Treading the boards to love: Claire and Aidan’s classic Irish wedding

Amateur actors Claire Clarke and Aidan Godwin couldn’t help but add some theatrical flourish to their classic Irish wedding.

The London pair, who met when they both auditioned for the same pantomime put on by the local drama group, returned to Claire’s Irish roots for a traditional wedding that they filled with music, singing and dancing.

Claire, 31 and Aidan, 32, wed on April 8, 2017 at St Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, County Donegal in front of 150 friends and family.

“Our reception was held at An Grianan Hotel, Speenoge. Guests were transported to and from the venue by a traditional London red double decker route master bus,” Claire says.

“After the service, we joined our guests for half the of journey back to the hotel on the bus. Beers and gin and tonics were handed out, and the groomsmen located the bus mic so the sing song got under way.”

The newlyweds and the bridal party entered the ballroom to a choreographed dance routine, and the best man got into the theatrical theme of the day by singing his speech.

“As if this wasn’t enough, we were then surprised by a flash mob of about 30 of our friends from London from two amateur groups we are involved in. They performed a mash up of One Direction’s You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful – which is the first song Aidan and I sang together on stage,” Claire says.

“The day was perfect from start to finish.”

Photos courtesy of Fringe Photography.

Claire’s wedding dress featured plenty of lace and a touch of bling.

Claire and Aidan bonded over their shared interest in theatre. “Aidan invited me to see the Lion King as friends and romance developed from there… Since our first performance in 2013, we have performed in many shows in the London area,” Claire says.

They tied the knot with two timeless rings from Diamonds Factory.

A double-decker bus provided unique and practical transport for the day.

“We love to travel and explore the world and it was on a holiday to Morocco in April 2016 when Aidan, under the stars, overlooking a beautiful lake, decided to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him,” Claire recalls.

The couple’s elegant three-tier cake featured some floral-themed additions.

Video by Wedding Films by John Campbell.