True Love Tuesday Shannon and Ryan Tumilty... - Getting Married in Northern Ireland Magazine

Fly Away with Me

Shannon and Ryan made a real statement at their September wedding, hiring their very own helicopter to transport them between the church and the reception!

The couple from Banbridge first met online and got together in 2015.
On Ryan’s birthday in 2017, he popped the question at home, “ It was exactly how I wanted it low key and out of the blue unexpectedly,” said Shannon, “ I wanted to pick my own ring so the next day we went ring shopping right away. It was lovely.”

The couple made a trip to Lunn’s in Victoria Square in Belfast where Shannon chose a diamond ring from the Portfolio Collection.

When it came to finding her dream dress, it was not as straightforward as Shannon had hoped, “ I found it stressful as I had been to several shops and nothing suited me I thought I was never going to find a dress.”
Shannon finally said yes to the dress in McElhinney’s in Ballybofey, choosing a stylish layered dress with a strapless, sweetheart neckline.
“ I took my mum and dad with me to help me because they are so honest and that’s what I needed,” she told us.

Shannon chose her friend Joanne and cousin Molly to be bridesmaids.
The bridal party was completed by flower girl Sophia Grace, the bride and groom’s little niece.
All three wore gorgeous blush dresses from Peony Bridal in Hillsborough.

The groom’s party was kitted out by Statement Menswear in Portadown.
The best man was good friend John, he was joined by groomsmen Connor and Michael, both friends of Ryan.
Shannon’s brother Ben took on the role of usher.

The big day soon arrived on 21st September 2019 and the couple married in St Patrick and St Colman’s Church in Laurencetown.
120 guests attended the service.

On exiting the church the bride and groom were relieved to see their transport of choice awaiting them.
“We almost didn’t get the helicopter, that morning they rang to say the helicopter was leaking oil! They were working on it and hopefully it would be there for us coming out of the ceremony. Thankfully it was!”

The couple flew to the picturesque Farnham Estate for photographs then on to the Slieve Russell in County Cavan to meet their guests at the reception.

Shannon didn’t choose a particular theme for the reception, instead she opted to incorporate simple, timeless touches into the décor keeping the colour palette light and choosing traditional elements like sugared almond favours.

After dinner the guests were treated to a special performance by ‘Singers Secreto’
“Everyone thought something was wrong when the Garda walked in and then started to call out one of our guest’s car registration. He then started to sing. He got everyone up out of their seats and it really broke the ice.”

The guests were also treated to a chocolate fountain, a popcorn machine, flip flops for sore feet and baskets of handy toiletries in the bathrooms.

The couple danced to ‘Hello My Love’ by Westlife for their first dance as newlyweds.

Reflecting on the day, the couple agreed it was a day they would always remember.
“ It went perfectly I would not have faulted anything. It was definitely the best day of my life,” said Shannon.

They both loved the run up to the wedding particularly all the shopping and little lunches out.
The only stressful bit of the planning stages was finalising the guest list, “ It was hard to try not to offend people and not cause any conflict.”
Their advice to others would be to not try to please everyone.

Although the couple never set a definite budget for the day, intending to keep things simple, Shannon couldn’t resist spending a bit more than they had anticipated.
“I started to see the personalised dance floor, the helicopter, the chocolate fountain and got a bit carried away so we spent a lot more the we thought we would.”

Shannon and Ryan finished their wedding celebrations with a relaxing honeymoon in Cancun in Mexico.

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