Tell us a little about yourselves!
We have been together for 8 years this year. We were both born in Birmingham England, I (Ciara) grew up between Birmingham and Galway. We met through mutual friends in 2016 after returning to the UK from Australia and NZ.
We bonded over our love of travel and decided to move back out to Australia after a few years of being together. Although we loved it there, we left in early 2022 to continue travelling. Since then we have travelled on and off to Europe,South East Asia and Mexico and Central America. We both work remotely so travel almost full-time, visiting family in the UK and Ireland and living here, there and everywhere in between.
We got engaged in Thailand in 2023. Knowing we wouldn't have a crazy expensive wedding and didn't need as much time to save, we opted to get married in 2024. Planning a wedding while travelling full- time around Mexico and Central America was definitely challenging at times but we did it! We love travelling and seeing new places, spending time with our favourite people in between, we’re both massive foodies, coffee obsessed, love our camper van and slowing down in it.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We wanted something a little different, not too big, not too small, I’m pretty indecisive and we sort of didn't know what we wanted in a way or really where to start. I (Ciara) partially grew up in Galway and for the last few years we have spent a lot of time here on and off visiting family. We both just fell in love with Galway all over again, so it was always on the cards for our wedding.
We left ourselves a small window in January 2024 to view some potential venues there before flying out to Mexico, we’d told everyone it would be 2024, so we were feeling the pressure to secure a venue and make some plans before our flight out. We lined up 4 viewings in a day, after a few dud viewings we were losing hope a little. We then viewed the Soul Garden at Massimo Galway, our last viewing of the day and met with Karen and Jess from Kai Restaurant and everything just clicked. Karen was so warm and relaxed and whilst chatting through options in the garden we could easily see the amazing laid back and beautiful wedding we could have there, then meeting with Jess and hearing the incredible menu we could have, drinks at The Crane Bar etc it all just snowballed from there.
We were sold on their energy and excitement, we went to the pub for a pint to mull it over and it was decided. It made so much sense as we always have so much fun when we are here, it just feels like a really special place to us. We love the energy and vibe of the city and wanted our guests to experience that too. We wanted to incorporate everything we love about Galway into our day, the iconic streets, live music, amazing food and of course plenty of Guinness!
How many guests did you have?
What was your budget?
We would have loved to do it for £10,000 that was our initial budget, probably a bit unrealistic and towards the end we just embraced giving ourselves some of the things we really wanted. Our guests were travelling from all over and we wanted to give them the best day possible, so ended up all in spending £14,000. But that was everything all in from outfits to food/drinks and accessories.
Tell us about your outfits.
Ciara - I found my dress before we’d even set a date, I had found Olivia Rose The Label and fell in love with their Eden dress. I thought it was just stunning, I loved how dramatic the back and arms were but at the same time the simplicity of it, also the price tag! Once we decided on our venues and the walking in between, I knew it was perfect length wise to not be dragging around after me. I felt amazing in it, I wanted my hair down how I often wear it so I would look and feel myself. I just added some fun hoops and some classic heels.
Aaron - I wanted the linen suit because I knew it would be comfortable and would go with the more casual vibe we were going for. I liked the contrast of the navy tie with the light linen, I thought all the lads looked great!
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We really wanted the whole day to just feel like us and the things we love. Similar to our lifestyle it was a bit different and unconventional in parts, but at the same time it still felt like a wedding, which we really wanted, and a really special one off day for us and all of our favourite people to celebrate. We ended up feeling like we kind of brought people into our world for a weekend and that was a lovely feeling.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
We wanted it to feel intimate, relaxed but really fun! We wanted it to sort of feel like a day in Galway and a day at the pub almost. We wanted some of the traditional elements (the dress, confetti, speeches, first dance) but in a non traditional setting. We didn't want anything to feel stuffy or routined. The important elements to us were everything that makes Galway so special, the music, the atmosphere, amazing food, Guinness.
We also wanted to include all our favourite people, having our friends and family involved as much as possible. Our friend being our unofficial celebrant, my auntie growing the flowers, having our nieces with us as flower girls, having Katy Durn, an old friend, as a photographer.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Enjoy it, it can be stressful at times no matter how chilled out your approach. We always tried to make our wedding admin and planning fun, pour some wine, put the wedding playlist on and make a date night out of it. Make time for yourselves on the day, it flies by! Look after yourselves, don't plan it for other people, plan it for you!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
My auntie grew most of the flowers for us in her garden at her beautiful mountain home in County Waterford. She did all the bouquets, button holes and most of the flowers for the venue and they were incredible .
Our very good friend married us and wrote the most beautiful intimate ceremony, we were so happy and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
The food from Kai Restaurant was incredible and people couldn't stop talking about it. Karen and all the staff at Massimo Galway were a pleasure to deal with and looked after us so well.
Siomha and all the staff at the Druid Theatre Company helped us create such a beautiful setting and made us so comfortable on the day. We never expected to have so much fun during a ceremony we were initially feeling a little nervous for, but we came out of the ceremony absolutely buzzing!
Katy Durn Photographics - we can't even begin to explain how incredible she was - a photographer, hype woman, comfort blanket and wedding expert all rolled into one, her presence had a huge impact on how we took on the day and how comfortable we were and how much fun we had!
Photographer: Katy Durn Photographics @katydurnphotographics | Flora: Ciara' Aunt | Ceremony Location: Druid Theatre Company @druidtheatre | Reception Location: The Crane Bar @thecranebar & Massimo Galway Soul Garden @massimogalway | Celebrant: A friend of the couple | Makeup Artist: Sara Duffy Makeup @saraduffymakeup | Catering + Beverages: Kai Restaurant @kai_galway & Massimo Galway @massimogalway | Cake: Hapi Bakery @hapibakery | Stationery: by the couple |
Entertainment: Musicians from The Crane Bar @thecranebar | Dress: Olivia Rose The Label
@oliviarosethelabel | Groom's & Groomsmen's Suits: Slaters Menswear @slatersmenswear | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Family rings | Shoes: ASOS @asos & Loake @loakeshoemakers |
Earrings: Linjer @linjerco | Bridesmaid Dresses: Zara & Oasis