It's quite fitting that today, on St Patrick's Day Eve, we're sharing a real wedding that's a celebration of all things Irish - but perhaps not in the leprechauns and shamrocks way you might be expecting. Emma & Eoin got married with a laid-back and oh-so-stylish celebration at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a spectacular venue that held a lot of memories for the bride and groom. Their day, captured so beautifully by Paul McGinty Photography was an all-out hooley of Irish music, Irish design, Irish food and of course, Irish banter.

Emma tells us how her and Eoin’s mutual pal set them up, “Louise Connolly who I have known since I was five years of age, sat next to Eoin when he worked in Bord Gais. She saw two lonesome characters who seamed pretty compatible and so she passed on my number to Eoin. It all began outside Pygmalion in Dublin on the 11th of February 2013 and every year we start our anniversary at Pygmalion. This year will be no different!”

Eoin surprised Emma with an amazing festive proposal, “I was at home in Castleknock celebrating ‘Christmas’ with the Manleys on the 27th of December as my siblings had been with their other halves family’s on the 25th. Eoin had said he wouldn’t make it back for Manley Christmas that year and truth be told, I was devastated. He had left a little gift under the tree for me to open on Manley Christmas and so I did.”

But as you can imagine, this wasn’t any old present, “Inside the envelope there were two cards. The first one read ‘Nollaig Shona’ and on the inside it he wrote… ‘you should go outside’ and so to the front garden I went. There was nothing, I was confused and very nervous! Then I heard the crunching of the stones as he came up the driveway and appeared around the bend in the drive.”

Even then, Emma wasn’t expecting what happened next, “I thought he had come for Manley Christmas as a surprise for my Mum, I genuinely had no idea what was about to happen. Then down on one knee he went and asked me to open the second card. It simply said on the front ‘Happily Ever After’. When I opened it, he had written ‘will you marry me’.  I don’t remember any of this but my legs went from under me and Eoin was holding me up while I gave him all the reasons why not to marry me. Eventually he had to ask if it as a yes and of course it was!” How sweet!

With a musical family history on Eoin’s side, the ceremony was filled with performances that had a special meaning for the bride and groom, “Eoin’s dad singing me up the aisle. For me that was so powerful as I made the walk to Eoin hand in hand with my Mum, that’s a moment I will cherish forever, “ gushes Emma. “Having Cor Cuil Aodha sing throughout the ceremony along with Eoin and his two brother’s was pretty special. Not to mention his uncles, from both sides, and cousins who make up Cor Cuil Aodha. Cor Cuil Aodha plays a big part in Eoin's life and Eoin, being the first of Sean O Riada's (who established the choir) grandchildren to marry, was immensely proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the choir on his wedding day; something he's been doing all his life.”

The couple describe their wedding as ‘a feast for the senses of all things Irish’, “Despite the setting, we kept the feel very laid and back and simple. We wanted a laid back celebration with our nearest and dearest and thats what we got. There was also a strong Cork v Dublin theme right the way through, from the invites, to the produce and menu on the the day itself, with little touches highlighting how proud we both are of where we're from.”

For Emma & Eoin treating their guests to a celebration of ‘Irishness’ was a deliberate priority from the get-go, “That’s a big part of who we are as a couple, two people who adore everything Irish and that meant the world to us to be able to wear Irish, eat Irish, drink Irish, listen to Irish and dance to Irish. Given Eoin's family background music, singing and the Irish language was always going to play a massive part in the day which it did.”

As a fashion designer, Emma created beautiful matching looks for herself, and her bridesmaids, setting her own gown off with a long sheer skirt and that stunning headpiece.

Not to be outdone, the gents rocked their wooden bow dies with their navy suits and apple buttonholes.

The couple chose a venue that had given them lots of memories, “From roaming the gardens on lazy Sundays to many gigs and festivals in the grounds and all in between. The Royal Hospital Kilmainham has featured heavily in our dating years.”

Emma even predicted the venue would be a great spot for a wedding, “We were at the St Patrick’s day party one year where the place was filled with Irish music. While we danced the night away in the chapel, it finished up with Dáithí pumping out the tunes, and I, with perhaps too many sherries on board told Eoin that “it’s a fabulous place to get married” and continued on dancing. We never talked about it, he didn't even comment on my remark, but when the time came, we never even thought to have our wedding anywhere else.”

The Dublin location was pretty perfect too, “The RHK is around the corner from where we live, I look out onto the chapel spire from the Manley studio, we see it as we into our home every day, how special is that? A daily reminder of our marriage.”

The apple motif ran from the bouquets through to the reception decor, with one in each place-setting to act as a name card.

Sure it couldn't be an Ireland-themed wedding without pigs, cows and sheep, right?

Emma & Eoin’s best advice for other couples tying the knot, remember why you’re getting married. “It’s because you adore each other and want to spend your life together. Don’t make the party your life. We enjoyed the planning and the make-do-and-mend’ing element but we didn’t discuss wedding all day, every day. It gets boring. Life continues and after you're married and the wedding is just something that lasts one day. Enjoy the process but be sure to not let it take over.”

The couple were pretty laid back about where to go on honeymoon, “Hence the only booking Vietnam and Cambodia three weeks before the wedding! Neither of us are lying on the beach kinda peeps, we’re more into seeing as much of the world as we can, while we can so we spent 17 days seeing as much of Vietnam and Cambodia as we could in the time we had.”

Emma’s highlights of the trip have us looking up flights to South East Asia, “We had so many incredible experiences like standing on top of the highest mountain in Indochina, visiting Angkor Wat, sunset aboard our own boat on the largest lake in Indochina, walking through Bac Ha market, crawling through the Củ Chi tunnels, climbing Marble Mountain, cycling through paddy fields and so much more. The people were gorgeous in every way, the food was divine, we spent the majority of our time sampling as much as we could. We enjoyed every second of our trip and loved the last minute booking of hotels and huts which meant every day was a surprise and an adventure together.”

So many fun decor ideas and so much fabulous style - thanks to much to Emma & Eoin for sharing their day, and to Paul McGinty Photography for capturing all the details!

• Wedding Venue: Royal Hospital Kilmainham
• Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid's Dresses: Manley
• Shoes: Kurt Geiger
• Flowers: Adonis 
  
• Groom(smen)’s suits: Abrahams Tailoring Dublin
• Bride & Bridesmaids Accessories: Edge Only
• Groom & Groomsmen Accessories Love & Robots
• Cheese Cake: Coolea Cheese & Toonsbridge Dairy
• Make Up & Hair: Michelle Kinsella & Kevin Heavin
• Wedding Bands: Appleby
• Ceremony/Reception Music: Coir Cuil Aodha, Hammy Hamilton, Sean Óg Potts, Kevin & Doireann Glackin
• Catering: Feast Catering
• Band: Planet Parade