Stories from Our Customers: Andrew & Elena

“Anything Can Change in an Instant”

When Andrew and his Bride-to-Be Elena purchased their Tree of Life Wedding Bands from us, they had no way of knowing that COVID-19 would change their wedding story. Instead it only made them more determined to write their love story in their own terms. Read on for our interview with the Groom, Andrew, as he tells us how plans changed and exactly how their perfect day came to be after all.

How was your big day?

Andrew: "Our big day, despite all the issues we had building up to it was well, perfect! Thanks for asking. Everything went so smooth on the day and despite all of the obstacles Corona put in our way it was still perfect."

Did Corona have any impact on your plans?

A.: "Corona had a huge impact on our plans. Initially we were going to get married on 30th April. So that was of course pushed back and pushed back. We really didn’t know 30th July would be ok to go ahead until just a couple of weeks before but we stuck it out.

City Hall would only allow 8 people including the photographer to be in the ceremony room as opposed to the planned 25. Our family’s couldn’t travel to The Netherlands to be there to witness it. We had a couple of phones working with zoom so family from around the world could see. This also worked well because it meant we had a very special and intimate ceremony."

Why did you choose rings from Ireland?

A.: "Well, I’m from Swords myself and my family has welcomed Elena as part of the family from the moment they met so she immediately grew a special connection to Ireland. She also loves Celtic symbolism so we wanted to have a strong connection with Ireland, with home and something truly unique from the typical wedding bands."

What surprised you most on your wedding day?

A.: "The biggest surprise was how smooth it went. With all of the changes, cancellations, uncertainty that came along from March there was a constant feeling of anything can change in an instant. So to finally get to the big day and everything run through so smoothly was just perfect. The other thing that surprised me was how busy we were with just a small wedding of 8 guests at the ceremony and dinner and 25 guests at the afters in the restaurant. I don’t know how people do it with 100+ guests!"

Any Honeymoon Plans?

A.: "We initially planned to go to Montenegro for our honeymoon and have a relaxing week at a retreat and then a week to explore the country but we had to completely reschedule. So instead the day after the wedding we packed the car and drove to France and spent a week in the Alsace Region. It was perfect. We’re looking forward to getting to Montenegro in Autumn (fingers crossed!)"

Sláinte!

Thanks to Andrew and Elena for taking the time to chat with us about their unconventional Big Day! We look forward to congratulating them in person next time that they're in Dublin.