Gabi & Rory’s wedding was planned to perfection, mostly orchestrated from across the water with Gabi being from Frodsham, England and Rory being a local Newcastle lad. They are living together in Runcorn, England.
Gabi and her family got ready at the Slieve Donard hotel where Ciara Thornton (The Studio) and my little sister Sileen McAleenan worked their magic.
Gabi reflects back on the day:● Makeup: “For makeup we had the lovely Ciara Thornton who made me, and the bridal party feel so comfortable and beautiful for the big day. I would recommend her as she was lovely to work with and did an amazing job, my make up looked so good all day”.
● Hair: “My hair and the bridal party had our hair done by Sileen McAleenan hair dressing and all I can say is that we were blown away, our hair was perfect for the big day and any requests or adjustments we asked for on the day she was happy to do. Sileen was so lovely and was so talented we couldn’t have asked for a better hairdresser”.
I had captured Rory’s sisters wedding several years back and it was great to meet all their lovely family once again when I popped around to capture a few prep images.
I headed back to the Slieve Donard as Gabi was doing her final preparations and getting ready to rock. Then it was off to the Annesley Hall close by, chosen by Gabi & Rory for its unique feel and look. It really was amazing!
“We wanted the wedding to reflect us and the magical day that we wanted. We wanted to use a venue in Newcastle, Co Down that could be decorated to our ideas and having a small venue decorated beautifully was our dream. We dreamed of having the ceremony room spectacularly decorated with fairy lights above and botanical greenery all around to give the feeling of it feeling magical and dream like”
A close friend Catherine played beautiful music for the ceremony.
How did you meet originally and get together?
We originally met at a party in Halls at Liverpool Hope University. It was my 19th birthday party and we had seen each other around but never spoke. I went to top up my drink in the kitchen and found Rory stealing my alcohol (unknowingly he did not know it was mine and still to this day calls it fate) and I had caught him red handed. He apologised and said he would make it up to me on the Friday and take me out, it was to be Valentine’s Day. Rory had made such an impression on the first date he had bought a bag of flour instead of flowers and a handmade card. That was the start of our dating and it took three years to make it finally official and it was definitely worth the wait. Over the three years we always came back to each other and finally in my last year of university Rory took me to Manchester Christmas Markets and finally asked me to go out with him. We have been inseparable since!
What advice would you give to other couples planning their day?
We would just say enjoy every moment of the day, the good and the bad and take it all in. We never realised how fast the day would go and it is true what people say the day flies by and its done before you know it. Take a moment during the day with your partner to just let it all sink in. The hard work you have both put in to make this day so special for you both and your families.
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