A Co Derry couple who headed home from Perth for their wedding have shared all on their special day.
30-year-old Shauna and Dean O’Neill (33) from Dungiven have been living in Australia for the past four years and tied the knot on September 17, 2022.
They had their ceremony at their local church followed by a reception at Galgorm Resort and Spa.
Read more: Inside My Wedding: NI couple's 'boho and chilled' special day
In our weekly feature Inside My Wedding, couples are delving into their special day to give bride and grooms-to-be some top tips.
Shauna told Be: "We have been together 12 years after meeting in 2010. We got engaged in Paris in 2018 after Dean surprised me with a trip away for Valentine’s Day.
"We booked our wedding [for the year before], however due to Covid we couldn’t fly home and postponed it for a year. At the time we were devastated that we had to put it off, but it was actually a good thing - and I was a lot more laid back this time around when planning."
Tell us all about your wedding day!
Our wedding day was honestly the best day of our lives. You put so much planning into a wedding and stress about every small detail, but it was totally worth it. We just wish we could relive the whole day again.
We got married in Dungiven Chapel and had the reception at Galgorm Resort and Spa.
I had six bridesmaids, my five sisters and Dean's only sister. Then Dean had six groomsmen - his brother as his best man and then five of his best friends as his groomsmen.
How did you begin planning?
We started with viewing different venues in Ireland when we came home from Australia for Christmas, I think it was roughly six in total that we looked at.
My heart was set as soon as we walked into the Renaissance Suite in the Galgorm.
How did you decide on your venue?
Dean really wanted a large bar to be in the room that was close to the dance floor and I loved everything about the Galgorm. It was definitely an easy decision for us.
Tell us all about your wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and suits!
My wedding dress was made by Pallas Couture, an Australian designer. I always knew I wanted my wedding dress to have sleeves with a lot of detail and Pallas helped me create and design my dress exactly how I wanted.
With the bridesmaid dresses, I knew I didn’t want colour. I loved the idea of having an all-white wedding, so the bridesmaids went shopping together and FaceTimed me when they were trying on different styles of white dresses. They ended up going with simple, plain white dresses. They did have to be altered as they all had trains on their dresses that I got removed.
The groomsmen’s suits were very classic - black tuxedos with bow ties from The Black Tie Showroom. Dean went for a velvet blazer, something different from his groomsmen.
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
The best part on the build up was shopping and all the pampering during the lead up to our wedding. I loved going to my Pallas bridal appointments every fortnight - seeing my dress being made and coming together was very exciting.
And finally getting to be reunited with our family and friends who we hadn’t seen in three years made it extra special.
What was the best moment of your day and your other favourite parts?
The whole day was a dream. Walking up the aisle and meeting Dean at the top was my favourite moment.
When we were getting our wedding photos taken walking around the Galgorm gardens, it felt like it was just us. We couldn’t recommend our photographer Jayne Lindsay enough, she made us feel so comfortable and relaxed.
The reception at the Galgorm was everything we could have dreamt of, they honestly couldn’t do enough for us. Then waking up the next morning with our family and friends and going to the spa together was the perfect start before day two celebrations began.
What would you tell other bride and grooms to plan first & what are your top tips?
My top tip would be to lock in and book the main vendors as soon as you set your date as many get booked up very quickly.
When we set our wedding date prior to Covid we wanted to book The Coves as our band and they were booked up. When we had to postpone our wedding they were the first people I contacted and luckily enough they were available on our new date and honestly we couldn’t recommend them enough, the dance floor never emptied.
Enjoy the whole planning experience, celebrate every moment because it really goes by so quickly.
What were the hardest parts to plan?
Planning a wedding from overseas was actually a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. Everything was booked and organised online. The only thing was, due to living in Australia, I had trials for hair/makeup very last minute, even on the week of the wedding.
Did you have a theme?
I loved the thought of having everything classic and white.
Our table plan was a map of the world and we named our tables after different cities that we visited together.
Would you do anything different?
We honestly wouldn’t change a thing. Everyone tells you it is the best day of your lives and it really is.
We are excited for our next chapter as husband and wife.
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Do you want to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk for your chance to be featured.
