Real wedding couple Emma and Niall crafted the perfect wedding that was them down to a tee. From their romantic personalised ceremony and epic wedding day style, to their seriously cool smoke bomb portraits and glamourous Champagne tower toast, this day was absolutely and totally theirs. Old world glamour, with a hint of badass, their drop-dead gorgeous summer Boyne Hill House wedding was filled with sun, style and so much fun! Caroline McNally of Wild Things Wed was on-hand to capture all the good vibes. Scroll on down to see…

Bride Emma hails from Offaly and Groom is from Dublin, where they are now based. The pair originally met when they were on a night out in Dublin, but it wouldn't be until a few months later, and a match on Tinder that would finally bring them together. Emma tells us more, "Well, like any true Irish romance, we met in the smoking area of a nightclub. We were both in Pygmalion and Niall’s friend (the man who would later go on to be his best man) pulled a disappearing act and left him on his own. Niall thought; “I could sulk, look moody in the corner drinking on my own and wait for him to get back or I can go up to that group of girls over there and talk to someone special.”" Spoiler alert…Emma was part of that group of girls.

"We were together most of the night, Niall was wearing a hat (very 00’s hipster I know) that I wanted to wear for a selfie (which we still have and love that we have a picture of the night we met) and we then exchanged numbers and went our separate ways. Niall text me that night and we joked and talked back and forward for a few days until I left Niall on read and never text me back one day. Something I still enjoy bringing up."

Three months later the pair would match on Tinder. Niall messaged Emma “well well well, look who it is” and this time Emma replied straight away. "The texting started then and never stopped." Emma says, She adds, "Within a couple months of that day we were a couple. About six months into our relationship I was moving to Aberdeen, Scotland to complete my masters and we made the decision to move there together. We have so many memories from that time which we’ll always cherish and we have amazing friends from Scotland too which means we always have a great excuse to go back."

Emma tells us the proposal was an absolute dream, the lead up to it not so much! The couple were planning a big trip together to New York and Niall thought that would be perfect opportunity for a proposal. Niall booked a rooftop proposal, and then, unfortunately, Covid happened. Everything was cancelled, but Niall knew he didn’t want to wait any longer to ask Emma to marry him so he needed a new plan. Niall booked the wonderful Wineport Lodge and reserved the pavilion overlooking the lake. To reduce Emma’s suspicions about any random fancy hotel weekends being booked, Niall made up a lie about a good deal and got us a room. Emma loves a good deal so didn’t ask too many questions. But, they were cancelled on again.

Then, when Niall was booking a new date someone else had reserved the Pavilion so Niall had to find another date. Then Niall was cancelled on again because there was no inter-county travel. For the final re-booking, travel around the country opened up on the Friday and the couple got staying on the Saturday. The original booking was for early June and eventually they got engaged in December! Niall also hired a photographer to capture the moment which Emma treasures as she tells us the moment was over so quick and tells us, "the brownie points are endless for Niall after this- he knows his soon to be wife very well!"

Emma's jaw-dropping lace wedding dress with tulle overlay is by the label Woná Concept which she sourced at Forever Bridal Boutique. She paired her gorgeous gown with tulle ribbon wrap satin heels from Lace and Favour and earrings from One Dame Lane.

The bridesmaids wowed in slinky gold dresses from Pretty Lavish, while the guys looked equally dapper in tuxes from Tangos Dress Hire.

Emma and Niall were married at Boyne Hill House, Emma remarking, "Honestly from the moment we ventured up the beautiful driveway to the grounds of Boyne Hill House, we knew. The aesthetic was just perfect, we wanted an outside ceremony if possible which they offered in the form of the secret garden nestled on the grounds. Honestly what is not to love about that? However it was mainly how amazing the staff were and their attention to detail. From our first viewing we were given the most heart-warming welcome and we were made to feel like we were the only bride and groom to ever exist. The customer service and attention to detail was second to none with the venue. The team and staff were wonderful. Accommodation for guests was on the grounds so we knew the party could go all night. The Manor House is breath taking and the aesthetic inside was beautiful."

"We also wanted our wedding day to be held in the one place so ceremony, dinner, dancing etc. all at the same venue. However we didn’t like the idea of everything happening in the one space, again Boyne Hill was perfect because you flow through various areas of venue which gives the illusion that you’ve journeyed to different places without the inconvenience of actually travelling. I also brought my mum to see the venue and she loved it, so done deal!"

Emma walked down the aisle to met her beloved to “Work Song by Hozier” which she says "still makes Niall cry."

