Elaine & Donal

I took a trip to the Midlands for Elaine & Donal's wedding which took place in Durrow. Not the one in Laois, the one in Offaly. All was nice and relaxed at Elaine's house beforehand, with lots of time for a few photos before I headed for the Church. I'm not sure how relaxed Donal was at 5 to One, but he kept a brave face, depite the slagging of his three brothers who were his Groomsmen.

Someone had left a bicycle at the church door - I had visions of Elaine & Donal re-enacting the Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head scene from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, but Elaine wasn't too keen on sitting on the handlebars in her slinky designer dress.

So we drove rather than cycled to the old Abbey which contains the High Cross of Durrow. Local legend has it that if you can reach around it and touch your fingers together, you'll have a long healthy rewarding life, with loads of children. Donal succeeded with a little stretch, which augurs well for the future.

They have a great sense of the theatrical in The Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore. It was my first time to do a wedding here, though I've been to the hotel on a few occasions before. Elaine & Donal were greeted at the door with champagne, and led by a piper into the imposing foyer with its grand staircase. Waiters bearing canapés and sparklers served them, and their entrance to dinner was something to behold. A fanfare is sounded, a great curtain is drawn back to reveal the happy couple sitting on thrones high above the crowd, where they soak up the applause of their guests before descending for dinner. All of this expertly choreographed by Anne Starling and filmed by Eamon. It left me quite breathless.