Real Weddings: Childhood sweethearts Savannagh and Glen tie the knot in Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort

From the moment Glen crashed Savannagh’s 16th birthday party, their fate was sealed: they would be growing old together. The pair got married at Druids Glen, and it was nothing short of spectacular.

THE COUPLE
Savannagh, a dental nurse in an orthodontic practice, and Glen Farrell, an electrical technician.

THEY LIVE
in Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare.

THE VENUE

We chose Druids Glen hotel as our wedding venue because from the moment we first visited, we fell in love with the idea of having our wedding there. When we first went for a tour of the hotel, we met Nessa, who has been the hotel’s wedding co-ordinator for the last 20 years. From the moment we met Nessa, she made us feel so at ease with planning our wedding. She has the answers to any questions you could possibly think of due to her years of experience.

From holding our civil ceremony on site to the reception, the hotel has everything you could possibly need. The hotel and grounds are both so gorgeous, and we were lucky enough to have our ceremony outside in the beautiful woodland area on our wedding day. Aside from the hotel, the staff at Druids Glen are truly amazing. They go above and beyond for all their guests, and especially couples on their wedding day. Our wedding turned out to be even better than we could have ever imagined, and that is down to the help of the wedding team in Druids Glen for listening to our requests and always being there to help.

PHOTOGRAPHY

We found our photographer on Weddings Online – David Maury Photography. From looking at his work from other weddings, I loved how bright and vibrant all his pictures were. Prior to the wedding, I spoke to David through email and over Zoom so he could plan what I wanted for my wedding photos and to make a list of important people we wanted photos with, so on the wedding day, I didn’t have to remember; he just guided us. Glen and I are not great at getting into photos generally, so it was amazing having David show us how to pose to get great photos to look back on. I just wanted David to capture all the happiness between Glen and me and all our guests from the day, and to make it enjoyable. David was such a laugh on the morning of our wedding, while the bridal party and I were getting ready; he brought a lovely atmosphere to the room and kept the vibes up the whole day.

THEY MET

Glen and I are actually childhood sweethearts. We met when we were just 16, and we have been inseparable since. We first spotted each other at a 16th birthday party for a mutual friend, but never actually spoke that day. A few weeks later, when I was throwing my own 16th birthday party, Glen actually showed up uninvited with a few of my friends, and that is where we first got to know each other. Since that day, we have spent the last ten years growing up together, making so many memories and now we will be growing old together.

THE PROPOSAL

We got engaged back in 2022 at The Europe Hotel in Kerry. Due to Covid in the summer of 2022, we planned a staycation around Ireland for a few days instead of going abroad. We started in Wexford, followed by Cork and then to Kerry, where we planned to stay for three nights. When we arrived at The Europe Hotel, I was oblivious to anything going on. When we arrived at our room, I walked in the door, and I just remember seeing red love heart balloons and rose petals all around the room. My first initial thought was “why are there love hearts everywhere, it isn’t Valentine’s?” When I turned towards the bed, I then noticed the words “Will you marry me” in red rose petals. When I turned around, Glen was down on one knee holding out the ring. It was incredible and I will never forget it. Glen also had another surprise planned as he had arranged for all my family to be waiting in Kerry to celebrate with us after he proposed. It was amazing.

THE DRESS AND THE SUIT

After seven months of searching and trying on more than one hundred dresses around Dublin and Kildare, I finally found my wedding dress in MK Bridal in Navan. The dress I got was actually the last dress I was trying on before I was about to give up hope of finding one, but once I tried it on, it was perfect. I got my veil from MK Bridal also. The women working there are brilliant and so helpful.

Glen got his suit and all the suits for the groomsmen from Dublin Formal Wear in Tallaght.

THE RECEPTION

For our reception after the ceremony we hired Viva Manila for our entertainment. They played at the reception and also during the meal. I could not recommend them enough. They absolutely got the party started and got all the guests singing and dancing together. They were one of the best decisions we made to have for our wedding day, they were such a highlight. No matter what song you requested, they seemed to know every one. If you want live music and also comedy they are the guys to book. Myself and Glen actually didn’t finish our wedding meal as we spent most of the time up dancing and singing during the courses.

THE ENTERTAINMENT

For our wedding band, Glen and I knew we wanted something different that would ensure nobody left the dance floor. That is why we chose Spring Break. I believe we had the band booked before everything else because we knew we needed them for our wedding. They sing everything from the ’80s and ’90s and they get everybody up on their feet without a doubt. Their act is brilliant, and I would recommend them to everyone.

THE DECOR

For the décor, I had always envisioned my wedding outdoors, so I was over the moon when that came true. As the woodlands in Druids Glen speak for themselves, there was not a lot I needed to add. I had Finesse Weddings for our table centre pieces with fresh flowers and geo stands for the ceremony. I hired Wow Weddings for our ivory aisle runner and backdrop at the end of the aisle, which tied in perfectly with the décor. A lot of the other décor was down to Glen himself, who made a custom prosecco wall for us and a custom seating chart for our guests.

THEIR TOP TIPS

I think the most common piece of advice is to enjoy the build-up to the wedding. We know it can be overwhelming trying to juggle working, planning a wedding and trying to stay on track for the wedding dresses and suits, but try to slow down and take it all in as everything works out on the day. Even if something doesn’t go to plan, they are the funny stories you get to tell afterwards. Someone gave me that advice a month before my wedding and it is so true. The day goes by so fast; you need to enjoy it after all the hard work of planning and saving.

THEY WISH THEY HAD

Looking back, we can’t think of anything else we would have needed for our wedding. We took two years of planning and figuring out what we wanted before booking all our suppliers. As our wedding planner Nessa said, once you have good food, good music and good company, that is all you need at the end of the day for an amazing wedding – it was true!

THEIR BEST MOMENTS

One of the best moments from our wedding day was our entrance into our dinner. It was electric. I had put a good bit of planning into this and it really paid off, thankfully. We made two shot carts for the wedding, which I planned for my maid of honour and the best man to use for the entrance: I had one bridesmaid holding a sign that highlighted “time for shots” and the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had their own strobe lights to use on the way in to make it feel like a nightclub. One of the songs I constantly play on a night out is Sean Paul’s Temperature so for the wedding I wanted to do something fun and entertaining to start the party. Once everyone was seated and the song started playing, we all entered the room one after another on the beat of the song, dancing with strobe lights, shots and sunglasses to get everyone up and dancing. We had the best time and still think about it every time we hear that song.