A Belfast woman who came home from the US to get married has told us all about her big day.
Professional Irish dancer Sarah Costello, 36, and husband Scott Hyland, 35, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania got married at St Peter's Cathedral before their reception at Belfast Castle on April 2, 2022.
In Be 's weekly feature Inside My Wedding, couples are delving into their special day to give bride and grooms-to-be some top tips.
Read more: Belfast bride tells how she had her wedding for under £4,000
Sarah told Be: "We met on St Patrick's Day 2019. Scott was on a golf trip to Florida, he walked into an Irish Pub in Orlando where I was performing with my Irish Dance school. I saw him across the bar and thought he was very handsome, but would never stay until I was finished performing.
"He took part in all the Céilí dancing and got my number at the end of the night. The next day he text me to say he was booking a flight (Pittsburgh is a three hour flight from Orlando) to take me on a date 12 days later! He flew back, we had our first date in Disney and the rest is history.
"Scott moved to Florida after seven months and bought a dog-walking and pet-sitting business. He proposed in a park in Celebration, Florida (the town that Walt Disney designed) where we live on December 20, 2020. He had both families from Pittsburgh and Ireland on Zoom and all my dance students in the park as he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was a beautiful day."
Tell us all about your wedding day!
People always told me their wedding was the best day of their life and I didn't believe them until I had my own big day. It was true, we had friends and family join us from eight different countries in my hometown of Belfast and it was truly an amazing day that I will cherish forever.
The sun shone down on us all day and I felt like a real princess in my own fairy-tale. It was an Irish-American wedding with 54 Americans flying over and for a lot of them, it was their first ever trip to Ireland.
They all loved the hospitality, people and food in Belfast and got to explore the Antrim Coast and the Titanic Museum on the same weekend. We had an Irish Céilí and entertainment from Declan Wilson from Q Radio, so it was an absolute blast!
How did you begin planning your wedding?
I started with a date. I knew the venue I wanted as I wanted to get married in my hometown after leaving home to build a new life in America 11 years ago. Belfast Castle has the most amazing views of the city and I knew it would be perfect for our big day.
We initially booked September 2021 but with the ongoing pandemic, we had to push it to April 2022 to ensure people had more freedom with travel and testing etc to and from the US. It was extremely hard and stressful planning a wedding during the pandemic when I couldn't go anywhere and there was a five hour time difference.
Tell us all about your venues!
We chose St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast for the ceremony as it is one of the most beautiful churches and has amazing acoustics for the music. We had Patrick Davey and his traditional Irish band along with Michelle Hannaway as our singer. The music and singing for the ceremony was just phenomenal.
We loved the history of the cathedral and I went to St Dominic's, so it was where I spent my youth. Funny story about our priest... I met Father Devlin and his brother when I was performing in Disney about 10 years ago. I text him all these years later asking if he remembered me and would he be our priest for the wedding, and he said yes!
Belfast Castle is the perfect venue overlooking the city, steeped in history. The sun shone all day and we had drinks and an ice-cream van (Brooke Avenue) in the gardens, it was magical.
Tell us about your wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and suits.
It was emotional looking for my wedding dress as my mum and my sister, who was my maid of honour, couldn't fly to the USA with the restrictions in place. I tried about four different stores in Florida and couldn't find what I was looking for. I then had my mum and sister on Zoom in a store (Bridal Gallery Couture) in Orlando and they spotted a dress on a rack. I tried it on and loved it, but still wanted sleeves and a Princess Aurora neckline.
Their in-house seamstress Daisy said she could make me a bespoke custom gown of my dreams by adding to the dress - and she did just that. The dress stole the show and was perfect for the whole theme of my wedding. The bridesmaid dress we had to order online as I couldn't go shopping with my sister. It was hard to find the emerald green colour I wanted, but we found the perfect dress on the Mac Duggal website.
The suits were a nail-biting experience but Red Groomswear in Belfast were incredible. We chose the suits six months before and the groom's party came in 48 hours before the wedding day to get measured for the first time! It was an extremely fast turnaround, but it all worked out perfectly thanks to Reds. Scott bought the grooms party tweed caps to match their suits and they wore them on the wedding day - it was very Peaky Blinders and everyone loved it!
What was the best part in the build up to your day?
The best part was getting to plan all the fun things for my guests.
I also got to sample the amazing food from Craft Event Co. at Down Royal Racecourse with my mum and we loved it. Hearing all the exciting things that Scott's family would do on their Ireland trip was also fun!
What was the best moment of your day and your other favourite parts?
The best moment for me was the whole ceremony inside the cathedral - walking up the aisle with my daddy, Father Devlin was amazing, the music, the amazing cathedral and then walking down the aisle with Scott.
When we came outside the cathedral, the wedding bells were ringing and bystanders were all looking on. I had a beautiful guard of honour from the McGowan Moore Irish Dance Academy (my old Irish dance school) and two beautiful Irish Wolfhounds came to congratulate us and take photos.
It was a perfect moment and one that I will never forget.
What would you tell other bride and grooms to plan first and what are your top tips?
I would advise securing your date first and your entertainment, catering, flowers, photographer and videographer.
They were the hardest and are always booked up first. After that, take your time and enjoy the planning stage as it goes by so fast. A lot of people will have opinions, but be true to yourself and stick with what you want for your big day.
What were the hardest parts to plan? Did you come across any difficulties?
The pandemic made everything harder. During the process, Belfast Castle lost its wedding caterer so that was stressful but a blessing in disguise as Craft Event Co., who are the new caterers, were superb. People said it was the best wedding food they had ever had, so we were overjoyed.
Getting my wedding dress from the USA to Belfast was also pretty stressful, but it made it! I carried it on the plane and luckily was able to store it OK. I also think the hardest part are the invites! We hand sealed each one with wax and then because it was international postage for half of them, they all arrived at very different times.
What was your theme?
We had an Irish American and Disney theme. We carried the flags into our reception and had little Disney wedding favours and Disney music playing during the meal. We had the best Irish band (Paddy Davey Music) in Belfast and even had a Céilí with a Céilí caller after dinner, which everyone loved.
Would you do anything different or wish there was anything you didn't worry about?
I wish people didn't have to worry about Covid. We had a lot of guests not come out of fear and even some close family members who decided at the last minute to cancel due to Covid. It's been a long two years of the pandemic.
How did Covid change your plans?
We re-scheduled once. We had an engagement party in Orlando in February 2021 where no one could travel from Ireland or the UK due to the USA having restrictions on who could enter.
How do you feel now?
I have always dreamed of my big day since I was a little girl. Getting married in my mid-thirties was not when I imagined, but it was absolutely worth the wait. I have an amazing husband in Scott and his family are all wonderful. I now feel like I have a family in America after not having anyone for so long.
I always long for Belfast, but it makes settling and living in the states much easier. Belfast will always be home but Orlando is my home away from home - and we couldn't be happier.
Best wishes to all future brides and grooms out there, especially after such a rough few years with the pandemic.
I literally dreamt of my big day for so long and it exceeded all expectations! I am very happy to be Mrs Hyland.
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Do you want to tell us all about your wedding day? Email be@belfastlive.co.uk to be featured!
