Locals Andrew and Lucy tie the knot in stunning Spanish ceremony 

Andrew and Lucy Lyons were joined by family and friends as they tied the knot in tropical Benalmadena recently.

Andrew, a civil servant originally from Lismore Lawn, and his wife Lucy who is originally from Slovakia, have been living together in Waterford for almost seventeen years.

The pair first caught each other’s eye over the dance floor, and the rest has been history.

Andrew popped the question whilst in Puerto Pollensa, Majorca two years ago.

Upon their return, they arranged an appointment with Paul Sullivan jewelers to pick out the all-important ring, and thus wedding preparation began.

 “We always wanted to get married abroad” Andrew said, “We had been at a wedding on our very first holiday together, and Lucy said if she ever got married she’d like to come back to that church in Benalmádena. Years later, that's where we came back to get married.” 

The setting was everything the couple could have imagined. Set in picturesque Spanish mountains, guests were bussed to the church before being met by a violinist to set the mood, following by a traditional Spanish band on the beachside after the ceremony.

Speaking on his reaction to seeing Lucy on the day, Andrew said: “She had the ability to take my breath away even after almost seventeen years together."

Over 80 guests attended, travelling from far and wide to be with the two newlyweds.

“My mam and dad, Paul and Cait, were both 80 this year and they were 55 years married, so to have them there still with us at that age was fantastic for us" Andrew said

"Seeing all our family and friends there was incredible, and as Lucy said, everyone travelled quite a distance and people made a significant amount of effort to be there with us on the day.” 

One especially cherished guest, Lucy’s granny, couldn’t make it to the wedding. Andrew however, had planned a heartfelt surprise to bring her presence to the day in a unique way

He explained: “Lucy’s granny is the most important person in her life, so what I wanted to do was get a video message from granny to wish Lucy well in Slovakian, but I didn’t want to just play the video straight off the bat… 

“So I got five other people to do videos for us; Paddy Doherty, Jay from The Inbetweeners, our own local John Mullane, two of Lucy’s’ friends from Slovakia, and the last one was the pièce de resistance, granny.” 

“It went down like a treat” Andrew added, “despite not understanding the language, people could understand the sentiment and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”