An Elegant Irish Wedding at Shearwater Hotel

Real Weddings

Couple: Lorna and David

Photographer: Paul Duane Photography

Venue: Shearwater Hotel Ballinasloe

We Met…

The first time we met was in our local nightclub. We got chatting and exchanged numbers and that was it. We are now 7 years together and have a beautiful son Kyle who is coming 5 in October.

Our Proposal…

We got engaged on Valentine’s weekend 2 years ago. I am not big into Valentine’s so was surprised when David said he was taking me for dinner. At dinner, I made a comment about how close the tables were together and that there would be no proposals happening.

Luckily David had other plans, as he knows I would not like an audience. He took me down by the river for a walk and got down on one knee. I couldn’t believe it. I was in total shock and just as I said yes a car came around the corner and nearly knocked him over. So we will always remember the proposal!

Our Wedding Theme/ Colours…

We didn’t exactly have a theme as such but wanted our colours to be subtle. David and I mainly used pastel creams and white colours. We had all white décor in our venue; table covers, chair covers and sashes. We also had white drapery around the entire room and entrance of the ballroom. I loved the elegance that white gives to a room.

 

Things we had…

A good friend of mine got us a beautiful picture of us that all our guests could sign. We also had a photobooth which was a hit. There was a queue at it all night.

My mam also surprised us with Irish dancers who performed before the band.

 


My Dress…

I had gone to 3- 4 wedding shops and didn’t find anything I really liked. I was kind of disheartened after that. Then I made an appointment in Belladonna Bridal in Galway. I was made so welcome and had my own fitting room where my family could also come in.

It was so nice to not have to walk out in front of others and just have them look at me in the fitting room. I initially didn’t want a strapless dress but the first one I tried was the one I loved. I choose a fitted Mikaella gown which had beautiful yet subtle lace detail all over. It also had something a little different which I loved. It had an overlay piece which I could detach later in the day. I just thought it was something I hadn’t seen before. Belladonna bridal also got what was originally an embellished headpiece, made into a belt for my dress. I also picked out a beautiful veil with them. They were so helpful and wonderful ladies to deal with. I would definitely recommend any bride to visit their shop.

 

 My hair & makeup…

My aunty Teresa did my hair. I left it down with a wavy curl. I had a beautiful clip that my mam got me on one side and wore my veil.

Teresa also did my bridesmaids hair. They had a beautiful, elegant upstyle. Teresa did an amazing job with all our hair.  We had a trial with her and she couldn’t do enough for us. She was so quick and had everything perfect.

Denise Curley was my makeup artist. I have got my makeup done with Denise on a couple of occasions so I knew how good she is. I had a trial makeup with her and she went through a good few looks before we decided on one. My makeup turned out beautiful and lasted all day. I never touched it up once. She also did my bridesmaids and my mams makeup and they looked stunning.

Both of them were so amazing, professional and had everyone ready in plenty of time. I would recommend them both for any occasion.

His suit…

David got his suit in Louis Copeland in Galway city.  They were amazing to deal with.  They were so helpful with ideas on colour, fabric. Etc. The fit was perfect. He decided on a navy suit with a cream tie.

 

What our bridal party wore…

My four beauts of bridesmaids wore a light champane flowy dress with embellishment on top. I ordered them over the phone with Caris Closet. They fit them perfectly. The only alterations made were to take them up as they were a bit long. I got their shoes in shoerack.

The groomsmen suits were from Corless in Galway city. We rented them from here. The fit was perfect and we got them silver ties to blend with the bridesmaids. David also bought their shoes from Coreless.

Our Ceremony…

We had our ceremony in St.Cuan’s Church Ahascragh. This is my local church where I had my communion and confirmation so I knew I wanted to get married there. The church is beautiful. It has a beautiful altar with a gorgeous design on the tiles of the aisle. It also has a nice garden area at the back of the church where we took some pictures.

 

Our Flowers…

We got our flowers from Dooley’s flowers in Athlone. My bouquet was beautiful with creams pinks and champagne colours with a mixture of flowers. My bridesmaids’ bouquets were kept simple to go with their dresses.  They also supplied most of the décor for the church with some of our own.

We choose our photographer because…

First, I had heard about Paul Duane Photography through friends who had been at a wedding he was photographing. Then we met Paul at a local wedding fair and had a look through some of his pictures and set a date to meet with him. He is such a nice person to deal with. He was great for advising how to go about things on the day. We are delighted we picked him as he made us at ease at our wedding.

He was so helpful with timing and not once did I feel that I had enough with taking pictures. He allowed us to enjoy our day but also captured everything we wanted and more. We have received a sneak peek of our pictures from Paul and can’t wait to see the rest. If you are newly engaged, get onto him quick as he is so busy.

 

We choose our videographer because…

I actually found Paul- Old Pine Films videographer through a wedding Facebook group. I looked through some of his work and testimonials and contacted him straight away. He was great to work with. Again I hardly noticed he was there, very relaxed and so helpful. I recently received a sneak peek of the morning prep and its brilliant so cannot wait to see the rest. Delighted we picked him and again would highly recommend him.

 

We choose our venue because …

We looked at a few hotels but in the end, The Shearwater hotel stood out for us. David and I loved the idea of keeping our reception local and near our ceremony. We wanted people to enjoy our day with little travel after the ceremony. We also wanted the personal service you get from the shearwater. The staff were great to deal with and nothing was too much on the day.

We loved that they made our package our own and tailored it to suit us.

We loved the space we had in the ballroom and the beautiful drapery made the room even more gorgeous.  The management, wedding coordinator, and all staff went above and beyond to ensure our day went perfectly.

We had an amazing day and we are delighted we picked The Shearwater as our venue.

Our Menu…

We had numerous options to choose from for our wedding menu in the Shearwater hotel. David and I got to meet the chef and had a food tasting. We brought both our parents who thoroughly enjoyed all the food which made it even harder to choose the food.

We also had attended a couple of weddings recently in the Shearwater so knew how amazing the food was, especially the beef rump steak for the main course. It is unreal and everyone was talking about how ‘melt in your mouth’ it was after our wedding.

 

Our Cake…

We got our cake from Annmarie (Lillies and peals) cakes. She is a lovely lady to deal with and made my cake perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Music…

We had Rubix wedding band and they were amazing. The dancefloor was full all night. Everyone was talking about how good they were. They also supplied the Dj who was brilliant as well. Highly recommend them.

Our Honeymoon…

We went to Las Vegas and Cancun. Both were equally amazing. The grand canyon, the strip and all the craziness in Vegas was amazing and then to Cancun to relax.

 

Favourite part of our wedding…

It’s so hard to pick as the whole day was incredible. I think it was so special to have our little boy apart of the day and I really enjoyed a little moment where the photographer brought the three of us on our own outside the front of the hotel for a  picture and we just had a laugh and giggle with our boy.

Advice for other couples…

Capture your day. Make sure to get a good photographer and videographer because you don’t get a chance to take it all in. At least you can look back and have memories. Also take a moment away just to relax and chat because the day goes so quick, its hard to find time for each other.

 

Suppliers

Wedding Venue: Shearwater Hotel Ballinasloe | Photographer: Paul Duane | Videographer: Old Pine Films | Flowers: Dooleys Flowers | Band/DJ: The Rubix | Hair: Teresa Slyman | Makeup:  Denise Curley Mua | Dress: Belladonna | Suit: Louis Copeland | Bridesmaid dresses: Cari’s Closet | Groomsmen: Coreless | Cake: Lillies and Pearls | Priest: Fr.Kevin Reynolds | Photobooth: Fiona Newell Events