Here comes the bride...and her 95 bridesmaids as couple buck 'micro weddings' trend
Micro weddings have become all the rage for couples desperately wanting to keep guest numbers down.
But Jack McGowan and his new wife Kathryn decided to buck the trend - with 95 bridesmaids included in their massive wedding party.
The newlyweds had a day they will never forget last week when they tied the knot in front of 250 people.
And, with nearly 100 bridesmaids in the audience, they accounted for 38 per cent of the guests at the spectacular occasion.
It was women who dominated the day with Mr McGowan, who is originally from Aberdeen, having only eight groomsmen.
Mrs McGowan, 31, said: ‘It was a very, very laid back and fun day and one neither of us will ever forget.’
The Highland dance teacher explained there were so many people she had met through dancing she felt should be involved - and hadn’t realised she could have only a handful of bridesmaids.
Originally from Hillsborough in Northern Ireland, she said: ‘I said to Jack at the time, “How on Earth am I ever going to settle on eight, even nine bridesmaids”.
Kathryn McGowan picked an astonishing 95 bridesmaids for her wedding
Dozens of bridesmaids file into Jack and Kathryn McGowan's wedding ceremony
Mr McGowan, from Aberdeen, married Kathryn at Annahilt, Country Down, Northern Ireland
‘It was quite stressful, and then one day I was driving to one of my classes and the idea came to me and I phoned Jack and asked the question.
‘He said it sounded absolutely perfect, so I managed to have everyone in that I wanted to be included in it and we arrived at 95.’
The wedding took place in Larchfield Estate, near Annahilt, County Down, in Northern Ireland on May 1.
Mr McGowan, 30, who is a bagpipe teacher and now lives in his wife’s homeland, also had some of his pupils piping throughout the day.
And Mrs McGowan added: ‘The dancers were dancing all day, we had an outdoor barbecue, so everything was so relaxed, and everybody was enjoying the garden, making TikTok videos and all sorts.
‘It was just very relaxed, very fun, and probably just a bit mad to be honest.’
Her new husband, who was wearing a kilt in the MacRae Hunting Weathered tartan on the big day, said he thought it was the best decision to have so many bridesmaids.
He added: ‘I know all 95 of them, so it just felt really appropriate for the pair of us. It kind of just fitted.’
Once a colour scheme was chosen for the bridesmaids, Mrs McGowan said: ‘They sorted their own dresses and chose their own style, which was great because then their own personalities all came through.’
The average bridesmaid count is said to be around three, meaning this wedding had more than 31 times the number a typical wedding would have.
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