Meet Our Dublin Win a Wedding Winners!

That’s adorable – so the big proposal, tell us everything!

‘I had absolutely no idea it was going to happen. I just finished a two year masters at the end of September there and Séan had just left his job to open his own business called Impasto48, so we were both working really long hours and it was all a bit hectic! Séan said he was bringing me away for a night (20th October 2019) to celebrate my masters but wouldn’t tell me where we were going. My mam and dad and everyone knew where I was going but no one would tell me (I was clearly very naive looking back!). He told me to pack a bag, bring wellies and warm clothes and to be ready for 10am to hit the road. I thought I was going camping! Thank God my mam had warned me to bring a dress and heels! So that morning we headed off and the whole way I had him driven mad asking where we were going. We arrived in Adare and I saw his indicator going on to turn into Adare Manor.  I couldn’t believe it I was completely shocked but still didn’t expect a proposal!!’

‘We checked in and then went for lunch, Séan kept checking his watch which is unusual because as I mentioned earlier he’s not the best with time! He told me he had another surprise planned and took me outside. When we walked through the front doors there was a horse and carriage ride waiting for us, it was amazing and such a beautiful day. The lady, Sarah, who was bringing us around asked if we wanted to get out for a photo at one point at the back of the manor and it was then that Séan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was was absolutely delighted!! We were so lucky that Sarah had recorded it all and had taken photos. The staff in Adare Manor were absolutely fantastic and couldn’t have made our day and night any more special. It was literally like a fairytale for me. One of the guys, Daryl, even brought us around the whole manor that night and showed us all the places we hadn’t gotten to see and then put on a film for us in the cinema there. I had dreamt of going to Adare Manor since I’ve been a child as my family go to Kerry every year on holidays and we always pass by. I had been saying to Séan that I was going to save really hard and hopefully go after I had finished my masters. It really was the most perfect day!’

Séan definitely knows you well Amy! So you got the ring, what made you enter our competition?

‘I’m a massive fan of 98fm and listen to the big breakfast with Cooper and Luke every morning going to work. We had literally just started looking at venues and were starting to save when I heard the competition on the radio, so thought what’s the harm in texting in. I was just about to head into work one morning when I got a call. They had myself and another guy playing against each other in a general knowledge quiz. I have to say it’s very nerve wrecking being on the radio, the lads are true professionals. I was absolutely delighted when I got through as a finalist and rang Séan and my mam straight away. We had all our fingers and toes crossed from that day!

Were you nervous before the big final, did you prep before hand?

We were very nervous! We were going to look at a venue last Monday and were playing Mr and Mrs in the car on the way! Séan kept forgetting my favourite colour, so I didn’t have high expectations! I was also terrified we were going to have to sing or dance on stage! My mam was saying she thought it might be more like a winning streak style but we didn’t know what to expect at all. My grandad had been lighting candles and everything! We became even more nervous when we saw all the other finalists, the size of the stage and all the people watching. We loved the show, there was so much choice and entertainment throughout the day. We were literally about to put a deposit on a cake when Sean jokingly said we should wait to see the result of the competition (luckily we did!).’

That’s so funny, great-thinking Séan! So you make it down to the final two couples, how did it feel when you opened the 98fm suitcase and you realise you’d just won?

‘We were in complete shock- I’d say you could see from my reaction in the video. I was absolutely speechless!! It just felt so surreal, we never expected to win anything like that in our lives. We were just saying today it was like an outer-body experience! It’s starting to sink in now and we can’t believe it. It’s such a life changing prize and we honestly cannot express how over the moon and grateful we are to have won.’

With all your wedding suppliers selected for, all that’s left to do is pick a venue and set a date now? 

‘We had absolutely nothing booked before Sunday, so this was prize was a dream come true! We had just started looking at venues for 2022 or even 2023. We were originally hoping to get married in 2021 but realised we were going to need time to save so had decided to push it out as we’re also trying to save for a house. We are so so grateful to be able to now move our wedding forward to 2021 which wouldn’t have been possible without this amazing prize. We hadn’t thought of a honeymoon at all, we were going to postpone until a good while after the wedding just to give us time to save again! We can’t believe we’re going to Zanzibar-what an amazing opportunity! The honeymoon we would have picked definitely wouldn’t have been near as fancy as that and to fly business class too-absolutely amazing!’

It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime competition – have you any final thoughts? 

‘We just want to say a massive thank you to the wedding journal, 98FM and all the sponsors who are absolutely lovely and we are so excited to have them on board for our wedding. We are so lucky to have the best of the best of everything for our wedding and it wouldn’t have been possible without you all. You’ve taken so much pressure off our wedding planning, thank you to you all from the bottom of our hearts.’