Prepare to be swept away Eavan and Tom made their vows in the chapel at Mullaghmore overlooking the beach where Tom proposed and celebrated in the magnificent Markree Castle

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Prepare to be swept away by this evening's real wedding... Eavan and Tom are a pair of Sligo natives who chose to celebrate their love where it all began - making their vows in Mullaghmore overlooking the beach where Tom proposed, and celebrating down the road in the magnificent Markree Castle (one of our 100 Best Wedding Venues 2013!). With the talented Darek Smietana on hand to capture the essence of the day and some truly epic shots of the couple, this is one to take the breath away...

The landscape on the Sligo coast isn't just romantic in these images, it certainly wove its magic over Tom. Eavan told us how he popped the big ceist... "Tom proposed on Mullaghmore beach while we went for a walk along the 3 mile beach on a lovely mild day last November.

...It was an out of the blue off the cuff proposal which was a surprise to us both! A few minutes later we laughed as we realized what had just happened and looked around us to find we happened to be exactly in the middle of the beach, the sun was just setting and we had the entire place to ourselves. The colours of the sky and the sea were stunning, all purples and silver - it was so peaceful and we were grinning like Cheshire cats. It was romantic in every sense of the word."

Fast forward a few months, and all the preparation is done, all that remains is to make those vows. A few moments of calm before the storm for Tom and his groomsmen who headed to the local pub to do some last minute prep (is that a speech we spy?) before having some cheeky banter on the rocks.

Where else would it make sense for Tom and Eavan to tie the knot, but the chapel that overlooks the beach where Tom proposed - the Star of the Sea Chapel in Mullaghmore.

The most important part of the day is the ceremony itself and Eavan and Tom were hugely grateful to Father Christy for making their ceremony so special... "I have to give huge credit and thanks to our wonderful priest Father Christy as the day just would not have been the same without him. He helped us to prepare for our wedding day and we had a beautiful ceremony which was enhanced by Tommy Byrne’s music."

Yay! It's official... Now back to their special spot - Mullaghmore beach for some photographs with Darek Smietana. Not ones to let the bluster of the wind or the drizzle dampen their spirits, the weather turned ally in terms of creating some truly romantic shots...

Eschewing the usual bridal styles, Eavan chose a blouse-and-skirt-style Sarah Novias wedding dress all the way from Barcelona. The dramatic skirt is in stark contrast to the more formal top - a look that is really unique. While her dress might be exotic, accessories and decor was more about staying close to home for Eavan... "I wanted some things to be local so we had the jewellery , wedding candles, cheese, flowers, photograhper etc all done in or from Sligo. I wanted lots of flowers everywhere in the church, around the castle as well as in the main dining room and Feehily’s did not disappoint! My borrowed item were silver and pearl cufflinks of my mum’s, my old was an antique ring my granny gave to me many years ago."

Sligo played a huge part in Eavan and Tom's wedding day so it's no surprise they chose Markree Castle to have their reception... The fact we had exclusive use of the entire castle for the weekend was fantastic. It gave a more relaxed homely feel to the weekend and made it easier for our friends with children. The staff at Markree were wonderful and took care of everything. They are very friendly and relaxed which creates a great atmosphere for your guests and helps to reduce stress during the planning. The actual wedding day went so smoothly and they couldn’t do enough for us or our guests. The way the dining room was transformed for the meal was magical thanks to both Markree and to Feehily’s florists. There were candles everywhere and the flowers were incredible.

Instead of table numbers Eavan and Tom chose to have table poems, specifically the love poems of W.B. Yeats, the couple's favourite poet and Sligo native. Copies of all the poems were printed out to scatter on the tables. Their wedding favours were Italian favour cones filled with pink and white sugared almonds, tied with same ribbon as the wedding invitations and matching cake boxes for people to take wedding cake home with them.

What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? Work out what is important to you and stick to it, it’s very easy to get caught up in wedding hype. At the end of the day, no matter what you do or plan, a wedding lasts a day so don’t get too stressed about things that go wrong (because they definitely will!), it’s just not worth it. Remember that people are there because they want to be and they are there for you. They won’t care and probably will have no idea if a few things don’t quite work out the way you planned.

Congratulations to Eavan and Tom! Long life and happiness to you both. And a big thank you to Darek Smietana for sharing his work with One Fab Day! To see more of Darek Smietana's work pop over to his website www.dareksmietana.com

The Wedding Details