College Sweethearts Caitríona & Alan Tie the Knot – Claire Durkin Photography

Real Weddings

College sweethearts (ooh they’ll hate that!) Caitríona and Alan were engaged a year to the day of their wedding. Alan really brought the romance when he whisked Caitríona away to the south of France (where she spent part of her childhood learning French) and after a countryside bike ride and ‘a few generous schlugs of wine’ Caitríona said ‘yes’ to her ‘little Longford sham’. Caitríona looked incredible in a boho style floral headband and a stunning silk sheath dress from Myrtle Ivory, but was very nearly upstage by another three mini princesses who looked very pretty in their own little white dresses! Claire Durkin was on hand to document the celebrations throughout the day, and to snap some really beautiful shots of the couple on Galway Bay.

The couple: Caitríona Kerr and Alan O’Reilly, both Doctors

Length of engagement: 1 year to the date! | Wedding date: May 4th 2012

Wedding reception: Ardilaun Hotel, Galway | Wedding ceremony: Claddagh Church, Galway

Wedding photographer: Claire Durkin, Claire Durkin Photography, Longford

bride morning of wedding

bride and bridesmaids getting ready

We met… in College in Galway

Caitríona’s forst impressions of Alan… When I first met Alan he was shaping around college in a white hoodie. He looked very confident and, in fact, a bit too cool for school. Later when we got chatting I realised the little Longford sham was actually alright…!

Alan’s first impressions of Caitríona… My first impression was that Caitríona was a pretty girl with a lovely accent and a good sense of style. She was wearing a pair of nicely fitted flares which were soooo cool in the late 90s! We barely spoke at our first meeting, but managed to gravitate towards each other straight away at a nite club later that evening and chatted till the early hours. When I didn’t see her for the next three weeks at college lectures, I knew that this girl was up for a few years of great craic in Galway.

wedding bouquet pink green

bride floral headband

Our proposal… The proposal was in small town called Ménèrbes in Provence in the South of France. It was a place Caitríona had travelled to learn French when she was 11 years old. We hired bikes for the day and sat down later that evening on for a picnic. After a bite to eat and a few generous schlugs of wine I finally managed to fumble out those few important words… and Caitríona said yes.

bridesmaids

father of the bride moment

mother of the bride beige

My dresss and accessories… I wore an ivory coloured silk dress from Myrtle Ivory in Dublin. It had two broad straps in an X-shape at the back and I altered the neck line to change it to a cowl neck. My headband was from Knightsbridge Boutique in Dublin and my shoes were from Minette Shoes in Derry.

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The wedding theme… I was wearing ivory and the bridesmaids wore gold/mocha coloured dresses.

groomsmen wedding

flower girls

flower girls

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Our first dance song… ”I got you babe” by Sonny and Cher.

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bride groom church ceremony

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exchanging rings

wedding vows ceremony

hug ceremony wedding

flower girls cermony

wedding congregation church ceremony

Our ceremony… Our ceremony was at the Claddagh church at the mouth of the River Corrib in Galway. The church was small and intimate and the setting was beautiful. Our priest was a good friend of ours from Longford. He made the ceremony so special and atmospheric. Most of the photos are of people laughing and having a good time. The music was played by the Secret Chord. We loved the traditional Irish touch which they brought to their music.

flower girl shoes

wedding rings bride groom

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flower pages

Our favourite part of the wedding day… We loved the entire day and could have easily had a week of it. It was so great to have all of our friends and family together under one roof. All the clichés are true…it really was the best day ever!

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wedding portrait bride groom

Our favourite wedding picture… Our photographer Claire took so many amazing shots that we were delighted with, it really would be impossible to choose!

wedding portrait photo sea

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We chose our venue because…We had a ball in college in Galway together and it was place where we both felt at home. We knew from our many nights out that Galway and its hotels know how to throw a good party …and they didn’t disappoint. The Ardilaun hotel is a lovely traditional hotel with a great reputation for friendly staff and great food. It really did feel so homely and welcoming for our friends and family the entire weekend.

On the menu… We played it safe with our wedding menu. The soup was vegetable, starter was chicken Caesar salad and the main course was a choice of beef or salmon. The dessert was chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries.

wedding ardilaun hotel ireland

My advice for other brides-to-be… Don’t sweat the small stuff…no one else notices or cares! Relax and enjoy your day… as they say -it flies by!

Our honeymoon… We went to Thailand. We stayed at the Rasananda resort in Koh Phangan. The food, people and jungle parties were amazing! We loved it.

By Karen Birney