Don't Tell the Bride is back for a second series, with eight more brides entrusting the biggest day of their lives to their fiancés. Janice Butler chats to the first couple up to the mark, Onoir O'Brien and Jason Boyd about their big day!
There will be tears, tantrums and even a few tiaras thrown along the way, but ultimately on the new second series of Don't Tell the Bride, eight couples will say I do, well, we hope! If you're not already a fan of the show, the idea is pretty simple - the groom gets €10,000 to plan the perfect wedding for his bride. The catch is that she can know nothing about it. The potential for drama doesn't end there, however; the man of the moment has just three weeks to organise the entire event anyone who has been down with aisle will know the stress of planning a wedding, never mind having less than a month to do it. The first of the eight couples in this new series are Onoir O'Brien and Jason Boyd a young couple who are parents of two (Onoir has daughter Aoife, 10, from a previous relationship and she and Jason now have a baby girl, Cianna, who at the time of filming was only six weeks old).
Onoir is a women who knows her own mind, is fiercely independent and likes the finer things in life, while her fiancé Jason is a disorganised boating fanatic, but in his defence, he is highly enthusiastic and ready to take on the challenge of wedding planner with gusto. Here the couple talk about that all important day and the joy of being Mr and Mrs!
Weddings are particularly special for the bride, Onoir, so did you have any hesitations about handing over full responsibility to Jason?
Onoir: I was hesitant because I am a bit of a control freak, I like to have things my way and be organised, whereas Jason's a bit crazy. I'm also very independent so to give a task like this to Jason was quite difficult.
Were you fans of the show before becoming directly involved?
Onoir: We always watched it, both the English and the Irish versions and Jason used to always say I could do better than that. I sent the link for applicants to Jason as a joke but really didn't expect anything to come from it, to be honest. I was completely shocked when we were selected.
Was the job of wedding planner harder than you had imagined it would be, Jason?
Jason: There was an awful lot more to planning a wedding than I had ever imagined there would be and it was quite difficult to get things done when the film crew were there because they need to get their shots. I actually organised the whole thing in two weeks and two days because we had to bring it forward to get the date we wanted with the registrar.
Were you happy, Onoir, with the dress Jason chose for you?
Onoir: I loved his choice of dress. I know on the show people will see me trying on dresses that are completely the opposite but I was so emotional that day, and I didn't even know what I wanted myself. The dress that Jason got was absolutely beautiful and after having a baby only two months before, the shape and fit of it was perfect, which had been my biggest worry.
Was it hard to be away from each other for three weeks, especially since you just had a baby?
Onoir: Well, it definitely makes you stronger, especially for our situation, I was left alone with a 2½ month old baby, which didn't really give Jason a chance to bond with her and then I had my ten-year-old daughter to get off to school and run around after, so it was definitely stressful but an unreal experience and I am so grateful that we got our wedding paid for. It would have been a few years if we had to do it ourselves.
Do you have any tips for all the brides and grooms out there?
Jason: I reckon everyone should get married within three weeks; just get all the stress out of the way! I think I should start a new business - Weddings by J!!
What would you say was your favourite part of the day?
Jason: For me it was getting onto the yacht going across to the island. I also really enjoyed the end of the night when all the filming had finished and we had a drink with the camera crew, as you get quite close to them during the process.
Onoir: The yacht was also a favourite moment for me because we got a chance to be alone and at that stage I knew where I was going and I could relax and enjoy it.
How would you say your lives have changed since you got married?
Jason: I think we feel more like a unit now.
Onoir: It really only hit us over Christmas that we're married and it's lovely to know that we're always going to be together. It might sound crazy but once you're married it feels final, I don't need to be independent any more, and I have to believe that Jason will be around forever - no matter how much he annoys me!
