For Maria and Nikola, our real wedding couple, love at first sight in France turned into a life devoted in Rome. The lovebirds, along with 3o of their nearest and dearest, jetted off to the Italian city to cement their love for one another and celebrate their intimate wedding day in style! The groom may have been the bride's something blue, but her somethings old and borrowed were full of sentimental meaning, including her mother's wedding dress! The photos below by photographer Siobhan Hegarty will have you swooning!
Maria and Nikola's love story began when they met at the age of 20, back in 2014 while on Erasmus at university. "We were living in the same residence in La Roche-sur-Yon in western France. We met on the first day we arrived and spent the whole five months together, before deciding at the end that we wanted to continue our relationship once we both returned home," they say. One year of long-distance later, Nikola, who hails from Rome, moved to Limerick to be with Maria. How beautiful!
On the evening of Maria’s 26th birthday in Rome, Nikola insisted on a visit to St Peter’s Square at 10pm on a very rainy night, when they almost had the place to themselves! Taking shelter among the colonnades, and looking out at the sparkling Christmas lights, Nikola dropped to one knee and popped the question with a vintage diamond and sapphire ring. Soon, the police were patrolling to close up the square, so rain-soaked and glowing the couple headed home to celebrate!
Maria looked simply breathtaking in her bridal look, but wait until you hear the story behind her style. "A huge part of the look centred around my decision to wear my mother Mary’s wedding dress, which she got married in in 1989, the same week in June that we were married. Growing up, we would be enthralled by the dress and tried it on as a child. When it came to choosing a dress for myself, I couldn’t find anything that I felt like myself in; everything felt too old and matronly on me, as a young bride, particularly when I was looking for something with a twist. I would not normally consider myself to have the most girly-girl style," she explains. "I adore vintage clothes and asked my mom if she had any ideas on vintage dresses in the family that might suit. I had thought her own one was in too poor a condition to reuse, but when I tried it on I just knew straight away it was the one! Aoife Kennedy worked her magic on it, creating an entirely new skirt for it and shortening the sleeves and adjusting the bodice, and everything else flowed from there."
How their families got involved, was very special to the couple on the day. Maria’s sister Anna did her hair and her other sister Grace, was instrumental in making sure the bride was not "up in a heap" before walking down the aisle. "The dress needed adjusting after getting out of the squashy Fiat 500 we had rented. Our friends Dearbhaile, Oisin and Nuno went above and beyond to help us on the morning, when our families were trying to get themselves organised for the day. Nik’s sister Okiana looked after the rings, and as we needed four witnesses, we decided to have all women stand on our behalf - our mothers Mary and Ariana, and sisters Okiana and Anna," says Maria. It was important to the couple to have both parents walk Maria up the aisle as well as to include elements from both cultures. "In the evening there was Irish dancing and Albanian dancing, and Albanian hats were produced for the men. We had been a bit worried about the language barrier between the two sides, but it turns out a good knees-up transcends all languages!"
The Basilica di Santa Sabina was the ceremony venue and is amongst the oldest churches in Rome, sitting beside the famous Orange Garden, a place Nikola often brought Maria to when they visited. "The garden is so romantic, and feels so peaceful among the bustle of the city. Once when we visited it, we came across a wedding at the church, and we became a pair of those touristy gawkers outside the door, in awe of the bride emerging from the car and the music inside. After that, we wanted to get married there, as it’s a part of Rome that has meaning for us," they say. Their lunch venue had a panoramic view across the rooftops of the Eternal City, whilst their evening party kicked off on the water at sunset - simply magical!
The newlyweds chose a mixture of ceremony readings in both English and Italian for everyone on the day. They decided to do their vows in Italian and exchanged their rings in English.
Nikola the groom wowed in a dapper three-piece blue suit and with a pink tie that echoed the tones in Maria's sunny bouquet. The refreshing and cheerful tones complemented the beaming smiles and bright day perfectly!
As for wedding priorities, neither Maria nor Nikola wanted a large wedding. They explain: "We had considered eloping, but it was too important to us to at least have our parents there. In the end, we settled on 30 guests, which we felt was a lovely number to make it a party, but still feel very intimate. "Another consideration with the guest list was Maria having a huge extended family, and Nikola having a tiny one - a common situation when wedding planning. "We wanted it to feel balanced, so it ended up working out that we invited about the same number from each side. We tried to keep the ‘extras’ to a minimum, as we wanted everything we chose to feel like a must and the things we did decide to do, to be done well. We also decided against doing formal bridesmaids and groomsmen, although our siblings and closest friends organically fell into those roles, and helped us out so much on the day. We are so grateful to them."
For those who may be thinking of keeping the day to a minimum, then no doubt this wedding advice will come in handy! "Don’t do anything because it’s the ‘expected’ thing to do at your wedding - only do things you genuinely want to. We cut out a lot of the usual stuff because we didn’t want to do things for the sake of it. For a practical recommendation, disposable film cameras for people to use for the evening - this was one of the best things we did, particularly as we didn’t have our photographer and videographer stay with us all night. People let loose knowing a professional camera wasn’t on them and the results from the disposables were hilarious and so natural - not only were the results great, but people had a lot of fun on the night with the cameras!"
Both lovers of all things vintage, a lot of the elements on the day had had a touch of vintage magic. Their hotel, Hotel San Anselmo, had a classic style and was perfect as a backdrop on the morning. Having a smaller wedding also helped them to keep it relaxed, as everyone got to know each other quickly. "Aesthetically, we really wanted to lean into la grande Bellezza that is Rome, and our venues played that part perfectly!" they say. The couple shared their first dance to La Vie en Rose - a reminder of their French meeting!
When it came to enjoying a honeymoon after the romantic celebrations came to an end, they continued the travelling to Corfu for a further 10 glorious days. "It was great to get away immediately afterwards as there is a lot to process in the weeks after getting married, and being away from all the hustle and bustle allowed it to all sink in!"
Thank you so very much to Maria, Nikola and Siobhan Hegarty for sharing such a breathtaking Italian destination wedding day with One Fab Day!
Check out more destination weddings here! We also have loads of gorgeous honeymoon inspiration to explore.
