Real wedding couple Feargal and Reshma wanted a big day that celebrated their Irish and Caribbean cultures and for their guests to have the party of their lives, and that they did! Caribbean beauty Reshma is from St. Kitts while Feargal hails from Dundalk and they tied the knot in a wonderful countryside wedding loaded with extravagant flowers. With loved ones joining them for over 12 countries for their summer wedding at Virginia Park Lodge in Co. Cavan, they used music to mark the momentous day that saw their lives becoming forever entwinned, from the beautiful sounds of the harp flowing through the air at their ceremony (not to mention their Irish singing priest who is a Britain's Got Talent star) to the chilled out afro beats providing the soundtrack to their stunning reception. Reshma planned every inch of the wedding herself, during her busiest year of her medical training and all, and the style was phenomenal. While their welcome drinks the day before featured explosions of vibrant colours, white and green were the dominant hues for the wedding. The happiness, love and fun that oozes from the photos by Wonder and Magic is undeniable.

The couple met on the very first day of medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in August of 2016. They reflect on the fateful encounter that changed their lives forever, "Feargal fell in love with Reshma the day after meeting her but was unfortunately friend-zoned and study buddy-zoned. He heroically bust free of the friendzone on March 24th, 2018, after a long hard fight." Graduating in 2020 at the height of the pandemic they worked as interns at opposite ends of the country with Reshma in Limerick and Feargal in Dublin.

Their pediatric training would take them stateside to Worcester, Massachusetts in 2021. Feargal proposed in a very sentimental spot, although he didn't know it when he got down on bended knee. He popped the question to Reshma in Park Hyatt Resort in St. Kitts by the beach under a palm tree on September 29th, 2021. "Before the resort opened Reshma and her family frequented this beach on weekends. This beach was also visible on the day Reshma and her family put her grandpa's ashes into the Caribbean sea."

"Reshma’s grandpa was her best friend. Feargal did not know any of this and picked the location because it looked nice. Thankfully she said yes and we celebrated with champagne with Reshma’s entire family." Reshma fills us on the journey to their dream wedding day saying, "I planned the entire wedding on my own while in the busiest year of my pediatric training because I wanted it to be exactly my own vision."

She wanted an elegant and timeless aesthetic that was modern and sprightly, simple yet extravagant but not wasteful financially. Finding the perfect venue was paramount. "I wanted a magical setting and an element of sophistication, yet I still wanted it to feel care free and for people to have the party of their lives. We used One Fab Day for a lot of our research and even bought the 100 Best Wedding Venues Guide and had it shipped to America. We looked online and had Feargal's family visit venues for us."

The couple visited Virginia Park Lodge on a beautiful sunny day in June a year before their wedding and they knew it was the wedding venue for them. "We wanted a wedding that made best use of the outdoors but with the insurance policy to be able to handle the potential inclement Irish weather. It was modern yet old, the colour scheme and overall vibe matched our vision."

Reshma and her family are big foodies so the wonderful culinary offering at the Cavan venue sweetened the deal even more. The bride-to-be poured her heart and soul into perfecting their wedding day aesthetic. "I'm pretty sure I spent hours on bridal websites, magazines and Pinterest every day. I had all my vendors on WhatsApp and would make Pinterest boards and send it to them."

Reshma dreamt of her wedding being a floral fantasy and a large proportion of their budget was dedicated to creating a breathtaking display. "It is something I did not want to skimp on because it had so much to do with the way I saw our day. John our florist was a literal god-send."

The exuberant florals included a stunning church doorway arch and a flower meadow running up the aisle. The couple adored the aesthetic of the church, especially the high ceilings and beautiful stained glass, and the sense of tradition. Glowing bride Reshma was a vision of elegant glamour in a strapless Dany Tabet gown with a pearl-dappled skirt.

She added to the wow-factor with a voluminous detachable skirt and she accessorised with diamond drop earrings, rings and bracelets, Loeffler Randall white lace bow heels and a dreamy veil.

With her bridesmaids looking sublime in satin green bridesmaid dresses suave groom Feargal opted for a dark green suit with a velvet blazer which boasted a vivid floral print lining. He went sockless, which is one of the biggest style trends for grooms of 2024.

Reshma relished the opportunity to "sweat the details" from the signage to the guest book and the Turkish wedding favours, all of which were hand-designed and purchased. Sweetly, Feargal's mother created the art for their ceremony booklets. "She did an incredible job, she's an amazing artist but actually a school teacher by trade!"

A harpist provided the spine-tingling soundtrack whilst bringing an air of traditional Irish culture. Members of their very close family played a starring role in their beautiful ceremony as they gave the ceremony readings, their favourite being Love is Always Patient and Kind which is a reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians.

Reshma admits that she felt nervous about her wedding day as she had planned it and had booked every vendor herself. "I was scared that something would fall through and that I would stress me out. I was able to hand over the 'day of' arrangements to the team at Virginia Park Lodge which made a huge difference but everything just feel into place and went perfectly."

Picture-perfect photography and videography was another hugely important element for the couple. "We are both incredibly nostalgic people so we both knew that we would want to take a walk down memory lane frequently. Emmylie and Richie were beyond incredible and responded to our every annoying request with a smile and a yes."

Reshma was understandably weary about the Irish weather and while there was a bit of drizzle in the morning the sun broke out across the sky after the ceremony. "We also saw a huge rainbow which was lovely, my grandad passed away before our years before our wedding and as we were spreading his ashes we saw a rainbow and so I felt as if he was there with me on the day."

We have to applaud Reshma for her clever shoe change as she slipped into a pair of white wedding wedges. The couple got inventive with repurposing their wedding flowers too, so their reception exuded gardenia glamour just like their ceremony.

"To make our budget stretch we came up with a few fun ideas like taking the standing pew ends at the church for table centerpieces at the wedding! We used our wedding arch at the church for our centerpiece down the long table of head table."

They knew that music would be the way to achieve the unforgettable party atmosphere they longed for. That and an all-night open bar! "Feargal was in a band and is incredibly musical, so music was a big part of the day! Its so hard to just pick one favourite."

"We loved being able to have the typical Irish wedding band in the marquee area but then transitioning indoors to the sound of the most incredible Caribbean DJ set. We walked into the reception dinner with all our guests standing waving napkins to I Feel Good by Beres Hammond. We chose it because of its chilled out reggae beat combined with the lovely sentiment that summed up how we both felt to be joining our lives together officially."

"The food at Virginia Park Lodge was so memorable and the highlight of the wedding for most of the attendees, everyone love it," Reshma reflects. They sweetly honoured their loved ones who were no longer with them so their spirit was very much alive on their special day.

"We loved being able to have space to place pictures of deceased loved ones so we could feel like they were part of the celebration also, we had a table of remembrance which was so tastefully done and lit with candles and had white florals."

The newlyweds celebrated by jetting off to Greece, travelling to Athens, Milos, Paros, and finally Santorini. "We loved it and it really made the perfect honeymoon. Our highlight was Milos as it was the most 'off the beaten track' of location."

As for their words of wisdom to those getting married, they stress that the day flies. They encourage couples to take 'mental photographs'. "We did this to try capture core memories in our brain. We thought it sounded cliché when other couples told us to do it but in hindsight we feel it was so important to keep us mindful and present and preventing the busy-ness of the day making it go by too fast."

A huge thank you to our lovely couple and Wonder and Magic for sharing this sensational Irish-Caribbean wedding at Virginia Park Lodge with One Fab Day! You can see gorgeous images from their welcome drinks and their wedding in the gallery below.

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