wouldn’t mind. They were delighted to be in on the plan.

So Ana came back with coffee, we sat on the bench and reminisced, and I said, “Who would have thought we would be here three years later? I got you a gift for the occasion.” I gave her the ring, and it was so lovely! Ana also wanted to propose to me, and she surprised me in August with a trip to Connemara and a gorgeous proposal, a bandstand of Connemara Bay right on the Atlantic’s coastline in the rain. Just perfect for a Donegal woman!

THE WEDDING ATTIRE

We were married in the Registry Office with our ceremony and party booked for two weeks after (jointly celebrating my 40th birthday). Unfortunately, two days following the legal stuff, Ana rather shockingly suffered a brain haemorrhage whilst at work and we had to postpone our big celebration until she recovered. She did, thankfully, have a full recovery – we are still pinching ourselves! Our wedding ceremony celebration (part 2) was held in Medley, Fleet Street, Dublin 2.

Wedding 1: Legal day – One of my closest friends made my ivory satin wrap dress with a full skirt, I LOVED it and I’ve worn it since; I hope to dye it to wear it even more. Ana wore a burgundy shirt with navy trousers and a bow tie.

Wedding 2: I wore a bespoke combination. An ivory v-necked top (I had it altered to add chiffon straps and shoulder coverings), and a dramatic black tulle skirt with a train, ordered through Mizz Rio Bridal Boutique. At my request, it had added pockets! Ana’s tuxedo was purchased from Suits You on Lower Liffey Street.

My dress had a removable lower layer for dancing, and it was great fun to tear it off halfway through the first dance and shock Ana and our guests for a joke. The bridesmaids all wore black and chose styles that they liked, and the best people wore black tuxedo suits of their choosing. They became known as “The Bridesmaids and the Best Butches”.

THE CEREMONY
We were able to reschedule our ceremony for December 30. Karen Ni Dhiomsaigh, aka The Bald Priestess, led our ceremony. It was beautiful and so filled with emotion after all that had happened in the previous year. We started by lighting a memorial candle in my sister’s memory, then Karen led us in a hand-fasting ceremony and we each read a poem.

Our favourite part of the day was the ceremony – the emotions and love in the room from all of our family and friends were palpable.

THE RECEPTION
The reception was also held in Medley. The food and service was incredible. We can’t fault it, from the canapés to the spicy chips in the evening, with lots of wine flowing all day, it was a joy from beginning to end. We wanted everyone to have a great time with good food and drinks, and to just celebrate living with us.

THE ENTERTAINMENT
Our guests were greeted after the ceremony by Kate Finnegan, an aerialist performing on the aerial hoop (resident in Medley) and pouring prosecco into waiting glasses for guests. We also had live piano music in the background while the guests mingled and enjoyed canapes.

After the speeches and cake, we had a mini cabaret show with our performer friends, organised by the bridesmaids to get the dancing started. The Beat Boutique got everyone on the dance floor!

THE DECOR
Medley is such a unique venue, and with it being Christmas time, we didn’t need to add a huge amount. With the stress of postponing and re-planning, I let my floral team take over and surprise me on the day with florals and decor.

We had gorgeous foliage along the staircase, a dramatic arch framing the ceremony and our centrepieces were a fun mix of bud vases with blooms, moss and mushrooms, birchwood, hedgehogs and owls, a winter wonderland in miniature form.

We also had vibrant colourful arrangements downstairs for the drinks reception. As a florist, I didn’t want my team, who were also important guests, to have to have to do lots of work and just enjoy the day. We used a lot of elements that were preserved and/or crafted from natural materials and encouraged our guests to take the decorative items home as keepsakes.

THEIR TOP TIPS
Trust your suppliers; they know what they are doing. Let your friends and family help; you don’t have to do it all alone. Have a first look – it was really special to have that moment just the two of us before the ceremony.

Remember that the most important part of the day is you and your partner celebrating your love and happiness together. It doesn’t matter if the invitations match your bouquet, the wrong dessert gets served, or even if you have to postpone for any reason. It’s a day for celebrating and joy, so try to take the stress out of it and just enjoy it all.

THEY WISH THEY HAD…
Honestly, there is nothing that we would have changed. We were so happy to be in a position to be celebrating. We would have loved for Ana’s parents to have made it for the new celebration date, but unfortunately, they had come over when Ana got sick, so we had a lovely family day at our house instead.

THEIR BEST MOMENTS
The first look, we stayed in The Westin the night before and arranged a first look at the old bank entrance. Also, walking into the ceremony room and seeing our friends and family having a great time – the whole day was magical.

THE FIRST DANCE SONG
Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley – picked by Ana, the true romantic! After the first half, we asked the band to speed up the tempo to UB40 style to get my folks, the bridal party, and all the guests to join in!

THE CREW
Wedding Dress: Mizz Rio Bridal Boutique. Wedding Suit: Suits You. Venue & Food: Medley. Florist: Adonis Flower Designers. Cake: Solo Bake. Invitations: The Papershop.ie (An Siopa Páipéar).