Mum finds 37-year-old wedding receipts of £11 to hire three suits

A MUM-of-three says she was overwhelmed to find old receipts from her wedding, almost 40 years ago, and see she paid just £11 to hire three suits, while her wedding dress cost £245.

Sharon Connolly's daughter Leanne found the box of treasures in an attic while clearing out the home of her grandmother in Boardsmill last week.

Sharon (58), said the memories of past times came flooding back as she looked at all the old receipts and other items in the box, which she had completely forgotten about.

Aside from the wedding attire receipts, she came across a ticket to a Boyzone concert in 1995, which cost just £10 and an All-Ireland final ticket in 1988 when Meath took on Cork at Croke Park which set the couple back £5.

But it was the wedding outfits that brought back the most memories of the couple, whose love story began when she was just eleven years old.

“Myself and Seamus are married 37 years on Thursday, May 2nd. I moved from England with my family back to Boardsmill, near Trim and started school there when I was eleven years old,” she said.

“I completely forgot about the box. We moved to Ballivor 14 years ago and I never even thought about it. My daughter Leanne was cleaning out the attic of my mother's house and found it.

“I couldn't believe it. I found receipts for my wedding dress which was bought in McElhinney's in Athboy.

“It cost £245, the head dress was £12.95 and the veil was just £19.95. And that was probably a fortune in 1987.

“The three suits to hire from Pat O'Byrne Menswear in Trim, which is still going strong today, was £11, £15 with ties and the page boy suit was £8.

“I've found a receipt for the reception in the now Old Darnley Hotel in Athboy, which was the Kirwin Arms at the time. I paid a £250 deposit and as far as I can remember, the reception food was £9.95 a head. That probably wouldn't even cover a starter at today's prices.

Sharon also found precious correspondence about her son Barry, 34, who has autism.

“I found letters trying to get him a diagnosis and transport and other messages. One thing I noticed on the letters, which made me shiver was the word handicapped. Thank God they changed the language and got rid of that wording.

“To find these memories is just priceless but it seems like a lifetime ago. The receipts are older than my children, which makes me feel old.

“But to go looking through them brings back a flood of emotions. Receipts and letters like this can mean nothing at the time and are often thrown away but to keep them and find them years later mean so much. I don't keep loads but these matter so much to me.”