They say love conquers all. And this was certainly the case for Claire and Alan. After meeting in Australia, fate brought them back together before guiding them back to the breath-taking Kerry Mountains to finally say I Do.
This really special couple got married on April 17 in a stunning wedding at the Dromhall Hotel, their fairytale was captured by a very talented old friend Niall Scully Photography.
The born and bred Killarney man and true to heart Dublin cailín met in Sydney, Australia over six years ago.
Their journey down under began as neighbours when Alan and his pals became firm friends with Claire and her group of gals. “We were ‘just friends’ for a few months but were constantly being told by friends to just hurry up and get together because it was obvious we liked each other! We continued to say we were just friends even though we started going out on our own sometimes and not inviting any of the rest of our groups!!”
Sadly, as happens with travelling the world, it was time to move on and say goodbye. The pair parted ways and kept in touch with the odd text message.
But chance brought them back together again. “We ended up going back to Sydney where I happened to bump into Alan again on a night out. We were both delighted to catch up with one another and shared a little kiss and it just went on from there.” The smitten duo fell in love and the rest as they say is history.
After settling in Killarney three years ago, this joker pair decided to begin planning their trip down the aisle which gave their families something positive to look forward to.
“Alan is a big messer. That is my favourite thing about him. I can’t help but laugh and smile when I am around him!” While the smitten groom totally fell for his bride’s smile saying ‘it lights up a room’. And their infectious laughter shone through in each shot of their romantic day.
Their intimate ceremony was the couple’s favourite part of the day, making it extra personal – they wrote each part themselves!
“Alan proposed to me on a random Wednesday afternoon. He came home from work saying he’d been rained off and would we go for lunch out in the Lake Hotel. We were sitting at a fab table overlooking all the lakes and mountains. We were finished our lunch and were just finishing a drink. A big American family were there and were trying to organise a table for all the adults and kids. Our table was in the middle of them all so I said they could take our table and we’d sit at the bar. I couldn’t understand why Alan seemed slightly annoyed with this!!! Anyway, so we were sitting at the bar and Alan handed me what looked like a necklace box wrapped up. I opened it and my ring was inside!”
Choosing the Killarney Dromhall Hotel as their wedding venue was an easy choice due to the hospitality of the staff. “We viewed a lot of hotels in Killarney but were most impressed by the Dromhall. Most importantly the staff; they are fantastic and nothing is too much trouble for them. Especially Bernadette, Mike, Sue and Brendan. They really are all a fantastic bunch of people.”
“The team at the Dromhall packed us and our bridal party the most amazing picnic with sandwiches, wraps, crisps drinks, chocolate dipped strawberries and Maltesers. We headed up to the viewing point at Aghadoe to take pictures and the groomsmen had brought Champagne so this was a lovely part of the day for us to toast our new life together.”
“I came across Niall Scully Photography on Facebook and was delighted to see that an old friend of mine was in the business. He is extremely professional and absolutely fantastic at what he does. He manages to do this in a very friendly and fun manner. He was brilliant on the day giving any direction that was needed and also listening to our requests of what pictures we wanted to get. He wastes no time on your special day by fussing around (this is extremely important as you want to spend time with your guests) yet still manages to get the most amazing shots. He is just a dream to work with and was a very calm influence for me on the morning of our wedding”.
Claire’s blushing bridesmaids wore a hue of mint green. Accents of pale pink and gold were scattered throughout their day to compliment the choice of dress giving it a touch of old-world vintage charm. While the elegant bride bought her unique dress with removable top at Couture Bridal in Arklow, Co Wicklow.
“Bernie is the owner of the shop and she is a lovely woman. She made me a fab necklace with diamonds and pearls that hung down the back of my dress into the part that dipped. I loved it and it was a different look for the evening!”
In true Alan style, there were even a few hilarious moments when the nerve-wracking speeches were being made!
“Alan insisted he wasn’t writing his speech down as he knew everything he was going to say in this head. He did a lovely speech but at one point got a little lost for words and took out a blank piece of paper out of his pocket to study it and started to speak again after a minute. Everyone at the top table could see there was absolutely nothing wrote on the pages he had taken out of his pocket but he made it look so believable so it was quiet funny!!!”
After a whirlwind honeymoon to the Dominican Republic and a pit-stop in Paris on the way home, Claire’s one piece of advice for brides-to-be is: “Take 10 minutes during your big day and just to be together on your own if possible. You spend the day getting around to all your nearest and dearest so it’s nice to just take time on your own with your new husband/wife.”
Thanks again to Claire and Alan for sharing their special day with us and to Niall Scully Photography for supplying these gorgeous images.
