A Wedding in the Mountains of Macchia

We got married in May 2017 in Italy. We’d actually gotten legally married in Ireland back in march that year. It’s funny – I think the registry office day was the bigger day for the two of us. Even though it was literally just our two immediate families, a very small group, it was just very special.

My husband Fabio is from a very small village north of Naples and south of Rome. It’s called Macchia. It’s a very old community, steeped in tradition. I couldn’t even fully describe to my wedding guests where they were going. It’s so rural. And it was hard for them to understand that there’s no hotel, no taxis, no conveniences around; this is literally in the mountains.

We had about 40 Irish people coming to the wedding, and a lot of our friends were put up, very kindly, in people’s homes.

It was really important to us to have the wedding in Macchia, so that my side of the family could experience where Fabio came from and what his roots are. I knew one day our child would have this lineage, and I want them to understand where they came from.

I’d gotten my dress in Folkster Bridal in Kilkenny. It was literally the first dress I put on. It was the complete opposite of what I’d gone looking for, but when I put it on I was so pleasant in it. I knew I was going to be able to party and dance in it.

My wedding planner was my mother-in-law. I would give her the instructions, and in her amazing-at-negotiating way, she would get things done for me. So she was my port of call and did the bulk of the organising.

That meant we were able to make it really personal,particularly for Fabio. And we made sure we were using local businesses and local vendors for things like the flowers and the drink at the party.

On the morning, I was very calm. The day before it had rained for a huge portion of the day, so all I had on my mind was “please, let it be dry tomorrow”.

We were going to have a party on the side of a mountain; it’s not like we’re in a situation where we could