In the lush Boyne Valley, Leigh Watts married Ronan O'Connor in a laid-back wedding at The Station House Hotel on March 14th 2023. Originally built in 1862 as a busy railway junction, this unique location in County Meath took on a new life in 1984 as a family-owned boutique hotel and stunning wedding venue. Captured by Two Souls Photography and featured in the Summer issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL WEDDINGS, with the bride in a two-piece and the groom in sneakers, this wedding day was the epitome of a party!
The pair were childhood sweethearts! "We met at 16, twelve years ago, which is hard to believe! It all started at an 18th birthday party we were at; we knew of each other beforehand. We had a little flirt and chatted, and as the night was drawing to a close, we walked outside through the crowd, held hands and had our first kiss. Still, to this day, we say each other made the first move, but on the wedding day, he announced in the speech he made the first move!"
"We love going on owl walks together, so in July 2022, we planned to go to Ticknock Mountain for a stroll. When we realised it was close to the Powerscourt waterfall, we said we should make a day of it and grab a picnic! We stopped at Avoca, grabbed the supplies, and headed for the walk. Even though we were planning to return to the car after the walk, Ronan was adamant about bringing the backpack with us. I should have thought it was weird, but I never considered that a proposal would happen as we were buying a house and thought the ring would come later. Little did I know he had it for six months before getting on one knee! Anyway, we went, did a walk, and had a picnic. Then, with the waterfall in the background, he got down on one knee and popped the question!"
One of the most significant changes to Leigh's beauty routine in the run-up to her wedding day was dialling in focus on improving her skin. "Mary Conroy Beauty Salon in Kildare was my go-to for facials in the lead-up to the day to give my skin the glow it needed. I also enlisted the help of a doctor to improve my problem skin a year and a half before. I wanted a lovely glow on the day and to feel my best; thankfully, I did, and everything worked out." For makeup, she played with the antique bronze tones of the venue and decor with a warm smokey eye and a soft nude lip. "Having such an open-back dress, it felt right to wear it down on the day, but I was certain I didn’t want any hair on my face, so I wore it in a slicked-back Hollywood wave. When I tell you my hair did not budge, it was still perfect going to bed even after all the dancing!" For the day's perfume, Leigh decided to stick with her old reliable and wore Yves Saint Laurent Black Noir. It’s a sexy fragrance—a total vanilla bomb, intensely sweet but rich coffee, musk, and patchouli notes.
Despite being a very laid-back bride, finding the wedding dress was a lot more of an ordeal than Leigh had expected! "We went to a few places, but nothing wowed me until I went to Kadee Bride in Athlone and found a skirt and shirt that I fell in love with. But the more I thought about it, the more that doubt crept in, so I scrapped the plan and went back to the drawing board. I ended up going to a sample sale in August and found another dress that was the complete opposite of what I had initially picked; it was a very “typical bridal”, which is far from me and my style. I left with the dress and knew the next day it was a mistake. I returned to square one, bought the skirt but ditched the shirt, and got a custom crop top made by Aideen Cross in Rathangan. I had a vision, and she made it happen. It took a while to get there, but I was so happy with what I wore that day!"
"We were walking through Kildare Village, popped into Savoy Tailor Guild for a look, spotted the velvet green jacket, and knew that it would be what he would wear on the day. Over a year later, we still loved it just as much, but we paired it with an Adidas trainer as that felt more like us."
Leigh's bridal party comprised of her three gorgeous bridesmaids: her auntie Liz as maid of honour, her best friend Orla, and her cousin Sarah. "We threw around some options, and the girls told me what they did and didn’t like, but in the end, we settled on a trusty Zara dress! It was an easy, comfortable t-shirt dress with a high neckline, a midi-length skirt, and no fuss. Putting them in something overly formal didn't feel right since that’s really not our style, so the understated dresses worked perfectly. The colour of the chocolate brown was my favourite thing about it."
In a true Irish tradition, the couple managed to have their outdoor ceremony in March between the rainfall. "It was short and sweet; the Groomsmen made a little bet with the whole wedding to guess how long the ceremony would be (An efficient 21 minutes). My favourite part by far was when we made our own vows. One of my biggest pieces of advice to couples planning their wedding would be to write something intimate and from the heart. The ceremony was so personal to us, and it felt so special."
The couple hadn't heard of the Station House Hotel when they began the search for their wedding venue, but after some research, they realised that it ticked every box! "It’s such a unique venue; I had so much fun exploring the grounds for pictures, and the old station house is such a beautiful focal point. What sold me was the outdoor ceremony area, surrounded by the forest. It felt so magical and whimsical, and I knew immediately that I wanted to get married there."
For the reception entertainment, the couple hired Panic Animal as the band. "They were unbelievable. The dancefloor was not empty for a second, and they played banger after banger. As soon as the band started at 9 p.m. and the DJ finished at 2 p.m., we did not stop! It makes it easy to pick them when your aunt's brother-in-law is the guitar player."
Regarding the best decision, Leigh said, "The best decision, of course, was to marry each other, as cheesy as it is! I would do the day exactly the same over and over. Along with that, the other best decision was picking a photographer and videographer that you feel captures you and your partner's personalities; the photos and videos do the talking! I would tell everyone to put money into this, as these memories last forever. We had the best time with Caroline and Anna from Two Souls and Mario from Mario Vaitkus Weddings."
- Gráinne