Beachside Beginnings: From Serendipity to Forever Love
Love is like the ocean; vast, deep, and filled with endless wonders. Just as the waves embrace the shore, our love finds its home in each other’s hearts on this beautiful beach of life.
Ruth Megaw a solicitor originally from Dungannon met Calum Smith, an off shore worker from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland while on a girls holiday in Marbella; Calum was living there at the time. Ruth told us “We met on a night out and exchanged numbers, then keeping in touch the romance grew. We arranged many travel dates, travelling back and forth between Marbella and Dungannon every few weeks. Calum moved to Northern Ireland in 2020 leaving the sunshine of Marbella behind, after much deliberation we decided the beautiful North Coast of Northern Ireland offered the relaxed coastal living we wanted and is now where we call home.”
A proposal happened on 12th August 2022 at Ruth’s favourite place in Portstewart at sunset, which sounds like a very romantic evening looking out over to Mussenden Temple and the North Coast shoreline with Calum on one knee holding a stunning solitaire engagement ring.
The couple knew they wanted to stay local for their wedding and invite their guests to enjoy the North Coast so they decided on Portrush and also the date of 4th August 2023; they got to planning their simple, elegant and glamourous wedding.
Ruth had been directed by a friend to The Bridal Barn for her gown, she made an appointment before Christmas and went to see Sylvia. Ruth said “I was always told to keep an open mind and that many brides picked a dress they never would have expected so I tried on an amazing variety of dress styles by a range of designers before falling in love with my dress with some suggested alterations. Sylvia at The Bridal Barn NI was amazing, she was easy to work with, altering my dress to make it completely unique to me”
Bridesmaid dresses came from Perfect Day in Portadown for Maid of honour and sister Rachel, cousin Anna and niece Chelsey. They had an amazing experience there as well, trying on a range of dresses until they found the perfect style and colour.
Suits for Calum and his groomsmen Domhnall (best man and brother) Iain (brother) Derick (friend) Lee (Bride’s nephew). The couple told us “Nineteen83 were experienced in fitting out bridal parties that were not located close to their store and arranged to have the suits shipped to the island for fitting and tailoring at Celtic Clothing in Stornoway, Scotland”
Calum and Ruth really enjoyed planning their day, with guests travelling from all over Northern Ireland but also Spain and Scotland, they wanted their guests to enjoy their stay see where they have set up their home.
Their wedding took place on 4th August 2023 with a ceremony in Ballywillan Presbyterian Church in Portrush followed by a very elegant and timeless reception in The Royal Court, Portrush. They incorporated their theme by having the gents wear tuxedo’s, the bridesmaid dresses were simple and elegant, their natural sage colours also toned into their beach location. Ruth said “Flowers for me were extremely important to add further glamour, elegance and sophistication”
The day went above and beyond what Ruth and Calum could have dreamed off, Ruth told us “My wedding morning was filled with fun and laughter, there was nothing to do but enjoy getting ready and time with my bridal party exchanging gifts, getting photographs and having fun”
Calum said “The Groomsmen stayed at the hotel the night before, with a few whiskies and Guinness, which made our morning more relaxing. We enjoyed breakfast at the Royal Court taking in the views over the coast on my last morning as a free man before setting off to collect my classic car”
Ruth and Calum “Throughout the day we knew we had chosen amazing suppliers and having given our main suppliers a schedule of the day, we placed our faith in them, they did an amazing job”
The celebrations started before the wedding with pre-wedding drinks at Mr & Mrs Jones in Portstewart the day before for everyone to get to know each other, followed by Pizza and Prosecco the day after in Harbour 2.
Their special features included gelato served at the church, a harpist for Ruth to walk down the aisle to and signing the register. A piper played while they arrived at the church and also played as they left the church. Calum included his own restored classic car which he travelled to Scotland to collect and then drove through the night to get it back to Northern Ireland.
Everything went perfectly for them including the meal which the guests absolutely loved, especially one who managed to devour 8 slices of roast beef. They said “The entire weekend from start to finish was unbelievable and we are both absolutely delighted. The best bit was marrying each other”
Ruth and Calum are planning a Christmas and New Year honeymoon to Australia and the Whitsundays and will see in the New Year at Sydney Harbour before having a few days in Bali to relax. They gave this advice to other couples “Planning a wedding is something you get to do once so remember always what the day is about, a celebration of your love. Sit down and decide what you both want out of your day and keep that as your focus, ours was to spend as much time with family and friends on the day as we could and to show off the beauty of the North Coast to our travelling guests. Make planning as fun as possible, pick vendors you have confidence in that can help bring your vision together, have faith in them as it’s their job to make your day amazing and enjoy the planning process, it’s all part of the wedding and it will be over in a flash so don’t stress over the little things”
They are loving married life together and said “We love being married. It brings with it such a new sense of togetherness and calmness after all the business of the years planning”
WEDDING SUPPLIERS INFO NAME AND TOWN
Reception location: The Royal Court
Dresses Service : Sew Handy
Wedding Dress from: The Bridal Barn NI
Bridesmaids dresses from: Perfect Day
Groomswear from: Nineteen83
Make-up by: LC Studio
Hair by: Hair by Meganf
Flowers by: The Flower Barrow, Newry
Room Décor by: The Wedding Room NI
Rings from: Murray & Co
Cake by: Christines Wedding Cakes, Dungannon
Stationery by: The Wedding Room @ CR Print, Dungannon
Photography by: Gillian Higgins Photography
Videography by: River Flow Films
Entertainment by: Starlink / Manouche Boys / Lesley Davidson Harp / Peter McKernan
