A reception truly worth waiting for ...
Love is in the air at the d hotel
WHEN you’ve waited 25 years to have the wedding of your dreams, you better make sure it’s a good one and that is exactly what Myrna and Rodger Rosagaran did!
Myrna and Rodger chose to renew their marriage vows on their 25th wedding anniversary with a blessing in the Augustinian Church followed by a fabulous reception at the d Hotel.
Their story proves that old adage, ‘ love conquers all’.
“When we first met, we were both working in Saudi Arabia, so we weren’t allowed to speak to each other, never mind date each other,” explains Myrna, who is originally from the Philippines, and now works as a nurse in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital.
“We could only communicate by notes and phone calls with the help of friends, and twice a week, we would arrange to be at the supermarket at the same time, and we would wave to each other!”
Their relationship went on in this vein for two years, until Myrna decided she would go home to her family and wait until Rodger could join her and get married.
“That was in August 1993, exactly two years since we first saw each other, and Rodger didn’t even know when he would return too,” she says.
“At one stage, he even said that if he had to go abroad again, there would be no wedding!”
They say the course of true love doesn’t run smoothly, and in fact, the couple had to wait six months until they could finally tie the knot.
“We eventually married on Rodger’s birthday on January 28th, 1994, and as there wasn’t much time to organise a wedding, we were married in a registry office and didn’t have a reception or honeymoon” says Myrna.
“We returned back to Saudi a married couple, but my mother always asked me when we would have a wedding in a church so she could see me walk down an aisle.” Fast forward a quarter of a century, and the couple now have three children aged 23, 21 and 19, and are happy to call County Louth their home.
“The time seemed right when we were celebrating such a big anniversary to renew our vows, and many of our community attend Mass in the Augustinian Church, so we were delighted when Fr Declan agreed to marry us,’ explains Myrna.
“Once that was sorted, the next thing was to organise a reception for family and friends, so we visited the d Hotel.”
And that’s when the team of experts in the Drogheda Hotel leapt into action, to provide the couple with a reception to remember.
“They were amazing, and it was such a special evening, they gave us a really good deal and we have to thank Brona and her team for looking after us so well.“
“Sadly, my mum is no longer with us so didn’t get to see me walk down the aisle to Rodger, but we had 100 guests celebrate with us and it was perfect, just what we wanted, with a saxophonist and the children also performing, and all the guests said the food was great!”
So, was it worth waiting 25 years for? “Oh, definitely yes!” she says with a big smile. “It was a beautiful day and I would love to do it all over again for our 50th anniversary.”
Brona Reilly, Sales & Marketing Manager at the d hotel says “It was great to be part of Myrna and Rodger’s vow renewal celebration. The glamour of their entire party was just fantastic and the traditions and dances of the entourage during the reception were a sight to behold, they sure know how to celebrate in style. Vow Renewals are my new favourite thing!”