My Wedding Day with Orla Hopkins: Our ceremony was short and focused on our families coming together

Orla Hopkins married her husband Tommy at Lisnavagh House and Gardens in Carlow in 2008. Picture: Lili Forberg.

We got married on June 20, 2008 in Lisnavagh House and Gardens in Carlow. We actually had the second-ever wedding there. At the time, the family who own it was just in the process of opening it up for weddings. It was early days for them, so our wedding looked a lot different to what they do now!

We wanted somewhere where we could hire out the whole place; where we weren’t limited by curfews or worrying about disturbing other guests. We hired our own marquee and our own caterers. I say we, but we did work with a wedding co-ordinator, who was brilliant.

We had our ceremony in the nearby Church of Ireland St Mary’s Church in Rathvilly. My husband’s father had a contact with a reverend from down there; he had married Tommy’s parents, and so he married us too.

Orla Hopkins married her husband Tommy at Lisnavagh House and Gardens in Carlow in 2008. Picture: Lili Forberg.

For my dress, I'd seen a picture in a magazine, and thought, "Oh, that's what I want”. I was trying to get it made, but it was one of those dresses that was short at the front, long at the back, and I just knew that nobody could get it right. So I tracked down the shop in England that sold this dress, and my mom and myself ended up flying over (we made three fabulous trips over) and that was really nice. We made some beautiful memories on those trips.

On the morning of the wedding, I was so excited. I’d spent the night in the house with my bridesmaids and all family. And then Tommy stayed in the nearby Mount Wolseley Hotel with his family. Our ceremony wasn’t until 4pm, so we had a very chill, relaxing day. The men went off and played golf, and I spent the early part of the day with my mom, my mother-in-law and my closest friends and it was really special.

I had Michael Leong doing our hair and when he arrived, he made us all feel so comfortable. One of the great things about Lisnavagh was that they’ve got the most magnificent bedrooms. Our room was big, spacious and airy and it was a joy to be in. That time was one of my highlights of the day.

Our ceremony then was very short; it was a 30-minute service, and it was very much focused on our families coming together; it wasn’t overly religious. We had the Hallelujah Gospel Choir singing throughout and they were wonderful. Afterwards, we had the photographs on the grounds of Lisnavagh. The photos were very relaxed. Tommy does not like the limelight or getting his photograph taken, so we’d decided to just go for a walk through the grounds and then the photographer would just stop us every now and then and take some pictures.

Orla Hopkins' husband Tommy and his groomsmen on the couple's wedding day. Picture: Lili Forberg.

We hadn’t been expecting the weather to be so good, and that meant we were able to have the drinks reception outside. And we had the marquee, of course, that was where we had the meal and the party. The team had decorated the marquee fabulously; they had a checkered dance floor and a starlit roof, and it was so beautiful. So everyone came in from the daylight into this kind of disco zone!

After the meal then the party got started, and when I say Tommy doesn’t like the limelight, I really mean it. He had been so nervous about the first dance. At the time I had a dance school — I was a dance teacher for years and years — and so I organised and choreographed a surprise flash mob featuring students from my dance school. 

Orla Hopkins and her bridesmaids on her wedding day at Lisnavagh House and Gardens in Carlow in 2008. Picture: Lili Forberg.

It started off with myself and Tommy on the dance floor to Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing. Tommy lifted me up in the air (not the big proper lift) and then one of my little male dancers comes in and taps him on the shoulder and pretends to push Tommy off the floor. And then all the rest of the students came out and did a routine. We finished it off with the groomsmen, the bridesmaids, me and Tommy joining them at the end. It was amazing.

The dance floor was full all night. Everybody was up having the craic. We danced until nearly 3am I’d say. We had organised minibuses then to bring people back to the Mount Wolseley and for those who were staying in Lisnavagh we headed into the manor house for a sing-song. There was a piano in the house, and we were all singing around the piano til God knows what time!

One of my favourite memories of the day was my dad's speech. Sitting there and listening to my dad and how he talked about bringing the two families together was just really special to me. I know not everybody has that, and we're just so lucky that our families get on so well and that we were both accepted into each other’s families with such ease. That was one part of the day that I'll just never forget.

• Orla Hopkins is a former athlete and co-founder of New Dimensions Active. She has also just launched Project Move Strong, aimed at helping people to build strength, endurance and overall fitness.