Irish bride drives herself to her wedding – in the family tractor

Irish bride drives herself to wedding - in the family tractor

An Irish bride travelled to her wedding in the ultimate style as she ditched the Rolls Royce in favour of her family’s farming tractor.

Nicola Kelly of Kilkerrin Co Galway was all set to travel to the church in the hired luxury car to tie the knot with fiancé Aidan.

Irish bride drives herself to wedding - in the family tractor

However, her father had a different idea. Given the family’s farming background, and the fact that their tractor was lying idle what with everyone going to the wedding, he decided he should drive his girl to the church himself.

Nicola was delighted with the personal gesture from her dad, but at the last minute there was another change of plan.

Nicola explained: “He just turned around at the last minute and said to me ‘I’m not going to drive it, you’ll drive it’.

“I said ‘I won’t’ then he said ‘Ah you will’, and I just thought; for him, I’ll do it”.

The journey was an emotional one for both father and daughter as several friends and neighbours had lined the streets with signs and fires to wish the bride good luck.

Nicola continued: “It’s very common in the Galway area where you’d see fires along the way to send the bride off, because she more than likely is leaving her own village to go and live with her new husband.

“It was a bit emotional. I wasn’t expecting to see as many people out and when I got to Kilkerrin Village there were so many people standing outside the pub waiting.

“Not many knew I was going by tractor but our videographer told them before I arrived so they all waited outside.”

The 2018 ceremony went off without a hitch, and Nicola looks back fondly on the special day. She also has a word of advice for other future brides about making sure they make time to relax and enjoy the wedding day experience.

She said: “Don’t panic, whatever is going to happen is going to happen.

“Looking back, even on the situation with the tractor I was saying ‘no I’m not going to drive it, I’m not going to, I don’t want to I’m pure nervous’… But now, looking back, I’m so delighted I did.”


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