Meet the latest couple in The Chupi Wedding Series: Aoidhín & Paul. With Covid-19, their guest list was reduced from 250 guests to just 25 guests, but their day was still as special as they had imagined.

We grew up on the same street! Our mother's grew up on the same street and our fathers both grew up in the same town across the border. Paul went to University in Belfast and after I graduated from University of Ulster, I moved to Dublin.

Paul went travelling to Australia and I went to LA. We both ended up in Dublin at the same time but didn't know. Eventually we were both were reunited at the funeral of a good friend of ours. Paul played a song at his service and the song pops up in our lives very often and we both feel it's our friend Joe telling us we are where we're supposed to be, together.

We went to Disneyland, Paris. We spotted this old fashioned candy striped air balloon ride, like the ones from fairgrounds in the olden days! It was tied to the ground so thankfully didn't float away and once we were up we could see the sun setting, it was beautiful. Paul proposed there with the dazzling One in a Trillion Morganite ring from Chupi. We celebrated with champagne in front of the fireworks at the Disney Castle. It was a very special day!

We had picked the Red Castle Hotel for our venue as it had capacity for a large number of people. Paul wanted a huge wedding and Red Castle has stunning uninterrupted views of the sea so it seemed perfect. Paul has a lot of musician friends and we were excited to have the Rapparees play and had hired a Daft Punk tribute act for later in the evening to wake everyone up after the meal.

At the end of the day all that mattered was being married. We soon realised that as fun as all the bells and whistles may have been, none of it was necessary to have a good day.

It was announced then that there was no music allowed at weddings, not even a first dance. Plus our guest list was reduced from 250 to 25. We were just about coming to terms with that when on Christmas eve we were informed that due to travel restrictions, our reception could not go ahead at all.

Despite all traditional things that we had to do without, we still had a magical day. All we cared about was getting married. We had our close family and friends there and it was intimate, light hearted and perfect. We had our ceremony in a stunning Chapel and those who couldn't attend watched online!

Paul's sister sang so beautifully and my brother played one of our favourite songs on the guitar. I walked down the aisle with my dad to a recording of him and my older brother playing 'Cal' The Irish boy; my dad on tin whistle and my brother on the uileann pipes. Paul's younger sister said a reading and I loved how much our families were involved in making our day so familiar and cosy.

My bridesmaids were stunning and the best men were all perfect gents, we couldn't have asked for more. Our priest is very grounded and emphasised love so much all the way through the ceremony and was very humourus, alleviating all my nerves!

After the ceremony, the bridal party was chauffeured around our home town in beautiful vintage cars and we beeped and waved at everyone we saw. It was good fun but my absolute favourite part was when we went to Gortin Glen Forest for photographs and it began to snow. It was breath takingly beautiful. Driving home, the moon was full and we were both so happy.

My dress is from 1930s I believe, I got it in a gorgeous vintage boutique called Dirty Fabulous. The first wedding dress I ever wore (apart from trying on my mum's years ago) was when I modelled for the same shop in my early twenties and I always knew I'd get my dress from there. It was the first one I tried on in the shop. I did still try on lots more because it was just so much fun. I loved the 80s style one too but my dress felt like it was sewn onto me it fit so perfect. 

My second dress I had planned for the first dance and cutting the cake. I got the skirt and top online and went to an amazing dressmaker and from pictures she was able to take material from the skirt to make beautiful chiffon sleeves. She also made it so that the top layer of the skirt could easily come off, allowing me to dance freely.

I had spinal fusion in October so was very wary of anything that would put pressure on my back. Taking off the extra layer of volume really would have helped but as it turned out I had no need as there was no reception. Hopefully we can have a summer garden party and I'll get to dance in it then!

I feel the headpieces I wore were equally as important as my dresses. All were made by my very talented milliner friend Margaret O' Connor. I had those pieces picked before I even thought about dresses. They were the stars of the show in my eyes.

At the end of the day all that mattered was being married. We knew at one point we may be faced with having only 6 guests or having it cancelled altogether but we persevered because our end goal was just to be wed. We soon realised that as fun as all the bells and whistles may have been, none of it was necessary to have a good day.

My Chupi Engagement Ring is the stunning One in a Trillion Morganite ring. Back when Instagram allowed you to see what posts your friends liked, Paul said it was very apparent that this ring had caught my eye as I'd liked it a lot!

A friend of mine told me about Chupi rings, saying how stunning they were and I followed the page on Instagram. It was love at first sight with the ring Paul got for me. I loved the ring long before I had it and was blown away when I saw him with it on one knee in Paris.

My Chupi Engagement Ring brings me straight back to the year when Paul and I started to talk about getting married. The fact that he got my exact dream ring is just so special to me. There are so many beautiful rings I liked and I still get amazed how he just knew this was my absolute favourite and that he was determined I was to have the ring I loved. It's such a kind and thoughtful gesture. I love seeing it every day! I'm a very lucky girl!

Photography: Holly and Lime photography
Flowers: Gillian at Flowers by Mee
Headpieces: Margaret O' Connor Millinery
Dress: Dirty Fabulous Vintage
Suit: Savoy Taylor's Guild in Kildare Village
Locations: Gortin Glen Forest and Derry City / The Foyle River
(Second dress made by a dressmaker Bridesmaids dresses online)

If a Chupi piece was a part of your big day – whether it was in the form of engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings or a beautiful necklace, we’d love to hear from you and feature you on the Chupi Journal. Find more details on the Chupi Wedding Series here.