Be inspired by stories of love and magic, as we share some of our favourite ways Chupi pieces have helped you celebrate your most special moments.
The sun came out for Willianny and Cillian's small but sweet winter wedding in Dublin, with family and friends across the globe sending (virtual) love on the day.
On first encounters
Cillian and I met in 2015 in Cillian’s family home, where his brother was having his birthday party.
I had emigrated the previous year from my home country of Venezuela to learn English and start a new life. From then on we started getting to know each other – well, that part took a few days as Cillian never asked me for my phone number but he got around to that later…!
Fast forward a year and we moved in together in Dublin City, a place we both love.
On meeting the family
I knew pretty early on that Cillian was the one, but coming from a big Latin family, family approval was very important. However, meeting my family is a bit of a challenge since they all live in different countries around the world.
In 2017, my sisters finally got the chance to vet Cillian and we met in in Las Vegas, followed by a road trip to Salt Lake City where he met my mother.
The challenge was the language barrier – since my mother did not have a word of English and Cillian no word of Spanish – but they got along very well (body language played a big part!). They are the two people I know with the kindest hearts.
On how love (and Google translate) conquers all
Two years later, Cillian finally got to meet my father in Portugal for a long weekend. Little did I know Cillian had been planning to ask my father’s permission to marry me. This is where Google translate came in very handy as my father doesn’t speak English either but fear not, love (through Google translate) can conquer all.
Thankfully Cillian's message was understood and my father gave his blessing. I was none the wiser. A few weeks later in Croatia, to my total surprise, Cillian popped the question and of course, I said yes.
On staying positive when wedding planning
Planning for the wedding was always going to be difficult due to my family’s circumstances. But then Covid hit and it made things even more tricky. This made us reflect and realise life is always going to throw us challenges, so we decided to go ahead with the wedding.
We set a date for the 15th of January 2021. Unfortunately, Covid got worse and we were forced to reduce the wedding party to six people. We’ve been through many challenges before, so we stayed positive and remembered that our love and commitment to each other were the most important things.
On real-life surprises (and virtual fun)
We seized the moment and it was one of the best days of our lives. We had a beautiful sunny winter’s day and had the opportunity to have our photos taken all around our beloved Dublin city.
Even though it wasn’t as planned, we kept some special details – I wore a second-hand Bardot Zaria ivory dress and my dream shoes, a pair of emerald green Hangisi Manolo Blahniks, which were a wedding gift from Cillian.
In spite of only being able to have six people at our ceremony, we were surrounded by lots of lovely messages from loved ones. We were also able to stream our wedding through Facebook Live, and later on, we had a Zoom virtual party with members of our family that were all around the world.
Despite the challenges, family and friends collaborated to make the day really special for us and made us feel loved. One thing we can’t forget was the weather we had! Those are things we cannot control and it was perfect, not so cold and it didn’t rain – you couldn't ask for more in Dublin.
On picking precious Chupi pieces
Cillian had given me the Hope and Magic ring before to commemorate an important step in my professional career. I am a huge fan of Chupi’s work.
We wouldn’t consider ourselves the most traditional couple and usually do things a little different from the norm. The Chupi pieces we selected are bespoken and unique. When looking for our wedding rings we browsed online a lot, but between the lockdowns, the Chupi store opened briefly so we were lucky to try them on and get a real feel for them.
I picked the Hawthorn Twig Band Infinity ring. Ireland has adopted me and having rings cast from hawthorn from here made it very special. Cillian fell in love with the Hawthorn Bark ring. He’s not a person for rings, but when he tried it on it felt special and he knew that was us.
On the magic of heirlooms
I have loved the story behind every Chupi piece. For us, the shape of the Hawthorn rings holds a lot of meaning in our relationship, reminding us that we are not perfect, we have flaws, but we are perfect for each other.
The rings are a symbol of the vows we exchanged at our ceremony, but also represent the values our union is based on, so we can pass that to our future generations.
On advice for couples in the midst of wedding planning
Planning a wedding at any time can be stressful. But the most important thing is not to lose sight of why you’re getting married.
Remember, it is your day so don’t be afraid to plan it the way you want it, not because you think it might please other people.
Vendors
Photographer: Fabián Roselló
Flowers: Joy’s Flowers
Catering: Four Bowls Dublin
