A Colourful Wedding With Lots of Blue

Articles, Real Weddings

Áine and Philip wanted a colourful wedding, with lots of blue! Áine chose blue for her bridesmaids, steel blue and silver shoes.

Couple: Áine Lyons and Philip Tobin
Length of engagement: 2 years
Wedding date: 2020-09-18
Wedding location: Galway Bay Hotel
Photographer: Ken Byrne Photography

 

 

Áine and Philip met in college in Dundalk. In July 2018, they were heading to The Coronas concert in the 3 Arena. In the hotel room, Philip handed Áine a little booklet with the words ‘big plans’ on it. Áine read it and on the last page it said ‘Will you marry me?’. Tom proposed with a Claddagh ring with Áine’s birthstone in it!

 

 

Áine and Philip wanted a colourful wedding, with lots of blue! Áine chose blue for her bridesmaids, steel blue and silver shoes. “My sister Joan in Australia couldn’t make it back for the big day due to covid 19 travel restrictions. She wore her dress on the day and watched like many others over Zoom. My niece Siún, who was a mini bridesmaid, wore a dress slightly different from my sister Catherine but was a similar colour. Both had neutral bouquets. The colour was in my own bouquet and at the reception and church.”

 

 

Philip wore an amazing navy suit that he got in Corless Formalwear in Galway. He wore a white shirt with a navy waistcoat and suit and a light blue silk tie. Áine wore a Herve Amaranthus dress which she got from Belladonna Bridal. It had beautifully embellished shoulders and an embellishment on the waist, with a cowl back. She wore a cathedral length veil with floral lace along the end of it. Her shoes were powder blue with gold leaves from Vintage Pearl Bridal in Galway.

 

 

Philip’s Best Man had a suit very similar to his, but with a creamy white silk tie. Áine’s bridesmaid, Catherine, wore a sequin embellished steel blue dress from Monsoon. Áine bravely bought the dress back in December 2019 without either of her sisters with her. Luckily they loved them! Áine’s niece, Siún, the junior bridemaid also wore a dress from Monsoon. It was light blue with a sequin top half which matched the colour of the bridesmaid dresses.

 

 

“We had a traditional Catholic Church wedding in my local parish church in my hometown of Claregalway. We couldn’t fault a thing as our parish priest Fr Ian O’Neill had us well prepared for the big day and settled the pre-wedding nerves. I suppose the strangest part was having less than 50 people in the church due to the Covid restrictions and what came along with Covid such as masks and social distancing. This meant everyone was spaced out and in their own social bubbles. We had beautiful music performed by Brenda Grealis which really created a lovely atmosphere. The church was decorated by our florist, Abbey florist. It was simple but effective and I loved all the flowers.”

 

 

“We had our reception in the Galway Bay Hotel. We had first class service. Laura and Stevo made the day so special for us. Even in the lead up to the day Laura, our banqueting manager, made sure every little detail was planned out and she even made sure I had a strong cup of tea after a mini wedding disaster two days before the big day. Stevo made sure all the food came out to perfection and keeping the day moving along. The decor I made myself along with flowers provided by my florist and then the hotel had flowers arranged by their supplier. I made loads of colourful pom pom flowers for the table and bunting for the top table along with personalised signs. Our day wrapped up before 11.30 but we still had a boogie with our band Bluemoose and a photo booth supplied by Fiona Newell.”

 

 

Áine and Philip’s favourite memory from the Big Day was taking photos in Salthill on the prom and down at Blackrock. They came across two beautiful golden retriever puppies, Happy and Rambo, who were out for a walk with their owners. The next thing they knew, they had these puppies in their arms and had their photos taken!

 

 

They chose Áine and Ken from Ken Byrne Photography. “What can I say these guys felt like life long friends we had so much fun on the day. They made every moment special, ensuring we got all the photos we wanted along with spontaneous fun pictures. I’d love to do it all over again. I love every pic, will be so hard to decide which ones we will choose for our album.”

 

 

“We had Sandra from Sandra cake house. We had a 3 tier cake Guinness chocolate, lemon sponge and white chocolate and raspberry sponge, it was gorgeous everyone loved it and not one bit was wasted. Our band was a favourite from our College days Blue pose what can I say they are just amazing. We hired out a photo booth from Fiona Newell which was a bit of lighthearted fun for our guests.”

 

 

“Covid has been tough for all. We decided we would follow through with our original date even if it was only us and our witnesses. I don’t regret one thing about our day. I do wish the my sister in Australia could have made it along with other close relatives. I’m very grateful I had my wedding in September before the second lockdown and further restrictions. I think if it is what you really want, bite the bullet, get married and party later.”

 

 

Suppliers

Ceremony location: Claregalway Church | Wedding venue: Galway Bay Hotel | Photographer: Ken Byrne Photography | Videographer: Ronan from Marriage Multimedia | Planner/coordinator: Laura McCormick and Stephen Finn | Ceremony music: Brenda Grealis | Band and DJ: Blue Moose | Hair: Pamela Ó Brien | Makeup: Orla Duffy Makeup Artist | Couples outfits: Corless formalwear, Belladonna Bridal | Wedding party outfits: Corless formalwear, Monsoon | Cake: Sandra’s Cake House | Celebrant/solemniser: Fr Ian Ó Neill | Stationery: Optimal print | Jewellery: Hartmanns Galway | Flowers: Abbey Florist