I have read a lot of these reviews to get an idea of what is expected and hopefully emcmenamin won’t mind if I steal his template as it was the most comprehensive I found and made it easy not to forget anyone.
We, as is becoming more common, returned home from Australia to get married, which meant that all the pre-planning had to be done through email and through various family members. This obviously proved very difficult and was it not for the patience and help of family members and friends it would have been nigh on impossible, and we really cannot thank them enough for this.
It was very tough on my wife as she missed out on a lot of the pre-wedding stuff that a bride looks forward to, i.e. checking out wedding venues, bands, food tastings etc. Due to this predicament, we decided to use a lot of local people for various aspects of our wedding, as we knew what we would be getting and could be confident with the results, and with full disclosure we have known a lot of these people for years. We used this site quite a bit for reference, particularly when it came to the band, as we had a few dramas securing one and obviously we had no way of seeing them in person.
We came home for four weeks, two weeks before the wedding (which were manic!) and two weeks after. We got married in St Patricks Church, in Castlerea, County Roscommon and then had our reception in the Galway Bay Hotel. We decided to have our reception in Galway as we thought we would make a weekend of the wedding, and we planned to stay a second night with our close family and friends, as obviously time was going to be at a premium during our trip home. Once we had made this decision, the Galway Bay was a relatively easy choice, as we had been to previous family weddings there, and we thought the location would be brilliant, especially if we were lucky enough to get good weather.
Wedding Invitations & Booklets
We were very lucky with our invitations and booklets as we received a great deal from The Printworks (http://www.theprintworks.ie/) in Boyle, Co Roscommon. We got a package deal which included the wedding invites, RSVP cards, afters invites, thank you cards & the mass booklets and every one of them were fantastic. They were very accommodating to our situation; we received plenty of mock-ups via email and were able to get samples sent over to us. We only finalised the mass booklet when we got back to Ireland and were able to make changes right up to the last minute. We were delighted with the quality of the products.
Photographer & Videographers
For our photographer we decided to go with Lisa Daly (http://www.lisadalyphotography.com/#), from Dunmore in Co Galway. We were actively looking for a photographer and Lisa was recommended by a family friend, however it was only after viewing her website that it became an easy decision.
Lisa and her assistant Anita really were a pleasure to deal with and we are absolutely delighted with the photographs, we think they are fantastic. We were so lucky with the weather on the day, and really got some stunning photographs as a result.
During the week following the wedding Lisa supplied us with a slideshow to give to family and friends with some of the pictures of the wedding, which was great for us, as we could send it to friends and family in Australia and allow them to get a feel for the day. The slideshow is at the following link; http://www.lisadalyphotography.com/wedd ... odaghderek
For our videographer we went with Sean Browne (http://www.seanbrownevideo.ie) from Castlerea who we have known for years. Sean is a character to say the least and he really adds a lot of humour to the day. He really likes to get the craic going before the wedding and put you and your family in various comedic skits, but it really helps settle the nerves and gets everyone relaxed and in good humour. Once he gets to the church though it is all business. Sean’s son Shane also records in the church, which adds a lot to the video. We were delighted with the result, as was Sean who said it was his best work yet ;)
Flowers
For the flowers we again went local with Patricia Bruen flowers in Castlerea. My wife and her mother decided months prior to the wedding what type of flowers they wanted, and were horrified to see a certain well known bride walk down the aisle a couple of weeks before the wedding with a similar simple flower arrangement! I thought it was hilarious but kept it to myself. Anyway, my mother-in-law took a trip down to the church on the morning of the wedding as she couldn’t wait to see the flowers, and they certainly did not disappoint. They completely transformed the church.
Hair & Make-up
My wife and the bridesmaid’s hair and makeup were both done locally in Castlerea. They’re hair was done by a local hairdresser called Martina McGowan while they’re make-up was done by Julie Morgan, my cousin, whose salon is called Creations Hair & Beauty (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations ... ty-Studio/).
As I cannot really comment on this area I asked my wife to write a few words:
“We were blessed with both our hair and makeup as they were local ladies who knew all the wedding party. With time being of the essence having someone who knew each of the bridal party helped. Our hair was designed depending on hair type, all the bridesmaids had hair trials before the wedding and this was all brought together during my trial the week before the wedding.”
“As with Martina, Julie was extremely generous with her time in the lead up, all the bridesmaids had a trial a few months before the wedding, leaving my trial to just over a week before the wedding. She knew all the girls so it was easy to plan and ensure the colouring suited all the girls. I was delighted with the result. “
The Church Music
Once again we went local with the church music and couldn’t be happier with the results. We used Natalie Murray from Roscommon, who is a family friend, and Seamus Kearney from Castlerea. Seamus usually plays with his sister Laura, who is also a brilliant singer, and both he and Natalie were very accommodating as we didn’t finalise the music until a few days before the wedding. We had seen Natalie countless times before and knew exactly what to expect, and she surely didn’t disappoint, with loads of our guests commenting on her fantastic voice afterwards.
