Our real wedding couple Rebecca and Tom had a fairytale day fit for the books. They wanted their wedding to be romantic yet relaxed and they chose the enchanting Ballymagarvey Village to celebrate the beginning of their happily ever after. They tied the knot on a sun-soaked April day in 2023 surrounded by 130 of their nearest and dearest, on a day packed with heartwarming family tributes, glamour and stunning meadow-inspired floral arrangements. Re-live the splendour of their Ballymagarvey wedding day with the beautiful images from Wonder & Magic.

Before we take you on the journey of their magical special day, let's find out how Rebecca and Tom's love story began. They both hail from Dublin and they now live with their young daughter Emily in Churchtown. They have one of Tom's photos to thank for their happily ever after!

They first met at Everleigh Gardens in Dublin where Tom was working as a photographer at the time. He took Rebecca's photo and they got chatting but it was actually four years later to the very day that they went on their first date. They reconnected later on Tinder and their first date was a flying success. Rebecca says "We spent the first date talking and listening to music, we instantly felt comfortable with each other and still feel the same now. I always say, I knew from date one that I would marry Tom, and I was right!"

When the time came to pop the question, Tom dreamt up a very heartfelt way to propose. Tom's dad recently passed away and they have a gorgeous tradition to honour his memory every year. There is a bench dedicated to him perched on a beautiful spot overlooking Brittas Bay beach and from there they launch balloons. On Rebecca's birthday in 2021, Tom personalised a balloon to ask, "Will you marry me?" and he handed it to her before getting down on one knee. It is a moment that Rebecca cherishes. "It was totally unexpected and the perfect proposal, in a place I love with our daughter beside us, I couldn’t have dreamt of a better proposal," she shares.

Their Ballymagarvey Village wedding day was bursting at the seams with heartwarming personal touches. We have no doubt there were a few tears when Tom opened the gift box Rebecca had made for him. It included personalised cufflinks, a pocket watch with their wedding date engraved on it and pins with photos of family members who were no longer with them. Rebecca also had a very special prayer book with her that belonged to her grandmother. It has been passed to each female in her family on their wedding day as a blessing for a long and happy marriage.

Her mother looked a picture of elegance in a blush pink polka dot print skirt suit by Veni Infantino which included an elegant jacket with a portrait neckline. Her daughter made the most angelic little flower girl wearing a floral lace dress with a pink ribbon waistband and a pale pink cardigan. We love first look photos between couples but we have to admit the images of little Emily seeing her mum in her wedding dress for the first time are so precious.

The bride flew the flag for Ukrainian design as she walked down the aisle in a LucaSposa wedding gown. "They were so incredible to work with and even though their lives are in upheaval at the moment they have made sure that every one of their brides has the perfect dress in time for their wedding," Rebecca explains. She chose a glamorous, romantic gown that comprised of an off-the-shoulder bodice dappled with floral appliques with glittering sequins and beading with a flowing skirt. She added to the fairytale vibes with her veil which was embroidered with flowers and a pearl-encrusted tulle veil to wrap her bouquet.

Rebecca gifted her daughter a handkerchief for her to keep for her wedding day. Our hearts! It was embroidered with a gorgeous message. The bride and groom both found ways to ensure the spirit of their loved ones who were no longer with them were alive on their special day. Tom had a photo of his dad on his inside pocket and his wedding band also belonged to his late father. Rebecca had locket charms with pictures of her grandparents hanging from her bouquet.

Rebecca and Tom wanted the overall vibe of their wedding to be romantic and chilled out while being full of laughter and music. Having their family together to celebrate with them was especially important. Someone was clearly looking down on them from above as they were blessed with stunning weather!

