Be inspired by stories of love and magic, as we share some of our favourite ways Chupi pieces have helped you celebrate your most special moments.
Though Rachel and Dan had to postpone their nuptials a few times due to the pandemic, it only made their love-filled July 2021 wedding celebration all the sweeter.
On love at first sight
We met on Tinder and had our first date in Chester, where I was living at the time and had a few drinks. I remember the couple at the table beside us chatting to us saying we sounded like we’d been together for years, and it did feel like we just clicked instantly, as corny as it sounds.
Dan says he knew straight away he wanted to marry me, and went home and told his best mate exactly that!
On a picture-perfect proposal
Dan proposed at Finn Lough resort in Fermanagh where we were staying for a night away for my birthday in 2018. I had absolutely no idea about any of it.
We were walking around the lough and he stopped to say we should get a picture. We have a GoPro so he set it up on what I thought was a timer, but he was actually secretly recording the whole thing! He turned to me and said, “You might want to take your sunglasses off for this” and then got down on one knee. I was completely overwhelmed – so much so that I forgot to actually say yes!
Dan had chosen the most beautiful grey diamond Chupi ring and I couldn’t have chosen better.
On a love of grey diamonds
I remember seeing a grey diamond Chupi ring pop up on Pinterest a couple of years before Dan proposed and I fell in love with it. I only showed it to him once in passing and was overjoyed that he’d remembered! I loved the unique look of it, as I’m not a flashy diamond girl and always wanted something a little bit different.
On building a cherished Chupi collection
As we’ve grown together over the years, Chupi has always marked our most special moments (including my mum’s recent 60th birthday, when we bought her a beautiful emerald ring).
We had to postpone our wedding and got married on date number three – third time’s a charm, eh? – so chose to mark our original ‘non-wedding’ day in July 2020 with an Edwardian Hawthorn ring and I was over the moon to also have been gifted the most beautiful necklace by Chupi to mark the occasion.
My wedding band was the Hawthorn infinity band with diamonds, and we had a lovely time choosing it in store together before the pandemic. I also had the Stars in the Sky necklace, a wedding present from Dan that I wore the day after the wedding.
On persevering through Covid wedding hiccups
We originally planned our wedding for July 2020. The food was our main thought; we’re both big foodies so that was top of our list from the venues that we visited, and Darver Castle was far and beyond the front runner; we wanted our guests to remember not only that but to experience a chilled out vibe without too much structure and fuss.
We had our wedding cancelled twice, so ended up getting married in July 2021 instead – unfortunately still with restrictions numbers-wise. Music also wasn’t allowed, so our plans of a folky bluegrass band went out the window.
We fully embraced the new style of wedding we were having though, and the reduced guest numbers ensured we were able to fully appreciate everyone present and were able to spend time with each and every guest on the day.
One of my favourite moments was letting our closest friends and family know that we were expecting our first baby together – I was 12 weeks pregnant at the time of the wedding, and little Aoife has since made her entrance into the world, born on Valentine’s Day this year!
On treasured family heirlooms
My mum surprised me on the morning of the wedding with my grandma’s engagement ring; she had sadly passed away at the start of 2021, so we didn’t get to share our day with her. She meant the world to me, so wearing her special piece alongside mine seemed just perfect.
On creating family heirlooms
With all my Chupi pieces I’d dreamt of being able to pass them on to the next generation and with my daughter Aoife I can finally do that! It seems even more precious that I was pregnant when the pieces gained their meaning on our wedding day, so for that to be passed on to her means so much.
On a piece of wedding advice
My advice to other couples would be to cherish every moment of the day; don’t worry if something isn’t perfect, it won’t matter one bit as soon as you walk down the aisle. Plan the wedding that you want, don’t feel pressure from anyone else and you’ll have the most beautiful day.
Vendor list:
Reception: Darver Castle, Dundalk
Dress: Made with love bridal dress from Ivy & White, Lisburn
Suits: Groom, Chester
Makeup: Maid by Sinead
Hair: Alan Glennan
Flowers:. Jillian Dawn Floral Designs (Dan’s family own a florist in England and they provided all our wedding flowers as a gift)
Photographer: The Real Us
Cars: Vintage Wedding Cars NI
