VIP Magazine got an exclusive invite to Dominique Nugent’s wedding earlier this summer.
Take a look at the gorgeous picture.
Dominique, huge congratulations to you and Paddy! How are you feeling? You must be on cloud nine!
Cloud nine isn’t even high enough. We are absolutely over the moon. We just woke up in Santorini, our voices are still gone from all the singing and my muscles feel like I’ve worked out for a week non-stop!
It’s a fairytale ending, your happily ever after… You reconnected years after first meeting and now, you’re married! Do you think it was fate that brought you back together?
The whole theme of our wedding was ‘written in the stars’ and I have no doubt in my mind that we were meant to be together. We met in a hostel in Brisbane in 2012 – Paddy and I have lots of fun memories from those three months
we spent together there. Everything that happened in my life was leading me back to him.
Was it surreal seeing Paddy at the top of the aisle? How did you feel in the moments leading up to that?
So surreal! I had been imagining that moment for so long. The build-up that morning was like nothing I had ever felt before. Seeing Paddy when those doors opened, it’s a moment I’ll never forget.
And there was a slight change to how you initially wanted the ceremony to go, right?
We were all systems go for an outdoor ceremony. La Luna Floral studio and Mano Bespoke had created my dream vision in the secret garden. Our guests took their seats, Paddy and his groomsmen arrived and his sisters Siobhan and Caoimhe had set up their keyboard and violin as they were all playing our nieces, nephews and bridesmaids up the aisle. And then, the heavens opened. Up in the bridal suite, my dad was giving a blow-by-blow account of who was soaked to the skin. I was trying to hold back the tears thinking of everyone outside, their hair, makeup and outfits destroyed, but later heard everyone was having a laugh, bonding in the toilets under the hand dryers. The indoor room only held 120 and we had 150 guests. It was tight to say the least! The guests were spilling into the aisle but it made it all the more intimate. Our singer Niamh Kirby was amazing and the atmosphere in the room was electric.
They say rain on your wedding day is good luck though! Your sisters were your bridesmaids, they looked beautiful. It must have been very special having them by your side.
Yeah, it was so special to have them with me. Sarah and Vicky were my first best friends and still are. They have seen me through some of my hardest times so I couldn’t have been happier to share the aisle with them on the most important day of my life. They looked amazing, our glam squad Lisa Shannon and Carla Rose made me, the girls and my mam feel the best we have ever felt.
The main dress Dominique, how did you find it and where is it from?
My sister Sarah actually found the dress on Instagram and sent it on. I think everyone knows I’m fond of a puff sleeve and when I saw this one I knew it was the one before I even tried it on. It was a Christie Nicole dress from The White Gallery in Newry. They stock some beautiful designers! Fashion is my favourite thing but bridal fashion is just the epitome of it.
Paddy looked very handsome too! Had you seen his look beforehand?
Yes we chose it together. We got his suit from Louis Copeland. Paddy is a beautiful man but my God when I saw him I was like, I can’t believe I get to marry him! My dad, the best man Ross and groomsmen Danny and Ciaran looked great in their suits too. I thought everything came together amazingly, so elegant and timeless.
When it comes to the ring – wow, what a sparkler! Is it custom-made?
I didn’t think I could love anything as much as my engagement ring but this has topped it. The wedding band is quite high set so I collaborated with Voltaire Diamonds and they made me the most unusual, beautiful, bespoke ring, with the diamonds made at different angles.
You both enjoyed four days of celebrations with your family. What a party!
Yeah, so we got married legally during an intimate ceremony in Dublin with my mam, dad, Paddy’s mam and brother Ross in attendance. We went to The Intercontinental Hotel for lunch afterwards and my sister Sarah joined us. Our extended family then joined the rest of us the night before the wedding for dinner and drinks. I stayed with my sister Sarah and my niece Madison – it was so fun waking up with them. Then we had the wedding, the best day of our lives. The entertainment was next level. Riffshop blew the roof off the place – we didn’t get off the dance floor from the moment they started. Our day two was in James Griffen Bar in Trim, where we had a BBQ and Smart Moves played.
And then, you headed off to Santorini where you’re enjoying a mini-moon right now! It’s a special place for you both, it was your first holiday together…
It feels like a dream to be back here. We have a plan to visit all of our old haunts. It was a bit of a last minute decision but I’m so happy we came. We booked a big honeymoon for the end of the summer to Dubai and the Maldives.
Looking back over the last few years, could you have ever imagined being where you are now?
Never. I hope it gives anyone going through a hard time hope that a life they could only imagine might just be around the corner. I have never felt such intense happiness as I do right now. I can’t wait to do the rest of my life with my best friend by my side.
