This week’s Wedding of the Week couple is Oisín and Natalie Gallen, who celebrated their wedding in the Villa Rose Hotel
AMERICAN and Irish cultures came together in a joyful celebration recently with the wedding of Oisín and Natalie Gallen at the Villa Rose Hotel.
Oisín is originally from Ballybofey and moved to Tennessee for a university athletics scholarship a decade ago when he met US native Natalie, who was also on the women’s team. They have been dating for eight years and live together in the mountainous US state of Wyoming, best known for Yellowstone National Park.
When Natalie celebrated her birthday in April last year, Oisín made sure to make it a memorable day by proposing to her out in the natural scenery.
“I kind of threw her off the scent as well. I’m not one for hiking, so I suggested we go on a hike,” said Oisín. “It was just me and Natalie and the dog.”
They share their beloved corgi Winnie, who made the journey across the Atlantic to be there for the couple’s big day on August 15 last.
When it came down to planning their wedding, the couple were enthused at the idea of a celebration in Donegal, which was to be Natalie’s first ever Irish wedding on her own big day.
“I was delighted when we started talking about it that she considered having it in Ireland and Donegal,” said Oisín. “The Mass was then in the Crossroads in Killygordon, and then over to Villa Rose, so we kept it nice and local.
“Our wedding coordinator was Emma Browne in the Villa Rose and she was a brilliant help the whole time, especially planning most of it from America.”
Having visited Donegal before, Natalie certainly had no hesitations about having an Irish wedding.
“It was amazing, it was so fun,” she said. “I think there were about 220 people. We had a lot of friends and family. I think there were about 80 Americans that came over in total.”
The evening before the wedding, the couple honoured an American wedding custom.
“Traditionally in America, you’ll do a rehearsal dinner the night before, so how day two in Ireland is a big thing, the rehearsal dinner in America is a big thing,” explained Natalie. “So you do the rehearsal at the church, and then you go and have a big dinner to celebrate with the family. We did that at Kee’s Hotel in Stranorlar.”
The couple were blessed with mild weather on their wedding day and got photos taken at a picturesque cottage.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather,” said Natalie. “I kind of had my mind set that it would be raining, so when it wasn’t raining, I was surprised!”
They had six bridesmaids and groomsmen each and Oisín’s brother Éireann acted as best man.
When the wedding party arrived to the Villa Rose, they were welcomed with a unique reception that was tailored to them.
The signature ‘Winnie’ cocktail at the Villa Rose Hotel.
“We had a drinks reception for a couple of hours before the dinner call. We also had a signature cocktail drink called ‘The Winnie’ named after the dog and that was a hit,” said Oisín. “We didn’t even get to have any, it was gone by the time we got there, and we weren’t even slow about getting there either!
“We had a little sign and then wee cups with her face on it and napkins too, so it was the whole nine yards there.
“Then I also had my friend Lorcan Donnellan, he’s a musician from Glenfin. He played music in the chapel and then also at the reception, just at the drinks part. There was food and the cocktail and then the bar as well for the guests until we got there.”
The American guests were pleasantly surprised by the sit-down meal, as Natalie explained that a buffet is more common in the US.
“The feedback from the Americans was that it was the fanciest that they’d ever had at a wedding,” said Oisín. “Then Natalie put in such an effort, too, with the gold cutlery that we had. She got it ordered here, and we had to carry it to Ireland and it was a ton of weight, but it actually worked out very well.”
The guests mixed well and ultimately, everyone got on like a house on fire, even having a dance-off.
“Our families get along so well,” said Natalie. “And then all of our friends, Oisín’s friends from Ireland and our friends from America, they all meshed really well, so it was one big fun party.”
The upbeat atmosphere continued into the night with music from the band Hard 2 Beat and DJ Marty Temple. Natalie’s dad even had a go at playing the drums onstage.
The American guests thoroughly enjoyed their time in Ireland, and got a tour of the country before heading home.
Oisín and Natalie are settled back to normal life in Wyoming and are planning their dream honeymoon to the Caribbean island of Antigua.
The couple say they had the best weekend of their lives, and Natalie’s experience at the Villa Rose Hotel has set her expectations of Irish weddings exceptionally high.