Come take a trip to the breathtaking island of Lusty Beg, in the heart of Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland to witness the magical wedding day of our real wedding couple Shane and Melvyn. The weather gods may not have brought the sunshine, but instead, but there was a downpour of love for the beautiful couple that October morning in the form of a perfectly-timed rainbow. We love the eclectic details these two included in their big day, from lego decor, a groom in a dapper kilt and drag queen DJ and so much more! Sarah Fyffe has shared the fun photos with One Fab Day, and we can't wait to unveil the love right here!
Wow, look at those vibrant floral buttonholes! Shane and Melvyn, our fabulous couple, first crossed paths on a dating app, and as the saying goes, the rest is history! The couple say the moment of the proposal was something they will never forget: "It was the Sunday morning after I was best man for my friend's wedding day. We were lying in bed and I said 'I suppose you would like to do what they did yesterday' and he said yes! It was one of the most romantic proposals I have ever heard of!"
Shane, above, donned a traditional kilt along with all of the stylish accessories, but we love his beaming smile best of all, as he waits to marry the love of his life! "The tartan is known as the International Bear Tartan. It contains the colours of the Bear Pride Flag - representing the bear subculture in the gay community and as I identify as a bear, once I saw the tartan I knew I would wear a kilt made from the tartan at my wedding. The plaid, ghillie shirt, and shoes just all felt right to complete the look. The kilt and plaid were made by a man called Paul Henry," he says. And while the sunshine may have been playing some hide and seek, it was replaced by the most magical and meaningful rainbow that lit up the sky, blessing their day.
We adore Mel's choice of groomswear which omplemented Shane's plaid attire but was yet distinctly different. He chose a checked overcoat paired with a matching brown waistcoat, trousers, burgundy tie, topped of with his vibrant buttonhole.
Just as the ceremony began, the oh-so-unreliable Irish weather misbehaved! The silver lining of this rain cloud is certainly the epic images Sarah captured of the guests joyfully running indoors for cover! Not to worry - the ceremony resumed indoors under twinkling fairy lights. "Despite the rain, everyone was in high spirits! A couple of the guests' hairstyles took a bit of a battering but without that rain shower we would never have had the wonderful rainbow that features in so many of the photos!" they add.
The stunning lakeside venue was the Lusty Beg Island Resort, an untouched heritage forest, nestled in the heart of Lough Erne in Co. Fermanagh. The newlyweds explain what made this venue the one for their wedding in Northern Ireland: "I used to fish on Lough Erne as a child with my dad and if it got rough we would land on Lusty Beg. There was a little tumble-down cottage that we would have sheltered in to eat sandwiches or cook what we had caught. Lusty Beg was always my venue of choice!" Now it holds even more beautiful memories!
Elements that made the day truly special was the love shown to them throughout the entire day. "There were so many nice things said by those that spoke before the meal. Gail Stannard, our celebrant took great care of us and made the ceremony one of the most personal ceremonies that I have ever witnessed. And just look at the pictures – the rain shower led to the most wonderful rainbow which features in the post-ceremony photographs!" says Mel.
The wedding aesthetic was about vibrant colour and personal touches! The venue tables were adorned with faux floral centrepieces made of lego - genius idea. Continuing the lego theme, the couple cleverly used individual pieces as name-place cards. Dublin's drag DJ extraordinaire, El Styra, ensured the love, laughter and music were heard from across Lough Erne and beyond. Send us that setlist, stat!
The Lego inspiration continues to the wedding cake display. The three-tiered white confection displayed cute small Lego pieces, including little Harry Potter figures! "I have always been a huge lego fan and at 63 I am still building it regularly. When I met Bernard McKeaveny who made both cakes he asked about a theme and I said we really didn't have one, but mentioned the lego flowers - his eyes lit up and he told me that he had bought lego moulds years before but never used them. So the idea for the cake was born! The bottom tier with pride-coloured bricks, the second tier with bear flag coloured bricks and the top tier gluten-free to accommodate some of our guests. The final lego element was lego bricks at everyone's place and we asked everyone to sign their name. We collected those and I turned these along with the cake topper into a simply framed memento of the day!" says Shane.
Now, we are dying to know the story behind the rainbow unicorn cake! "There was a sort of long-running joke started by Shane's niece, Julia and John that the theme would be rainbows and unicorns but Shane was having none of that! John knew that Bernard was making the wedding cake and unbeknownst to Shane contacted him to organise the Rainbow Unicorn cake for me - it was so thoughtful and really fun when Gerry brought it out. I got my rainbow in the end - look at the photos - Sarah did a wonderful job capturing it for us!" says Mel
A very special thank you to the lovely couple and Sarah Fyffe for sharing this very special wedding day. There are lots more photos to pore over in the gallery below.
Looking for more wedding inspiration? Check out our full ceremony guide full of readings, music, and checklists here!
