A couple who were so excited for their forthcoming wedding that they had matching tattoos of the date in Roman numerals while ‘tipsy’ on holiday have had their big day cancelled because of the pandemic.
Bride and groom-to-be Francis Donald, 26, and Fionnuala Kearney, 24, from Newcastle, Northern Ireland, have been engaged since December 2017, and were due to marry on October 16th this year.
The couple decided to forever etch that date on their skin after strolling into a tattoo salon while on the final day of their holiday to Turkey last year.
However, last month the couple were told by their venue, Hugh McCanns hotel in Newcastle, County Down, that they would have to postpone their wedding until April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, instantly rendering their tattoos incorrect.
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A date to remember, for the wrong reasons: Bride and groom-to-be Francis Donald, 26, and Fionnuala Kearney, 24, from Newcastle, Northern Ireland, were due to wed on October 16th this year but their big day has been cancelled because of the pandemic
After hearing that they would no longer be getting married in October the couple said they both looked down at their matching body art in shock
Fionnuala and Francis say there were devastated – but had the shock of their lives when they looked down at their arms and remembered their tattoos.
The couple have decided to stay positive, moving their wedding date to April 2021, and have started to think of ideas about what they can do to keep the tattoos meaningful – including a charity skydive.
Fionnuala, a social worker from Belfast, Ireland, said: ‘Ever since Francis and I got together, I knew I wanted to marry him – so when he proposed on New Year’s Eve in 2017, I was thrilled. I had always dreamed of my wedding day, so started planning it straight away.’
She explains how they decided to get the body art on a whim, saying: ‘We were in Turkey and had checked out of our hotel at 9am, but had to wait until the evening for our flight home – so we decided to go on a bar crawl.
‘We strolled past a tattoo salon and we were tipsy, so thought it was a great idea to get matching tattoos.
‘It’s funny because we were being extra careful to make sure we got the roman numerals correct, and the staff were teasing us, saying: ‘Are you sure that’s the right date?’
Fionnuala and Francis met whilst studying at Ulster University in 2015, when they both worked as residential assistants in student halls.
On holiday in Turkey last year, the pair decided to have the date of their planned big day etched on their skin in a tattoo parlour
Francis, who was studying IT, asked Fionnuala to be his girlfriend whilst still in their first year of university. The pair went on a romantic getaway to spend New Year 2017 in Inch Island, in County Donegal, Ireland, where they stayed in a library-themed private lodge.
Fionnuala said: ‘Francis knows how much I love Beauty and the Beast, and the lodge looked like something straight out of the film.
‘We spent an amazing few days wandering around Inch Island, and on New Year’s Eve we walked around and watched the fireworks.
‘Little did I know, Francis had been making plans with the owners of the lodge – I walked through the door to find it transformed.
‘It had been set up like a scene from Beauty and the Beast – complete with the rose in the glass case. Then, Francis asked me to marry him.’
They’re now thinking of doing a charity skydive on October 16th to make the day memorable
Fionnuala accepted, and the pair started planning their wedding immediately.
She said: ‘We knew that things were going to be hectic as I was due to start my master’s degree in September 2018 – so we decided to arrange the wedding for after I graduated.
‘We picked the date two months later – 16th October 2020 – and then we started arranging.
‘I bought my dress in September 2018, and arranged our band, picked our guests, everything.’
Fionnuala and Francis were thankful for the wait until their big day, as in May 2019, Fionnuala was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease – a condition which causes parts of the digestive system to become inflamed.
Staying positive: the young couple are trying to think of a way to make their tattoos still relevant despite now getting married on a different day
Speaking about her disease, Fionnuala said: ‘We were really nervous because we had plans to go on holiday the next month. Thankfully we were allowed to go.’
The duo were joined by their friends Bethany Corbett, 23, and Owen Nolan, 25, on the couple’s holiday to Icmeler, Turkey, in June 2019.
Fionnuala said: ‘We had an amazing holiday, and on the last day we did something crazy. We got suitably tipsy, and then we walked past a tattoo parlour.
I have a few small funny tattoos that I’ve got on drunken holidays, so I wasn’t too fussed, but it was the cherry on top of the cake…
Bride-to-be Fionnuala Kearney
‘Francis and I often make spur of the moment decisions – we’re quite spontaneous – so we decided to go for it and get matching tattoos.
‘We walked into the shop without even knowing what we wanted, until I had the idea of getting our wedding date.’
Francis, who works as a software developer, said: ‘I had the idea to get the date in roman numerals, and we were extra careful to make sure that we got them exactly right – we didn’t want to make any mistakes!’
In April 2020, with the coronavirus lockdown measures in full force, Fionnuala decided to contact the wedding venue to find out what was going to happen to their big day.
She said: ‘We were supposed to have our six month review before the wedding, to make sure that everything was going to plan. Of course, I had considered the virus and the effects it might have, but with our wedding being quite far away in October, I didn’t think we would be affected.’
Fionnuala was told that their wedding day would have to be postponed.
‘I was devastated,’ she said. ‘It was a nightmare trying to reorganise a date which worked for our band, guests, the hotel, everything. I eventually had to pick a weekday, which wasn’t ideal but there was no other choice.’
With Francis working full-time, and having just graduated from her master’s degree, making her a qualified social worker, Fionnuala was juggling a lot at once.
She said: ‘I was on the phone to my family all the time, seeing if they agreed with all the changes. It was so stressful, but I was glad to finally set our date and have everything arranged.’
‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry!’ The pair say there’s an irony because they were super careful that the tattoo artist wrote the correct date while getting the etchings done
With their wedding scheduled for 22nd April 2021, the couple could relax – until they looked at their arms.
Fionnuala said: ‘We looked down at our arms one day and realised – they said the wrong date.
‘I have a few small funny tattoos that I’ve got on drunken holidays, so I wasn’t too fussed, but it was the cherry on top of the cake. All you can do is laugh at situations like this!’
The couple saw the humour in the situation, and have been asking their family and friends for ideas about what they can do on the original date of the wedding.
Fionnuala said: ‘Somebody suggested that we do a skydive, other people have said we should lie and tell people the tattoos say the right date.
‘I love the skydive idea and would like to use it to raise money for the Crohn’s disease charity, as they have really helped me.
‘Whatever we do, we’re going to make it memorable.’