The couple in today's real wedding have a palpable excitement about their big day, and its pretty contagious. A doctor and a dentist who met on the job, Eva and Graham said 'I do' with a beautiful French country style wedding at Castle Durrow - a venue with huge significance to the couple. Their day was littered with chic details, from the style, the balloons and the florals, to the macaroon-laden wedding cake and the cameo from adorable pup Adam - all captured by Awake & Dreaming in their signature dreamy style.

Eva and Graham met through work, she was a junior doctor in Cork, and he was a dentist visiting the hospital to attend of her cancer patients, “Cue the love of my life. The nurses pointed out the obvious - handsome! But what really struck me was how kind and gentle he was with everyone, most of all the patient. He made instant bonds with people born out of his will to be kind for the sake of being kind. It was infectious, I caught the bug.”

Graham tells us about his perspective of the first time he met Eva, “I entered the ward and this very attractive girl in scrubs was setting everything up, she greeted me with a smile and helped me with the case. Once I had finished, I headed for coffee with my friend. On route we bumped into Eva and he invited her to join us once she had a chance. We had coffee and I thought she was funny, kind and extremely cute… the rest is history.”

Eva adored having her bridesmaids, flower girl and page boys around her, “These guys are the cutest crew going! The girls were like pros, they smiled all day and brought so much energy and laughter to the day. I also adored dressing my maid of honour's bump, she was nearly seven months pregnant on the day and I feel like her baby girl was very much another member of the wedding party - Brid looked so beautiful!”

Graham had his proposal to Eva at Castle Durrow all arranged, but as he tells us, the bride-to-be wasn’t playing by the script, “Every time I altered the plan to her whims, she would change course again. Eventually, it was set to walk to dinner via the beautiful gardens to get down on one knee. In true Eva fashion, we were running late. I tried to go via the garden, she whizzed us into the dining room-again, an opportunity missed.”

A waiter almost scuppered everything while the pair were perusing the dinner menu, “Theo arrived with two glasses of champagne and said, ”I believe congratulations are in order”. I wanted the ground to swallow me up!” remembers Graham, “I nearly hopped down on one knee on the spot but then quickly convinced the waiter he had the wrong table before convincing Eva that the champagne was clearly meant for a couple that got married the day before. She was perplexed but luckily she bought it! A romantic walk in the garden after dinner lead to the delicate white bench where I got down on one knee and asked Eva to be my wife.”

One of Eva’s highlights was walking up the aisle with her dad, “He shook Graham’s hand and then lifted back my veil. It was such a special moment. Also, my dad’s speech was so special and wise, I’m glad we have it on video now, he was just amazing and I’ll cherish it forever.”

The ceremony was really meaningful to this pair, “Saying our vows made my hairs stand on end - it’s a moment I’ll never forget, it’s all you dream of and more,” says Eva.

Summing up the vibe of the day, Eva says it was energetic, happy, beautifully sentimental.

Castle Durrow exuded the French country style Eva was going for, better still it’s a local venue Eva had been many times with her family and the place she and Graham got engaged, "We booked the wedding the next morning. Its such a magical venue. The gardens are breathtaking! I could stroll around them all day. The food is just to die for and the staff are amazing - they all happily go above and beyond for guests and the relaxed happy vibe of our wedding day is in no small part due to these guys.”

The couple were so excited to have Adam the dog be part of their day, “He was with us as we got dressed, we were all watching Father of the Bride on loop and sipping champagne. It was a romantic girly morning with a kind furry old friend keeping it real. He then donned his dickie bow which matched the bridesmaids and his stunning flower collar by Renee Fitzpatrick to attend a portion of the reception in Castle Durrow. It just melts my heart that his proudly looking on at the camera.”

Eva explains that her and Graham’s wedding felt really personalised, “The wedding was smiley, happy, dancey, silly, quirky and us. It was us. We danced into our meal to George Ezra’s Paradise. We had so much fun, I just didn’t want the day to end. We were giddy in love, extremely excited about what marriage meant to us and what the future holds.”

The couple loved that their guests followed their lead and let their hair down, “A lot of people said it was the most fun they’ve ever had at a wedding which was music to our ears. I made a speech and I’m really glad I did, I know brides aren’t expected to but I’d regret it forever if I didn’t say a few words,” says Eva. "Apparently I made a few people cry, but with happy tears I hope! My speech was short and unrehearsed, as a result - I seriously regret not getting it across enough how grateful I am to my beautiful bridesmaids.”

After studying in France, Eva chose a French countryside feel for the wedding, “I’m a huge Francophile, the language and the culture are so romantic and beautiful. One of my bridesmaids, Sophie, came all the way from La Rochelle, we met while I was in college over there. The tables were all named after a French city. The invites had a French expression on them which read “Pour Toujours et a Jamais’, I had this carved on a clay ring tray which I ordered from Paloma’s Nest. It means “For always, until never”- indirectly translated, for always and ever.”

Having her nearest and dearest around her was Eva’s top priority in wedding planning, “The most important thing was that I was marrying the love of my life. After that, it meant the world to me that my parents, family and friends had a great day. My father had a cancer diagnosis in the run up to the wedding but got the all clear three weeks beforehand. His comfort and enjoyment meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to Graham too - he’s crazy about Dad and it’s safe to say the feeling’s mutual. Two peas in a pod!”

Thanks so much to Eva & Graham for sharing your beautiful wedding with us - and to Awake and Dreaming for sending it our way. See more from their day in the gallery below.