One of their first photographs as a married couple became iconic. It was dusk, they stood beneath a kaleidoscope of colours as glittering drops of rain sprinkled from the sky. At last Wayne and DJ stood staring lovingly into each others eyes as a married couple.
They romantically chose to wed at Harvey’s Point Hotel, Lough Eske in Donegal. The very place where Wayne proposed and where they held their civil partnership ceremony almost two months previously. Filled with love, laughter and special touches, their day was truly magical. We loved seeing every picture – and they even asked their sisters to be Groomsmaids!
After being introduced by a mutual friend in Belfast, Wayne and DJ have been together for over nine years. Their first civil partnership ceremony took place on the 25th September 2015 and they celebrated in front of 170 of their nearest and dearest. “As the Marriage Equality Law had not been enacted by that date we then held a more intimate marriage ceremony on the 17th November 2015.”
On the evening of DJ’s 41st birthday, after a walk along the lake, a surprise table draped with a white table cloth, bottle of champagne and a plate covered with a silver dish lay awaiting for him.
“It was raining earlier in the evening with a beautiful full moon reflecting on the water. As we approached the table I asked DJ to lift the silver dish and see what was underneath…he hesitated then slightly lifted it up and placed in hand underneath. Quickly dropping it back down again. I encouraged him again to lift the silver dish off and fully see what was underneath it.”
“Written in chocolate and strawberries on the white dinner plate was the message ‘DJ will you marry me?’ I then got down on one knee and formally asked him to marry me. He said YES! We then celebrated by opening the bottle of champagne sitting beside the table at the end of the pier and calling our parents, family and friends to tell them our great news with the beautiful moon reflecting over the lake.”
“After our own personal life journeys and our journey as a couple for the past nine years it was finally an opportunity for us to seal our commitment to each other and be equally respected and treated as a citizen of our great country.”
“Saying I Do whilst looking into each others eyes is a moment we never thought would happen. Feeling such love and positive energy from all our guests and the hotel staff from beginning to end was amazing. This feeling will remain with us for the rest of our lives.”
“We discovered Harvey’s Point one day whilst out driving a few years ago and seeing it in the magic of the lakeside setting, the Donegal Mountains along with the beauty of the hotel made us decide if ever we did get married; it would be at Harvey’s Point.”
“Stephen Mac Photography was fantastic; he was truly professional and worked with us every step of the way. He went above and beyond to ensure we felt comfortable which allowed him to work his photography magic.”
“We followed some trends by using a unity candle, love poems but also made our own special mark by using both our sisters Karen Morrison and Linda Duffy as Groomsmaids, our niece as Flower Girl and Nephews as page boys and flag bearers. We wanted to mark this historic year and our own journey and to do so we used the Irish tricolour to reflect the historic year the Irish people voted for full equality and the rainbow flag as symbols of hope and love along whilst reflecting on the difficult journey many of the LGBT community have suffered in this country and still in many places around the world looking for equal rights.”
The pair looked dapper dressed in navy Paul Costello tuxedos. DJ donned a burgundy slim tie, while Wayne wore a burgundy bow-tie. Matching shoes in shades of navy and burgundy by Jeffery West completed their stylish attire.
To top off their fantastic festivities, the Dublin Gospel Choir performed throughout their ceremony and fittingly, their first dance as newly-weds was to At Last by Etta James which summed up the whole day.
A huge thank you to Wayne and DJ for sharing their day with us and best wishes for the future. The couple would like to say a special thank you to their behind-the-scenes cast below.
Credits:
- Stationery & Graphic Backdrops; Cloud9 – Dublin
- Photography; Stephen Mac Photography and Ghorm Studio Photography
- Dublin Gospel Choir for their amazing signing
- Band; Dreamday
- Ballroom Decor; Simply Divine Weddings
- Ms. Siobhan Duffy-Browne our fabulous registrar from Donegal
- Inishfree String Quartet
- Noel Cunningham and Sheila Russell from Harvey’s Point Hotel on how they supported us throughout
- Rosies Closet Newry for our Groomsmaid and mother-of-the-grooms dresses
- Our florist and make up team
