Following the success of last week’s ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ series debut, I couldn’t help but be (very) excited and intrigued about the surprises that lay in store for episode two. Armed with a stack of Easter eggs and a nice cuppa tea, I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end a relaxing bank holiday weekend. As the notion of making a work week four days long floated around my brain, I was instantly interrupted by the sentence- “they met on Facebook”.
Yes you're read right! This week’s couple Nicola, a beautician, and John, a rally driver engineer, first laid eyes on each other via a social networking site. Initially, I was a bit sceptical about how well these lovebirds could know each other, but not even five minutes into the show, and it was clear that they were a match made in heaven. After living together for three years in Mullingar, the pair felt it was about time to tie the knot, leaving John to face the most important race of his career.
With just three weeks to organise the fairytale wedding that Nicola desired, and a reputation for having no patience and “always wanting things to be done straight away”, I was a little concerned that John wouldn’t be able to pull it out of the bag. Luckily his family seemed to be on the ball when it came to the non-related wedding events, and even managed to surprise Nicola with some balloons and a card on Valentine’s Day (not a bad family to marry into).
A little stumble later (at least John wasn’t scarred for the photos), Dave the groomsman and his best man and brother Brian attempted to give the groom-to-be some dress advice. However, John’s ‘Mr know it all’ attitude prohibited him from taking help from anyone and soon his stubbornness got him into a pickle of a situation. Not only did he buy a dress that was two sizes too big, but it was as plain as a digestive biscuit, from a sample collection and the complete opposite of what his bride wanted (Oh dear!).
Although John did seem unbelievably clueless about the process involved in acquiring a priest for his wedding, I thought it was incredibly thoughtful and cute that he travelled three and a half hours to Donegal (twice), so that Nicola could get married in her hometown. When John got emotional sitting on the beach chatting about her, it really was heart-warming, you really could tell that he just wanted her day to be perfect and special (so cute).
John’s heart was definitely in the right place when it came to all of the wedding details, but at times it seemed that his stubbornness and disregard for other people’s opinions did contribute to unnecessary problems. With a heavily pregnant bridesmaid it was never going to be an easy task, but John’s refusal to play ball and take heed of the ladies' hints meant that he still hadn’t found the dresses 48 hours before the wedding. Looks like beer and GAA inspired dresses are harder to find than it sounds!
It was difficult not to empathise with John’s mum Jackie when she thought that her son was heading for a nervous breakdown, and equally the bride-to-be, who feared that her fiancé would be too exhausted to enjoy the wedding. However, a determined John continued to plod along and put his heart and soul into organising Nicola’s dream wedding. Similar to last week’s episode, the guys once again got the better deal when it came to the stag night (surprise surprise).
John’s hired ‘Fair City’ actor didn’t exactly get the reaction he was looking for as the drunk waiter (perhaps it was the divorce jokes?), and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the girls. On the other side of town the boys seemed to be having the craic at the dog races and even remembered to do a shot in honour of the bride (and this time John managed not to fall over, phew!).
My heart sank when Nicola tried on the dress and realised that it was so plain and understated, she honestly did look like she needed a hug. Luckily the wedding invitation presented to her by John’s father seemed to lift her spirits, and the venue received top marks (it was very impressive) – but it wasn’t long until the tables turned again. The chaos really was never-ending.
When the morning of the big day arrived, almost everything that could go wrong went wrong for poor Nicola. From a bad hair day, missing veil and dress, to everyone falling behind schedule and people going missing, I was dubious about whether the ceremony would go ahead at one stage! In fairness, what were the boys thinking going on a session the night before John’s wedding?
Fortunately the guests were all still at the church when John arrived over an hour late which was mainly due to the rally cars. After John’s slick arrival (and a quick rant to his dad), it was time for Nicola to arrive in style, and her helicopter landing definitely made for one memorable day.
All in all, John proved to be such a romantic and his pit-stop to take some surprise photos at the beach where Nicola grew up almost brought a tear to my eye. It was such a beautiful and romantic wedding, and I found it really difficult to find fault with anything (although the ‘Sweet Nicola’ song was a bit too much to handle for my liking).
Roll on episode three - not to be missed!!
Laura Delaney
