A lovingly restored 19th-century castle hotel, with its secluded location, breathtaking views and classic romanticism, Lough Rynn Castle offered a luxurious fairy-tale setting for the wedding of Dr Victoria Kelly to professional rugby player Ultan Dillane on July 4th 2025. Capture by Anna G Photography and featured in the Summer issue of SOCIAL & PERSONAL WEDDINGS.
The pair met in 2015 through mutual friends. Ultan was living in Galway and playing rugby at the time, while Victoria was studying at UCG. They were introduced during a night out, and after that, seemed to keep bumping into one another; luckily, Galway is small like that! Shortly after, the couple realised they were actually neighbours and lived in apartments right next to each other – it was fated to be!
"We had been living in La Rochelle, France, near a quiet little beach called L’Houmeau. Sometimes, we would be the only people on the whole beach, so it seemed like the perfect place for him to choose to propose. It was an evening in early December, and we were doing our usual walk up along the beach to the wooden viewing point. Ultan used some lyrics from the song “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers, one of our favourite songs, to pop the question. The lyrics actually mention raindrops falling, and it started raining as he asked, so we both got a laugh out of that! We carved our initials into the wooden beam so we can always go back there and remember that special moment together."
In the year before her wedding day, Victoria had a few sessions with Alma at Med Aesthetics in Galway, where she examined her skin, took detailed photos, and gave an in-depth, tailored skincare and lifestyle plan to follow. "We concentrated on pigmentation and skin texture, using a combination of BBL and Halo lasers. I adored my makeup and hair on the day, and can’t recommend Dearbhla and Roy enough. They made our morning getting ready so fun, it was one of my favourite parts of the day!"
"We actually became quite the scent enthusiasts in the lead-up to the wedding, coming across this lovely French perfumery in town. We spent hours in there learning about the different scents, and after much deliberation, we chose a wedding scent for each other. I wore ‘Woman in Gold’ by Kilian, and for Ultan, it was ‘Reflet Sur L’Okavango’ by Ella K. We wanted something fresh and summery, but also with enough depth to last the whole day and serve as a reminder of our wedding day in the future."
On her hunt for the perfect dress, Victoria went to about 5 different boutiques across Ireland with her mum, sisters, and friends. "It feels so nice to try on all the beautiful dresses and feel like a princess for the day! I ended up being drawn to a particular dress in Pearl Lane in Galway, going back three times to try it on with my mum and different people each time– and every time I put it on, I loved it more!" It was actually her Dad who gave the final thumbs-up on the dress, which was very sweet.
"Ultan chose his suit in ‘Father and Sons’ in La Rochelle. He knew he wanted black tuxedos for himself and his groomsmen to keep with the theme of a classic castle wedding. He brought his brother and cousin with him, and they chose some lovely French tuxes. It was a much faster and straightforward process than mine!"
Victoria's bridesmaids were her three older sisters. "I was originally looking for champagne- or sage-coloured dresses, but my friend came across a beautiful ivory satin gown online that matched my dress perfectly, with a dusky pink all-over pattern. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was the one." Her mum wore a beautiful floor-length satin cape dress from Reiss in a lovely pink-coral colour that again picked up the pink accents in the bridesmaid dresses so beautifully. As an added touch, our blushing bride gifted her mum and sisters beautiful gold bracelets made in Dubai on the morning of the wedding, with the letter ‘k’ on them to represent the first letter of the family surname, to always remember that they are Kelly girls at heart!
"When thinking back to our ceremony, one word in particular comes to mind – fun! From start to finish, it was filled with such happy, playful energy. We felt so relaxed through it all, thanks to our wonderful guests and priest. Standing at the altar, looking at all the people we love and care about smiling back at us, has to be one of the most special and unforgettable moments we will ever have together. Being with my dad, sisters, and beautiful nieces as flower girls, right before we walked down the aisle, and taking a moment together to take it all in and absorb all that love was amazing. When Andrew started playing ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ and the three little flower girls started walking, we were all in floods of tears!"
"One of our best decisions was definitely choosing Lough Rynn as our venue. From the start, we knew we needed a venue that could accommodate a large number of guests, as we had about 270 on our list. Ultan came across Lough Rynn online, and we visited it in person shortly after. We both love a classic, timeless place, somewhere with character. We spent a night there and fell in love with the place immediately."
"I am very lucky that one of my best friends, Katie, is an incredible singer, and I had the privilege of having her sing me up the aisle. She sang her own version of ‘Time after time’ and, walking up the aisle with my Dad, to her voice, is something I’ll hold so close to my heart forever. Ultan is very into his music, so he was always going to take the reins with the wedding band choice. He spent a couple of months looking up various groups and came across a band called Cube Tuesdays from London. They were so much fun on the day and really got the crowd going; they even joined in on the celebrations after they finished their set!"
"We had the honour of my mum making our wedding cake, and she made the most beautiful, romantic, fairytale wedding cake I could ever have dreamed of! I think a great decision is to involve family and friends in as many aspects of the wedding as possible, as it makes it so much more special and personal."
"Realising I had forgotten the wedding rings when I was halfway to the church! Thank goodness for my two best friends, the designated coordinators of the day, who were on duty in a car right behind us!"
- Gráinne