True Love Tuesday: Ruth & Edward

Good evening and welcome back to our weekly local real wedding, today featuring the very beautiful wedding of Ruth and Edward in Kilkeel. The couple enjoyed the sights of the gorgeous Four Seasons Suite in Galgorm Resort and photography was by Michael McKay Photography, Randalstown.

Ruth and Edward (Ned) are both from Kilkeel and first met in Alfie’s bar in the town when Ruth was at school and Ned was working in Belgium as a brick layer. They struck up conversation and when Ned decided to leave his job in Belgium for local work, Ruth knew their relationship was on the right tracks!

The couple got engaged during a meal in Belfast and Ruth got straight into wedding planning.

“I started planning my wedding straight away. We went to multiple wedding fayres and visited a lot of different venues but the Galgorm Four Seasons suite really stood out above the rest due to the white leather chairs, waterfall in the garden and crystal chandeliers- we both loved it! We got engaged in June 2014 with a wedding date of 18^th March 2016 but I had most things arranged by the end of 2014. I had a checklist with a to do list, what everything cost and what was left to pay so this kept everything in check. I then chose my six bridesmaids by giving them each a balloon and asked them to pop it, inside was a note asking them to be my bridesmaid,” explained Ruth.

After choosing the Four Seasons suite Ruth decided on a complimentary colour scheme using lemon and navy and some added sparkle. Her maids wore lemon Kelsey Rose dresses with overlaid lace, whilst Ned and his grooms party wore slim fit navy Prince of wales check suits hired from Red Groomswear.

Being only five foot one, Ruth found imagining herself in the right size wedding gown difficult, as many of the samples where much larger than her frame, until she visited The Bridal Loft in Newry.

“When we arrived at The Bridal Loft we were taken upstairs and I was amazed at the amount of dresses I liked, however there was one that really stood out. It was an Essence of Australia lace backless dress that had small beads which sparkled in the light. I loved it as soon as I tried it on as there was a size 8/10 available in the store,” said Ruth.

Decor for the day was kept chic with an ice swan greeting guests on arrival at Galgorm and large light up letters. “We designed our own wedding invitations with Ryan Patrick Design, they were on white card covered in sparkles and had a navy ribbon down the side, so not to give away the colour of the bridesmaid dresses. The only DIY elements used were the jam jars in the church were the flowers were in at the end of the pews and I made everyones place card. Instead of using names I got pictures of each of my guests so there was a photo of each guest at their seat which was really class on the day. We both love animals and each table was named after a breed of dog, our top table was named ‘The Snoodles’ as we have a wee snoodle called Gusty,” added Ruth.

“The day was fantastic. I really enjoyed the drive from Kilkeel to the Galgorm in the Rolls Royce it was by far the nicest car I was ever in. We stopped off at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry to visit my granny who was unwell. The nurses had got her dressed up and done her hair, it was really nice to be able to see her,” said Ruth.

Ruth’s Advice

I would advise other couples to check around before purchasing as you may find something you prefer from someone else. Also my checklist was brilliant to keep me on track on what still needed to be done etc. The most stressful part of planning I think was deciding on the guests and the table plan so ensure you put some time by to decide on this.