This fly-on-the-wall documentary celebrates the joys of an Irish Wedding in all its pleasant predictability – the requisite chats about the weather, the haggle over the beef or salmon, the losing of the rings, the ditching of the heels, the intergenerational whirl around the dancefloor and especially the speeches.
Alex Fegan (Older than Ireland, Abbeyfealegood) captures all that is familiar but also conveys the momentousness of the day from the pre-wedding nerves, to the tenderness of the first kiss, from the affectionate humour of the speeches to the melancholy moments as absent friends are remembered. The Irish Wedding presents a pleasingly diverse community of couples in this warm-hearted and thoroughly entertaining survey of Irish nuptial activity.
COUPLES
Esther and Sinéad
Esther and Sinéad are a couple living in Cork. Sinéad hails from the UK but while living in Cork she gave Esther a place to stay. From there, their relationship flourished and the pair pulled together a stripped back lockdown wedding, as many couples have been forced to do over the past year and a half.
Kim and Paul
Kim and Paul are a Galway-based couple who met on a dating app. In their early days dating, Paul would take Kim out dancing – and it was there on the dancefloor that he fell in love with her. It wasn’t long before Kim, originally from Australia, was charmed by this Galway boy and his two sons.
Jenny and Anne
When Jenny from Limerick attended a gig in 2009, she was not expecting to meet her soulmate – but lo and behold that’s exactly what happened. When she saw Anne, a Dubliner, singing on stage she knew she was the one for her. The pair waited and fought for their right to marry and, with the help of Jenny’s mum and sister, pulled a wedding together.
Patrick and Ruta
The stars aligned for Patrick and Ruta via the wonders of Facebook. Patrick, originally from Nigeria but based in Dublin, and Ruta, an Estonian woman living in Cork, met on the social media app and they quickly fell head over heels for one another. They have a son, Jaden, together and now live in Dublin.
Cait and Bobby
Cait and Bobby are an American couple with Irish roots. In pursuit of a scenic backdrop for their big day, they’ve decided to return to their ancestral homeland. In turn, they find themselves bracing all of the elements as well as a photo-bombing sheep on Valentia Island.
Trish and Mick
Trish and Mick are a Skibbereen-based couple. The pair enjoy a relationship of many laughs and quick-witted comments that keep everyone – especially their wedding guests – on the edge of their seats.
Katie and Daniel
This Sligo born pair were together nine years before they tied the knot. They met in a night club where Daniel politely offered to walk Katie home. She quietly turned him down that night when he made his move – but didn’t reject him outright! A relationship ensued and, almost a decade later, a highly anticipated wedding.
Siobhan and Shane
Siobhan and Shane met in the Slievemish Bar in Tralee, Co Kerry. Shane recalled seeing Siobhan “fist bumping” at the bar and he said, “That’s my kinda woman”. Following a local mating tactic, he gave her a good long ‘shtare’ until she noticed him and then he looked away with embarrassment. The tactic worked and the rest they say, is history.