Bess and Gabor's story was a classic tale of love at first sight and it has been a whirlwind romance ever since. "We met when I was studying in Dublin," Bess told us. "We ran into each other and we both fell head over heels. A week into dating, we went to see the sunrise over Howth Head and decided to keep things going after I left to go home to the US. For the next month that I was still in Ireland, we saw each other nearly every day. After I went back to California, we talked to each other every single day and dated long-distance for the most part."

Covid has been playing havoc with the couple since it first hit. The first casualty was Gabor's original plan for proposing to Bess.  "My parents and I had a trip planned in March 2020 to visit Gabor and his family," Bess told us. "Two days before our flight, Ireland locked down due to Covid and we cancelled the trip. Gabor had planned to propose at Howth Head on that trip. We decided that instead of waiting to be reunited and having a large wedding when the pandemic was over, I would move to Ireland and we would have a small wedding. When I arrived, Gabor drove me to our first home together and proposed on the sitting room floor. None of it was how we imagined but it was perfect."

Bess described their wedding as ethereal and natural and we couldn't have put it better ourselves. "The most important thing for us was to have as many loved ones as could safely be there," Bess told us. "There were so many people we missed, including my four siblings. But if we could only have a few guests, we wanted to make sure the day was documented for those who weren't with us so it was important to have beautiful pictures."

It was important to this couple that there was an embrace of both of their cultures but also wanted to make the most of the best of the Irish landscape. "The architecture of the church and the beauty of wild Donegal were paramount to the wedding," Bess told us. "We are blessed that we got married there! I don't quite remember how we first came across Dunlewey but one day I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be married there and Gabor followed suit."

For this pair, the stunning church venue was exactly what they wanted to be the backdrop to their wedding day. "The gothic revival architecture combined with the church's romantic lore, all set at the base of Mount Errigal near the Poisoned Glen which was filled with heather - it's one of the most beautiful places we've ever been."

While they couldn't have many of their family with them on the day, it was important to Bess and Gabor to include them in some way and that they did. "My sisters and mom gave me a sixpence that I wore in my shoe and it was the best feeling to have some connection to my siblings," Bess shared. "My mom did a lot of work on my dress and helped me with everything else. Gabor's mom made our cake also. We were really blessed that although only fifteen family members and friends could be there with us on the day, each of them were involved in the preparations and we felt that support and love so deeply."

Like man other couples, Bess and Gabor did not have the wedding they had originally planned but instead went with their plan B wedding; but from that experience, they learned a lot and have this advice to share. "It's OK to wait on your wedding," they said. "It's OK to go ahead with different plans. It's OK to break with your original aesthetic and plans when you have that smaller event or elopement. It's OK to have two events, one now and one later. It's OK to plan on two but only have one after all. This pandemic has taken everyone by storm and there is no better time to break with convention."

Thanks so much to today's couple Bess and Gabor for sharing their breathtaking wedding with us and to Kalie Reid Photography for capturing it all.