Caroline says s “‘Yes’ to Mark ..and to the dress!

I just put on the second dress and that was the one. I loved it”

CAROLINE Harte from Riverstown starred in reality show ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ on RTE last night.

The oncology nurse married fiancé Mark Quinn in the dress of her dreams last Saturday after a rocky start to the dress-hunting process.

“I’m a larger lady and when I went into one shop I couldn’t get any of the dresses past my shoulders or hip,” she told The Sligo Champion.

Caroline blocked out the experience and didn’t let it get her down, knowing deep down that things would come good in the end.

“My way of dealing with it was to put it at the back of my mind. I’m not a nervous or anxious person. I’d have worn hoodies, jeans and converse trainers up the aisle if I thought I could get away with it,” she laughed.

It was her fiancé’s sister Christina McKeown who encouraged her to apply for ‘Say Yes to the Dress’.

Ireland’s most famous wedding planner Peter Kelly a.k.a. Franc presents the Irish version of international reality hit series.

The ten part series was filmed eight weeks ago in a new couture section of Vows bridal store in Blarney Business Park in Cork, stocked with dresses from all over the world.

Cameras follow brides through the bridal salon as they try on all the styles, colours and patterns to then face their families and friends in the hope that they will Say Yes to the Dress.

“I thought I had nothing to lose so I sent in a video saying why I should be picked and then totally forgot about it until two weeks later when Shinawil Productions phoned me,” she said.

After two more interviews, including a group Skype interview with Caroline’s sister Ciara, best friend Claire Devaney and her brother’s girlfriend Eimear O’Reilly, Caroline got the good news that she had been chosen for episode 3 of the series.

They all headed down to Vows in Cork one Sunday for a hectic day of filming.

“I knew I had to get the girls back for work in Sligo on Monday so it was full on,” she said.

“The shop was amazing,” she added.

Getting up on the fitting room pedestal in front of your nearest and dearest at the best of times while having a camera crew filming it all might put the best of us under pressure but not Caroline.

“Franc is just the nicest man My mother wanted to take him home with her. He is just lovely, said Caroline.

“He put me completely at ease while being very honest about the dresses at the same time,” she said.

Finding a dress they absolutely love can be a lengthy process for most brides. For Caroline, it only took two dress try-ons to find her dream ‘gúna’.

“I put on the second dress and that was the one I loved and wanted,” she said.

The dress is Irish-made in Dublin for Vows bridal store in Cork. Caroline and Mark got engaged on her birthday 11 th November in New York last year.

By sheer coincidence, the only date available for her reception this year was again on her birthday, 11 th November.

The Riverstown natives tied the knot at Church of the Sacred Heart, Riverstown at 12.30pm last Saturday, followed by a reception at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ballincar.

The couple watched ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ on RTE 1 last night surrounded by their family and close friends.