Woman woke up with severely swollen eye on her wedding day after being bit by an insect

Toni McShane said she woke up on her wedding day to find her right eye lid had doubled in size.

A Northern Ireland woman woke up with a swollen eye on her wedding day - after having an allergic reaction to an insect bite.

Toni McShane, 34, noticed a little red spot on an arch of her right eyebrow two days before her big day but didn't think anything of it.

But on the morning of her wedding, she woke up to find her right eye lid was swollen and red.

Toni McShane and husband Gerard Mcshane.placeholder image
Toni McShane and husband Gerard Mcshane. | Toni McShane / SWNS

Luckily, as a trained make-up artist, she didn't panic and spent the morning taking antihistamines, putting tea bags on her eye and using eye masks to try and reduce the swelling.

She was able to get it down enough to apply make-up - opting for a smoky look to make her eye look smaller.

But the bride didn't let it "ruin" her day when she tied the knot with Gerard Mcshane, 34, a plumber and farmer, and now jokes about the incident.

Toni, a hair stylist and make-up artist, from Strabane in Northern Ireland, said: "It was really swollen on the morning of my wedding. I was sat with tea bags on my eye. My sister went round the guests getting all the antihistamines. I didn't let it ruin my day."

Toni, who flew to Italy to tie the knot, was able to hide the swelling enough so it didn't show up in the photos, but said it was still a little sore throughout the wedding.

She said: "It was so special. I wasn't going to let an insect bite ruin it for me. The next day it was completely gone."

Toni does bridal make-up as part of her business - Toni and Orlaith Kelly Hairdressing and Beauty - and says her experience has helped her reassure brides if they have a make-up emergency.

She said: "I've done it all - we can sort it out."

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