Meath bride's breathtaking wedding after she proposed to her husband

Eimear O'Reilly knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her partner Colm and decided to pop the question on his birthday! "I feel like the guys can get overlooked in straight weddings as the industry can be very centred on the bride. I wanted to make sure a fuss was made of him too!" Eimear told us

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Life

Kathy Prendeville

16:12, 1 APR 2023

Eimear and Colm's wedding (Image: Syona Photography)

THE HAPPY COUPLE

Eimear O’Reilly, originally from Co. Meath and Colm O’Brien, originally from Co. Wicklow, now living in Dublin.

THE PROPOSAL

"I proposed to Colm on his birthday! I’d known for a long time that he was the one I wanted to spend my life with, so I decided that I wanted to plan an extra special birthday. I feel like sometimes the guys can get overlooked in straight weddings as the wedding industry is very centred on the bride so I wanted to make sure a fuss was being made of him too!

I made him a ring in Silverworks, Dublin and booked a dinner and a hotel for the night of his birthday. When I was giving him his birthday presents, the last one was a little box with the ring I made and thankfully he said yes!

For my engagement ring I used an antique ring that my late father had given my mother. It’s a detail that’s hugely important to me and every day I wear it I feel like I carry his blessing with me.

THE RECEPTION

The ceremony and reception both took place at The Abbey in Athy, Co. Kildare. When we found The Abbey we both immediately fell in love with it and knew it was the perfect location to throw a party.

It’s a beautifully restored period building with its very own 18th century chapel that doubles up as a ceremony space and reception space, complete with its own bar and it’s within easy travelling distance for our families in Meath and Wicklow, and all of our Dublin friends. The entire team at the Abbey were so helpful and lovely to deal with throughout the whole wedding planning process.

We knew we wanted to make sure our guests could relax and enjoy the whole day without having to worry about changing venues between the ceremony, the reception, and their accommodation, and the Abbey provided everything we wanted. We had the entire place to ourselves for the whole weekend.

But to be honest, we were probably sold once we found out we could transform the chapel into a dance floor for the afters!

THE OUTFIT

My wedding dress was designed and made by Covet in Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin, and I added the Arabella ‘coat’ by Varca Bridal which I bought at The One in Rathmines, Dublin.

I was so indecisive when choosing my look! I wanted something very chic and minimal, but the more I searched, the more I realised I wanted the drama that comes with a big dress - so I decided, 'why not do both?!'

When I saw the Arabella coat, I knew I had to have it. All the layers of tulle and ruffles had this sweeping romantic feel to it so it was perfect for the wedding ceremony. Once that was over, I removed the coat and had a very sleek, minimal column dress underneath. In the evening I paired my dress with gloves from Tlabel, mainly because I love this label and wanted an excuse to buy something from them!

My husband's bespoke suit was made by Paul Henry Tailoring. Sometimes the groom’s look is an afterthought but we’re both firm believers that they should get to have experience and excitement of choosing an outfit too! Henry and all the team went the extra mile in making sure every detail was perfect.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Paulina, the amazing photographer/wonder woman behind Syona Photography did our photos. She immediately knew exactly what we wanted to capture and took the most stunning photos that truly captured the magic of the day.

Throughout the whole process, from planning to the day itself, she was an absolute pleasure to work with and her photos are imbued with so much care and a truly special energy that she brings to her work.

THE DJ

We opted not to go with a band and instead chose a DJ that we’d both seen before and loved, Cian Ó Cíobháin who does live shows as well as presenting An Taobh Tuathail on Raidió na Gaeltachta.

We wanted to make sure that the reception felt like a house party and Cian is an expert in curating the best playlist with everything from disco, soul, house music, and maybe even a little bit of techno thrown in too.

THE FIRST DANCE

We chose I Would Die 4 U by Prince for no other reason than we think Prince was a genius at making great music for dancing! That and we both felt a little self conscious at the thought of doing a slow dance so we wanted to kick things off with something that would get everyone on the dance floor with us.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

There are many to choose from! We’re both huge Charli XCX fans and found a gorgeous instrumental version of one of her songs that I walked up the aisle to. Having all our friends dance until the small hours with us on a hot summer’s night was truly magical, continuing the party with a barbecue for the day two celebrations.

Really everything was magical and we were blown away by all of the love we felt from everyone there.

THE STRESS FACTOR

There’s really only one thing that we would change which was unfortunately quite a hard thing to contend with. Colm’s parents unfortunately both caught Covid in the days leading up the wedding and were unable to make the wedding day. There was a last minute scramble to make sure we were set up to stream the ceremony and speeches, as well as some emotional phone calls but ultimately we’re both just relieved that they’re happy and healthy. I guess it’ll be an excuse to throw a very big anniversary party!

We braced ourselves for the stress but thankfully it never really came. We make a pretty good team when it comes to planning things and we constantly checked in with each other to make sure that we were both happy with all the decisions we made so it really made the whole process so much easier.

THE HONEYMOON

We left for our honeymoon the morning after our day two celebrations and flew to Santorini.

After Santorini, we moved to Mykonos before ending the honeymoon in Athens. It was the first time either of us had really set time aside for a proper holiday that wasn’t centred around travelling for a festival or gig so we really wanted to push the boat (and our budget) out by staying in locations and hotels we never would have dreamed of booking.

Our travel counsellor, Karen Pugh, knew all the hidden gems we’d never have found on our own and planned an incredible two weeks for us that balanced the right amount of relaxing by the beach with the buzz of the city of Athens.

THE FIRST GLANCE

We both moved in similar social circles but had somehow never met until one drunken night out in town. It wasn’t the most romantic of starts to a relationship but then suddenly we were seeing each other everywhere we went and realised we had so much in common.

The same summer, Colm was volunteering at an arts festival I worked for and I worked up the courage to talk to him properly and he asked me out. Almost nine years later here we are, happily married!

THE ADVICE

As women especially, there’s a huge focus on appearance that often preys on our own insecurities. Weddings are supposed to be about celebrating you, not a version of who you think you should be.

My biggest piece of advice is surround yourself with people that lift you up, whether that’s your bridal party, shout out to my incredible bridesmaids, or your vendors, and shout out to Aleana in Covet who helped melt away my self doubts and made me feel a million dollars in my dress!

The day itself can be overwhelming, make sure to take time to take moments for yourself and your partner away from your guests to just soak in the moment. It’s honestly the best party you’ll ever have."

Would you like to have your wedding featured in RSVP Magazine and on our website RSVP Live? Get in touch with kathy.prendeville@reachplc.com