Today's real wedding is that of longtime loves Clodagh and Eoghan who celebrated their nuptials under wonderfully wild floral arches and with friends and family by their sides. The pair chose the gorgeous Tinakilly Country House in Wicklow as the backdrop for their (little!) big day and it looked every bit the modern fairytale you could want. There's proof of that in the wonderful photography captured by Livia Figueiredo.

Clodagh and Eoghan met back in 2006 on their J1 as teenagers. Clodagh had her eyes on Eoghan but unfortunately, at the time, he was taken. "We kept in touch and our paths crossed again when we were both living in Sydney in 2012 but alas Eoghan, yet again, had a girlfriend," Clodagh told us. "In 2015, Eoghan moved to Dublin and slid into my DMs to see if I was single and whether I fancied a pint. After the first date, we both knew that something special was brewing."

While their romance was a slow burner to begin with, Eoghan was decisive in his plans for a proposal. "Eoghan brought me away for my birthday in May 2019 and threw me off the scent by doing the Greenway cycle in Mayo on my actual birthday," Clodagh told us. "I thought we were going to be heading down to the Europe but Eoghan surprised her with a detour to visit a nice cove on Lough Corrib where his grandad used to keep a boat and asked her to follow him down to the water's edge and after a few stutters asked me to make him the happiest man in the world. Then, he told me we weren't going down to Kerry but instead were going to Ashford Castle for a couple of nights."

In a story that's become all too familiar, Clodagh and Eoghan had originally planned a much larger wedding for during the summer but ended up having to change their plans due to Covid restrictions. "We had initially planned to have a summer garden party in July, and had sent invitations to 160 people," Clodagh explained. "When Covid hit, we knew that we wanted to go ahead with the wedding and made the decision to cut the guest list to just 20 people. Having our families there with us was the most important thing so we rearranged the day so that the 20 of us could have a really special time together."

From there, the couple organised their day so that it would be a real celebration for them and their 20 guests who made the effort to be there. "We brought everyone down the day before and we had a dinner where everyone could get to know each other a bit better," Clodagh told us. "The next morning, a big group went for a swim in the nearby Magheramore Beach to clear the head. It was such a great start to the day."

For this couple, family was the focus of their wedding day with their nearest and dearest playing their parts. "Our wedding was like a perfect family weekend away," Clodagh said of their big day. "It was filled with lots of laughter and happy tears, with everyone there extra grateful to be together during Covid. We each had a grandmother there, which made it really special. The ceremony involved lots of members of our family and wedding party, with both mothers reading well wishes to us that they had written themselves, the bride's brother playing the music, and readings from the groom's sister and groomsman. The bride's mother and sister decorated the table, using homegrown flowers and hand made name cards. At the dinner, our siblings read out notes, like old fashioned telegrams, from friends and family that couldn’t be there with us."

This family celebration was set in the gorgeous Victorian house of Tinakilly after the couple fell in love with the venue on their first visit. "From the first time we went to see Tinakilly House, it had such a lovely warm and welcoming feeling," Clodagh told us. "The staff was so friendly and helpful and when Covid hit, they really worked with us to rearrange and reschedule the whole day. They were just so helpful and reassuring."

For Clodagh and Eoghan, having had to make amendments to their wedding taught them a lot about the planning process. So, naturally, they've learned a few things. "I would definitely advise to have a really frank and honest discussion with your partner about what is actually the most important thing," Eoghan told us. "The day of your wedding is such a special day, and it goes by so quickly, that you don’t worry about or notice all the tiny details," Clodagh added. "If something in the lead-up doesn’t work out exactly as you planned, try not to stress about it, you will be on a high on the day, and it won't seem important! We really wanted to get married outside, but in the days before we knew the weather wasn’t going to go our way. Once we got to the venue and saw how lovely the indoor ceremony room was we forgot all about the rain outside!"

Thanks so much to today's couple Clodagh and Eoghan for sharing their wedding day with us and to Livia Figueiredo Photography for capturing the day so beautifully.