Donna and David were blessed with two happy occasions to celebrate in one weekend: their joyful marriage on the eve of the groom’s fiftieth birthday.
In early 2007 David first met Donna while she was working at the Greenvale Hotel Reception. After a passing conversation, David left his number with a mutual friend to pass along to Donna, who declined to ring back on the traditional principles of a lady. Within a few months, however, David managed to get a hold of Donna’s number and rang her to arrange their first date on 6th July 2007.
Their brief encounter blossomed into a relationship, and six years later David proposed to Donna aboard a plane headed for a romantic weekend in London. While admittedly Donna confessed it wasn’t the most romantic choice of setting for an occasion of that nature, David found it very amusing that Donna could tell 180 strangers on a plane her happy news, yet couldn’t get onto her Facebook page to share the surprise.
More than a promise, their relationship seemed a date with destiny. David, who is Australian with Irish roots, was getting married to Donna, from the Rock, Dungannon – the exact same small village where David’s grandmother was born a century ago.
Donna was delighted about the couple’s wedding but had one significant stipulation about the event – she wouldn’t marry David if he was over fifty years of age. So their wedding date was set for Friday 4th October 2013, the day before his fiftieth birthday.
Two happy reasons for a double celebration, Donna and David planned an unforgettable weekend in which Donna got her man from Down Under and David got the bride of his dreams on the one day, followed by a brilliant birthday bash, where David was happily spoiled by his new bride with a Rolex watch and set of golf clubs.
Friends and family from near and far enjoyed the weekend of festivities, including David’s 72-year-old mother, who had made the long trip from Australia to be present at the wedding ceremony at Lissan House, where David’s daughter Kailey was a beautiful junior bridesmaid.
The autumn weather held out for a beautiful October day and finished with a magnificent wedding celebration at the Greenvale Hotel, followed next day by the groom’s fiftieth birthday.
Photography by Paul Gallagher Photography, Omagh
