A Donegal bride who got married in front of six guests rather than 400 has described her unusual wedding day as “magical”.
Deborah Gallagher and partner Danny Farren tied the knot in St Mary’s Church, Fanad, on Saturday. But rather than the party they had planned, including a motorcade of Land Rovers, their nuptials were somewhat more subdued due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“It was going to be quite a big wedding, 400 guests, and we just had the invites out a fortnight before lockdown. So it was a bit of a nightmare having to contact everyone and tell them that we were only going to be allowed a very small number of people in the chapel,” said Deborah.
The couple had considered cancelling their wedding altogether. But after much mulling over, they decided to push ahead.
“We did think about cancelling back at the beginning of all this but then we talked about it and we agreed that the most important part was getting married. We can party any time and we decided that if everyone was well and could travel then we should go ahead with it. We spoke to Fr Pat McGarvey and he agreed that we were doing the right thing,” Deborah said.
God is watching us…social distance. The happy couple with friends and family following their wedding on Saturday.
As well as Fr McGarvey the shortened guest list ran to just six people – the bride’s sister Michelle Gallagher who was maid of honour, best man Patrick Gallagher and both sets of parents Seamus and Catriona Gallagher and Niall and Maeve Farren.
And while it was a far cry from what the couple had originally envisaged, Deborah says she wouldn’t change a minute of her big day.
“On Friday I did say to Danny I was disappointed that everyone wouldn’t be there. Danny is into Land Rovers and the plan was to have a Land Rover for each of the bridesmaids and the best man. So there was going to be a convoy of between 15 and 18 Land Rovers. On the Friday I did feel disappointed that none of that was happening. But it turned out to be the best day of my life. It was magical because it was about us. After the wedding we went back to my mum’s house and had tea and homemade scones and it was lovely. I was home on my own with my parents and just every part of the day meant something. If it had gone to plan you would have had the make-up girls, the hairdressers and there would have been so much going on that you wouldn’t have remembered it all. It was special, a really magical day.”
Thomas and Margaret McElwaine congratulate their neighbour Deborah and her husband Danny.
A huge reception had been planned for the Ballyliffin Hotel but it too has been pushed back. It will now go ahead, Land Rovers and all, next April on the couple’s first anniversary. And once the world starts turning again, the newlyweds plan on honeymooning in the United States.
“As soon as the airports open again, we’ll be on a plane and away,” laughed Deborah.
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