Heather and Josh’s special Valentine’s weekend

To mark St Valentine’s weekend, sweethearts Heather Andrews and Josh Warde were among four couples who received a special blessing at the Shrine of Saint Valentine in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Whitefriar Street, Dublin on Saturday.

Bishop Michael Router, vice-president of Accord, performed the blessing of the four engaged couples at the casket containing holy relics of Saint Valentine, and heard from the young couples why it was important to them to get married in a Catholic ceremony.

Heather, from Mullingar, and Josh, from Portlaoise/Mullingar intend getting married during the summer of 2023 in the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix.

Heather works in recruitment for Intel Ireland and Josh works in UCD as the GAA development officer.

The two met in Dublin through a friend on February 17, 2014. Josh was in college and Heather was on a year out before starting her studies. They got engaged in 2021 November in Barcelona, Spain.

Heather said: “Josh was carrying the ring around all day extremely nervous waiting for the perfect opportunity, so after a long day of doing the tourist activities we were sitting having a cocktail in a fabulous hotel and I was remarking how it was the perfect day and how I was so happy and things couldn’t get any better!

“That is when Josh got down on one knee and made it the best day of my life!

“Despite being together for almost eight years, I was completely in shock with tears running down my face so he had to ask me if I was going to say yes!”