Firstly, we must ask, how did you and your new fiancé meet?
"Me and Brian met the old-fashioned way.. Both a little bit drunk in our local bar in Newcastle many, many moons ago.
"I won't lie and say I made the first move and approached Brian first. Meeting in Quinn's Bar back in November 2009. All I can say is that it has been a fun-filled and adventurous 11 years together."
We're all dying to know; how did Brian propose? From what we can tell, it was pretty scenic...
"We got engaged on the first of March last year in Iceland, just escaping lockdown! We have lived away from home for the past four years and we missed many family occasions but particularly my mum's 50th Birthday. As a birthday present and for missing out, me and Brian decided to take my family away on holiday with us to Iceland.
"I genuinely had no idea this was going to happen!
"We had just moved into our house, only returned from traveling and starting to build our careers at home. But Brian believed it would be the perfect moment. Perfect it was...
“We hired a car to take in the sights of Iceland and on our third day, we set off for another day of exploring. Now, I am obsessed with waterfalls and Iceland is renowned for some spectacular waterfalls. We arrived at the Gullfoss Waterfall and of course we needed to get a photo with the waterfall behind. So Brian handed the camera to my sister Kara and the next thing I know, he is down on one knee asking me to marry him! Now I don’t know if I froze in shock or because of the weather, but of course the answer was YES!
"Nearly a year looking back and it really is just such a special memory to have shared with my family."
Tell us about your ring...
"My ring, I still find myself staring at it! I always said to Brian that I just love oval cut. Not much to go on, but what a job he did. I knew Gemma, from The Down Rose team and I remember going to Diamonds and Daiquiri's and being in love with all the beautiful rings in Jack Murphy's. So I did say to Brian if the day ever came, that would be the place to go.
"I had zero input into selecting my ring, all the praise goes to Brian here. But it is a stunning oval cut with a flower cluster and platinum band. I have never seen a ring like it and I know I would never have chosen anything as beautiful and unique."
Little did you (or any of us) know how the rest of the year would unfold. How are you finding wedding planning during Covid?
"Aww wedding planning in the midst of Covid has been fun... Awk it really has been grand. There is certainly a lot more to wedding planning than we both initially thought. But we got to have some lovely experiences already. Especially all the cups of tea and treats when venue searching.
"We set our date for the 14th of July 2022 in Cabra Castle, Co. Cavan.
"We are just so excited to get our two families together for a great day's craic. They are both so much fun and love a good party!
"We are all so excited as it will be the first family wedding on my side in 22 years! Plus, we have family coming home from Australia and Portugal to share the day with us and we just cannot wait to see them and celebrate it with them!"
