Ryan’s time well spent on the throne

THE concept of taking a selfie on the throne will take on a new and perhaps, more acceptable meaning this summer, when a local couple tie the proverbial knot.

Strabane man, Ryan McDevitt and Lifford lady, Megan Giblin are due to get married on July 29 and front and centre for the occasion, will be the former’s imitation of the royal seat of Westeros from acclaimed TV series, Game of Thrones.

The Iron Throne, that royal berth upon which the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men sat, in the Great Hall of the Red Keep in the city of King’s Landing, has been painstakingly recreated by Ryan over the past few months to work as a photo prop at the duo’s forthcoming nuptials.

However in Ryan’s case, he had to make do with a load of plastic swords scooped from the internet.

“We’re having a Game of Thrones theme for the wedding,” Ryan explained. “We’re doing wedding invites in the theme and there will be centre pieces on the tables at the reception from each of the houses of the Seven Kingdoms, the Lannisters, Starks, Targaryans… And there will be pop-up banners – it’s a bit of fun.”

The couple had initially looked into the possibility of renting a photo booth for the occasion but after doing a bit of research, Ryan decided to create his own magnificent photo prop.

“I just thought I would make it myself. So I went to a charity shop looking for a chair – I actually went to loads of shops to find the right one and I finally came across this one. I made a template for the swords and made them our of vinyl; I designed that on computer. Then I bought a load of medieval plastic swords from the internet. Someone was selling them in bulk and I thought, ‘happy days.’

“I got yoga mats too and cut them up, so they could be wrapped around the chair… It’s not even finished but it’s nearly there.”

Ryan, who runs his own business which was set up in lockdown, Doodle House Graphics, also plans on doing a 3D of character Jon Snow’s famous sword, ‘Longclaw’ as another photo prop for the wedding.

“I suppose we would be fans of the show,” he admitted.

“I started the throne last year and it’s been done bit by bit. We had to postpone the wedding three times so it’s been done over time. There’s probably a week’s work in it.

“Megan was buzzing when she saw a photo of it. She was even talking about keeping it after the wedding, but I was like, ‘where would we put it?’

With nuptials taking place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Strabane and then reception afterwards at the Belfry, Ryan and Megan are looking forward to things going smoothly for a change, after so many postponements. What they won’t want of course is any re-enactment of the infamous ‘Red Wedding’.

“A few people have asked me if I’m going to make two of them, so we can have one each to sit on at the reception,” Ryan laughed. “But I think one will be enough.”