The Hotel
I could not recommend the Galway Bay (http://www.galwaybayhotel.net/) highly enough; they were first class in everything they did for us. If I was to use one word to describe the Galway Bay it would be Professional, with a capital P! They were fantastic.
I would especially like to thank the manager Dan Murphy, our wedding liaison John Frazier and our duty manager on the day Diarmuid O'Conghaile and his colleague Valerie, who were both so professional and a pleasure to deal with. I would also like to give a special thank you to Willie Madden who was a tremendous help to us on the day after the wedding, and also to Victoria and Serge, who were a great help in the days leading up to the wedding.
It was a large wedding, 300 plus, yet everything went like clockwork, not one hiccup, or if there was we certainly weren't made aware of it. We were absolutely blessed with the weather, and it really brought out what a stunning location the hotel is in. The patio deck, with the sun shining and the sea breeze, it really doesn't get any better than that. Even our guests from Australia were blown away.
The Planning
As I have already said we returned home from Australia to get married, and it meant that all the pre-planning had to be done through email and through various family members. As difficult as this was for us, I am sure it was not ideal for the Galway Bay personnel either, however the staff was extremely accommodating and made the whole process as stress free as possible. As we were only arriving in to Ireland two weeks before the wedding they allowed us to hold off on a lot of the final decisions until we could actually sit down with them face to face.
The Room
The room was both beautiful and daunting at the same time. As it was a large wedding, seeing the room fully prepared when we first arrived at the hotel was a bit mind blowing, as you suddenly realised how many people you were going to have to get up in front of and speak to. Everything was laid on by the Galway Bay and it really did look beautiful.
Food
They brought us up for a tasting just ten days before the wedding which, as silly as it sounds, was a big deal for my wife as she had missed out on a lot of the traditional planning tasks due to us being on the far side of the world. Not able to decide between a number of delicious choices, we asked the hotel for their recommendations as to what they were most confident with, given the numbers, fresh produce at the time etc., and it was the best choice we possibly could have made. The food on the day was fantastic, different than your usual wedding fair, and we received compliments throughout the night and following days from our guests.
The Band and DJ
We had a lot of trouble finding a wedding band. Unfortunately we thought we had a wedding band booked very soon after confirming the Galway Bay only to find out a couple of months later that they were double booked and we were second! This actually happened twice to us, which really left us scrambling to find a band, which was hard enough given our location.
Thankfully my sister really came through for us, and after looking at bands all over the country for us she managed to find After Dark from Kilkenny (http://www.afterdarkmusic.ie/index.htm). Thankfully they were available due to a cancelation (they were practically booked for the rest of the summer), and after one viewing from my sister, we booked them as fast as we could. We really were very lucky, as Ciarán was a pleasure to deal with, and was very accommodating including learning a song for our first dance.
They were brilliant on the night, kept the floor full all night long. They started with a lot of the old favourites to get everyone out on the dance floor and keep the older folks happy, and then ramped it up a bit and played a lot more modern stuff in the second half of the set. They really sounded brilliant, and informed us that they had received three enquires from various couples in the crowd that night. They’re versions of Bohemian Rhapsody and Don’t Stop Believing are a sight to behold live.
Our DJ was Alan Carol from Galway who we also know personally. He was also very good, kicked in seamlessly as the band finished and kept the crowd on the floor for the rest of the night.
The Next Day
As impressive as the staff of the Galway Bay were on the wedding day, I dare say they were even more impressive on the following day. We had talked with them in the week prior to the wedding about having some sort of food available on the day after the wedding, as a number of our family members and friends had planned to stay on in Galway for a second night. They recommended a BBQ on the patio deck which we decided to go with, even though we couldn't give them final numbers until that day.
The numbers fluctuated on the morning after the wedding from 60 to the final figure of 120, yet the staff couldn’t have been more accommodating and it went off without a hitch. They set up the BBQ in the sunshine on the patio deck and served a beautiful meal, with plenty of food for everyone. Admittedly, the fabulous weather played a large part in the success of the BBQ, but we got so many compliments from our family and friends afterwards, it was the perfect way to round off a great weekend.
Summary
We really were so lucky with the choices we made as I can’t imagine the whole day or day after being any better. I really cannot recommend the Galway Bay highly enough, and my wife and I cannot wait to go back when we are next home, to once again convey our thanks and reminisce on the greatest weekend of our lives.
I will try and answer any questions people may have and hopefully this may help a few people who are getting married in the West of Ireland.
PS. Holy Moly that is a long post, sorry if it is long winded, I had no idea it would be so long!