Rebecca wanted the church to be bursting with colour and flowers. "We were so lucky to work with Carolyn at The Florist on the Hill who totally understood my vision from day one and incorporated so many special elements into the finished design." The bespoke floral designer grows sustainable, colourful, unique, and unusual blooms, and the end result was breathtaking. Rebecca opted for a meadow-style floral display in a summery, Bridgerton-inspired palette. The florist found a beautiful way to bring the floral motifs in Rebecca's dress to life as well. "Carolyn also spotted that the 3d floral design on my dress was a lisianthus flower and actually used that exact flower as an anchor flower in all our arrangements! She also had the idea that instead of using ribbons to wrap my bouquet, we should use the pink veil that draped to the ground. It looked incredible and added so much extra drama to the whole look."

Rebecca and Tom are music lovers and they wanted to get the soundtrack to their ceremony and reception absolutely note-perfect. "Music was extremely important to us, our home is filled with music all the time so we spent a huge amount of time deciding on music choices and who to play for us."

The HoneyVoom Duo provided the spine-tingling music for their wedding ceremony. One unforgettable moment was when the band played Only You by Alison Moyet and they had the entire congregation singing along by the time they got to the chorus! Another moment that rings crystal clear in Rebecca's mind was the song the band played as they were signing the register. "When L’Amour Toujours by Gigi D'Agostino was being played I looked up and spotted a few people dancing in their seats which gave me a giggle."

The newlyweds made sure that they arrived at the wedding venue in style in a vintage car and they enjoyed some bubbles in the sunshine upon arrival.

Rebecca's advice to couples planning their wedding is: "As impossible as it seems, relax and enjoy it! Try not to stress, everything will go the way it is supposed to on the day, and soon you will be looking back wondering how it went so quickly! Remember, your wedding is a wonderful day, but your marriage is for life, so try not to focus on one day and don’t forget about what comes next!"

Can we just take a moment to appreciate their heart-melting family photos? We imagine there was a spot made on the wall for these at home! "Our daughter Emily is in a lot of photos, she was the most angelic flower girl and we were so proud to have her with us as such a large part of our special day. As far as she is concerned, it was her day and we just happened to be there!"

For the couple, it was love at first sight when they viewed Ballymagarvey Village. In fact they knew it was the perfect wedding venue for them before they stepped through the gates! The elegant private country estate is steeped in history and home to idyllic gardens, a waterfall, luxurious amenities and so many gorgeous spaces for wedding photos. "We both knew before we entered the venue, standing outside the main entrance to Ballymagarvey with the stone walls, castle turret, fountain… Stepping foot inside just solidified it even more, we were both afraid to ask each other’s opinion in case it differed but fortunately, we were both able to wax lyrical about how stunning it was," Rebecca says.

Painting a picture of the reception of their Ballymagarvey wedding, Rebecca says "Our reception musicians played instrumental versions of modern songs so hearing our guests all get excited when they recognised a song being played was brilliant." They also asked their guests to pop a message in a bottle for them to read after the wedding. 

The magical banquet hall with stone walls and white rustic beams is one of the most enchanting features of any Ballymagarvey wedding. It was blooming with spring shades as their florist deconstructed the arch from the ceremony venue to make the floral displays for the dining tables. Sweetly, guests were allowed to bring home the flowers with them to have a touch of their wedding to take with them as a gift. 

Rebecca admits that they had a lot of fun picking their first dance song, they wanted an acoustic, slowed-down song that everyone would know. They actually found the perfect tune while watching Love Island! They had their first dance as Mr and Mrs to Let’s Stay Together by Grace George. They chose Spring Break as their band and they got the party well and truly started. "They had the dancefloor filled and absolutely rocking all night!"

Spring wedding cakes are as sweet as they come and we love the simple sophistication of Rebecca and Tom's cake which was dotted with pastel blooms. As for their honeymoon, the couple is still in the planning stage and so far it looks like Santorini in Greece or Italy's Amalfi Coast will be the final destination. Or maybe both! "The world is our oyster and maybe we can swing a trip to the other for an anniversary trip sometime!"

We would like to say a massive thank you to Rebecca and Tom for sharing their beautiful wedding day with One Fab Day and to Wonder & Magic for the enchanting photos. You can see even more wedding pictures in the gallery below.

Want more spring wedding inspiration? We have so many more gorgeous Spring Real Weddings that you need to check out.