The couple tell us their ceremony meant so much to them, Emma remembering, "Although we didn’t want a church wedding, the ceremony was still the most important element of the day for us and so the celebrant who officiated the wedding would be a key factor. We absolutely loved our celebrant, Niamh she was just amazing and she understood how we wanted our ceremony to flow and she guided us through that."

Together, with their celebrant, the couple spent a lot of time creating their personalised wedding ceremony. "We asked our friends and family if they would be part of our ceremony by reading particular pieces of writing we both loved and asking both our mum’s to carry the rings up the aisle for us to exchange." the bride says.

Adding an extra personal touch, the pair choose to add a romantic Love Letter and Wine Box Ceremony Ritual into their ceremony. "On our first anniversary we get to unbox the letters we wrote the night before our wedding and pop some Moet to celebrate. We are both SO excited to experience those raw feelings and emotions from the night before the wedding once again- so special.", says Emma.

The couple also added the ceremony reading “Union” by Robert Fulghum which Emma talks about fondly, "this reading is the epitome of our relationship, when we’re on a hike or travelling somewhere we talk about our dreams and make promises to one another that and truly special and so this really resonated with me."

The couple tells us their wedding aesthetic changed quite a bit throughout the wedding planning journey! Knowing they wanted a summer wedding, the pair originally thought they wanted a festival style wedding but they then pivoted towards a more industrial style, and then it maneuvered again into a colourful retro style aesthetic! So, fast forward, Niall mentioned to Emma that he wanted to wear a tux which then solidified the vision for the bride of what she felt their wedding day would look like. She says, "Think a glamourous wedding dress of dreams, sophisticated tux, champagne tower with spraying champagne bottles, neon signs, exquisite florals, kitsch details and lots more. So, all in all that’s when it eventually became a much more glam/boujee and badass aesthetic, but with a relaxed attitude."

"In the end our wedding was all about the love and good vibes with a night that basically never ended (we partied until the sun came up). We planned the whole wedding with our guests in mind because we wanted everyone to let their hair down and have fun. We wanted our day to reflect us as individuals and as a couple. We didn’t want a very traditional wedding but we really valued certain aspects of this like writing our own vows, my dad walking me down the aisle etc. We also wanted our guests to have the best time EVER and feel looked after by us and the venue. All in all we just wanted our wedding day to go all night and everyone have a blast, great food and great drinks."

When asked to provide some advice to our One Fab Day readers, they said; "One thing we tried to do in the lead up to our wedding was make every moment count. Meaning no matter how big or small the wedding milestone (choosing your venue, picking up your green book, collecting your wedding bands etc.) we marked it with a celebratory drink, a home cooked meal, a special date night because your wedding day is 24 hours and sometimes the lead up is forgotten with the stress of planning and organising."

She adds, "Lock in your key suppliers ASAP so your photographer, celebrant and band etc- you will not regret being organised when it comes to this. Stay true to yourself and don’t be swayed by trends or the opinion of others, this is your day and you want to be able to look back and think, “Yeah that was absolutely perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing”."

"Finally it’s an obvious one but your wedding day will fly past in the blink of an eye, you CANNOT prepare yourself for how quickly it goes regardless of being told a million times in the run up, so soak up every second. Don’t feel guilty for making sure you spend lots of time with your new hubby/wife on the wedding day-you can get swept up in thinking you must only ensure your guests are enjoying themselves (there is food, drink and music, believe me they are fine). Last one and it’s another common one but take those 20mins just you and your new husband/wife after your ceremony, have a smooch and a giggle and just buzz of the fact that you are now MARRIED…EXCITING!"

The reception space at Boyne Hill House was filled with lots of fun details such as a seriously cool neon and pampas grass photo booth, a sweet and kitsch lambeth wedding cake and an epic Champagne tower!

The newlyweds took to the floor to Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere to get the party started. The couples wedding band The Beat Boutique ensured the dancefloor was packed all night long!

After the celebrations the pair headed Paris for a romantic mini-moon which Emma highly recommends doing. "We visited Paris years ago so we wanted to head back there when we were in our little wedding bubble. It was great to just relax, drink prosecco and have the chats about all the beautiful moments and memories from the day. You’ll find you both can have two different perspectives from the wedding morning so it’s fun to hear about both. We are also going to Bali in October and we can’t wait- bucket list moment. Would totally recommend the mini-moon idea. Not going back to reality straight away was amazing. People told us so many times in the lead up but, it really is over so quickly that it’s nice to try and hold on to the wedding buzz as long as possible."

Congratulations Emma and Niall! A huge thank you to you both for sharing your story and glam Boyne Hill House wedding day with us, and thanks also to Caroline McNally of Wild Things Wed for sharing the epic imagery.

Are you tying the knot during sunshine season? We have so many Summer Real Weddings for you to pore over!