Barrister Jennifer Cuffe married Accountant Alan Drew at The Marker Hotel on the 21st July 2018.
Photography: David Ryan
Videography: DC Media
The Meeting
We met in the early hours of New Year’s Eve 2015/16 in the ever so romantic “Black Door” on Harcourt Street. It was a Casino Royale themed night, and I remember making a quip about how Alan was dressed. This well not well received and in hindsight, quite funny considering I was wearing a pair of leopard print trousers and drinking a gin and tonic from a fruit-filled bowl. Obviously, despite this, for Alan, it was love at first sight!!
Jenn and Alan at The Marker Hotel. Photography David Ryan.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
The Proposal
Alan proposed on the 22nd of December 2017, we had gone out for a lovely dinner in The Sussex Restaurant and decided to have a quiet evening, so headed home to our apartment in Sandyford afterwards. When we got in, Alan insisted that I make us a drink, which I thought was lazy considering he was the one standing next to the kitchen. Little did I know that there was a surprise hiding for me at the fridge! A dozen roses and a big balloon coming tied to a bottle of champagne. When I turned around he was down on one knee and for once in my life I was speechless! It was perfect in every way.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
The Planning Process
Alan joked in his speech that I had the wedding planned by the following week but, in truth, it was probably mostly planned by the end of January. We were fortunate that I have a love of colour coded spreadsheets while Alan prefers a more laid back approach. This mix made the planning process very interesting indeed, and while it was not always easy, it has taught us the art of patience.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Choosing our venue was the easy part, and we had chosen the Marker Hotel by mid-January. The first time we visited we met with incredible Catherine Griffin; Catherine was the most organised person in the world and had every question covered, we felt that our wedding would be secure in her hands.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
The Venue
Words cannot express what a fantastic venue The Marker Hotel is; both Alan and I wanted to have our wedding in Dublin, and The Marker made a perfect choice. The staff, service, food and surroundings were out of this world, with all of our wants accommodated without question. Indeed, every time we visited The Marker, we were treated fantastically, and we can not recommend the venue more highly. In fact, the difficulty we encountered was our indecision when it came to what food to pick at our tasting! Gareth Mullins, Executive Chef of The Marker Hotel, was brilliant and tailored the menu to suit our guests and us.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Our wedding day itself was spectacular, the weather was terrific, and we were able to host our drinks reception on The Marker's Rooftop Bar & Terrace. With incredible views over the city, and our friends and family enjoying themselves in the sun, it is a memory we will always treasure.
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Most memorable though, we were brought into the main room when we arrived at the hotel to see how spectacular it looked. We had our photo taken, capturing our awe at seeing how beautiful the place was, and when we went to the bedroom before dinner, the staff had already printed the photo and had it framed for us in our room. This photo now has pride of place in our home.
The Details
We also chose to have the wedding in the Chapel of my old school, Holy Child Killiney. I still have strong ties with the school, so this was a very personal choice. There was nothing more meaningful for me as driving to the school with my dad on the morning of the wedding, as we had done every day from the age of 13 to 18. It was a lovely flashback to my youth as I entered into the next chapter of my life.
One of our main goals of the wedding day was to make it as easy as possible for our guests. We arranged for everyone to meet at The Marker on the morning of the wedding and organised buses to transport them to and from our service in Killiney. We had organised a prosecco van to meet us outside the Church after the ceremony so it was nice that everyone could enjoy a glass of bubbly without worrying about driving!
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Jenn and Alan at
Anything you’d change?
There is nothing that we would change. It was exactly how we hoped it would be.
Advice?
Make sure that you remember exactly who the day is about: you and your intended! Once you are both happy, then that is the most important part.