Nestled in the Meath Countryside, Ballymagarvey Village is a perfect blend of history and luxury. With a stunning 18th-century manor house and the picturesque grounds, it was the utterly charming venue for the wedding of RD&A manager Deborah Cray to supply chain specialist Jonathan Harvey on the 31st of August 2025. Photographed by Studio Brown, words can't describe how fun this wedding day was, from the romantic handfasting to their surprise celebrity guest in attendance (Let's see if you can spot him!).
The couple met in their final year studying at the University of Leeds in 2015. Deborah was the “social secretary” for the University Korfball club, and a mutual friend, Matt, who was also on the team, invited Jonathan (Jon) to try it out for his last year of University after returning from a year studying in Australia. "We started messaging each other over the Christmas break, and in the new year, we quickly became inseparable." Having only dated for 6 months, Deborah moved from Leeds to Ireland for a graduate programme, and after 2.5 years of long-distance, Jon finally moved over!
"Jon proposed in October 2023 on a beautiful beach in Corfu (we don’t know if it’s a good omen that he proposed on Friday the 13th!). This was after several failed attempts at proposing during the holiday. A few entertaining examples: lots of small children stripping off naked at sunset in front of us - bit of a mood killer; missing sunset on the beach as Jon got the time wrong meaning we only saw the last 5 minutes of sunset having legged it across a carpark to the beach (not-so-romantic!); and then an older naked Greek couple started sunbathing next to us on a private beach (where Jon eventually proposed the next day when it was just the two of us)!"
Deborah wanted to keep things quite simple with her beauty prep, focusing on eating well and drinking plenty of water, especially in the months before the wedding. "I also booked in to have my hair, nails, spray tan, and make-up done by professionals! I made a relatively spontaneous decision to have a few days of teeth whitening with my dentist, and I was really glad I did!"
"My signature scent and now favourite perfume was Peony & Blush Suede by Jo Malone, and for Jon's signature scent, Cypress & Grapevine also by Jo Malone."
When it came to finding her wedding dress, Deborah knew it could be overwhelming with all the different styles, vendors, and options, so she spent a few months browsing Pinterest for photographs and saving her favourites. "I found I was always drawn to similar styles and designers, all of which would suit a summer wedding at our very romantic venue." Her research paid off, and she fell in love with the very first dress she tried on at the Truly Bridal Boutique in Naas: a floor-length Maggie Sottero gown with a sweetheart neckline, delicate straps, and 3D flowers. "Very importantly, it was also by far the most comfortable dress I tried on that day, and I knew I would be able to dance the night away in it!"
"I (Jon) knew that I didn’t want to go for a “traditional” blue, black or grey suit for the wedding. After Deborah decided on a natural colour theme for our wedding, I knew I’d want to go for a green suit, as it's always been my favourite colour. We looked for ages for a green suit that would fit, but it wasn’t easy. One day, we were wandering around Dundrum Shopping Centre and came across Louis Copeland & Sons, so we decided to head in for a browse. One of their lovely store assistants helped pick out a unique dark green suit that had a beautiful texture, giving it a bit more personality. As soon as I put on the suit, it felt and looked right. After the nod of approval from Deborah, I knew that this was the one, and after a quick change of the buttons, I was almost set for the big day!"
Deborah's beautiful bridesmaids were her sister Stefie, her oldest friend from school, Emma, and her best friend Kelsey, whom she met when she moved to Ireland. "Having decided on the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses: olive green to match the venue, late-summer vibes and our favourite colour, I spent quite a lot of time searching online for vendors with a dress that fit the colour criteria, had a floor-length style and was within our budget! Living in Ireland but having bridesmaids in England, Scotland, and Germany meant I had to choose a company that could deliver internationally! I finally decided on Oh Hello Clothing and was delighted with the style, quality and price of the dresses."
"The ceremony was definitely a highlight of our wedding day, and many of our guests told us how much they enjoyed it, loving how personal and so 'us' it was. We decided to go for a humanist celebration, and Simone Walsh absolutely knocked it out of the park. She encapsulated our whole relationship, not too serious, full of laughter and love. I think we had two favourite parts: the first was reading our personalised vows to each other, declaring our love in our own words, in front of our closest friends and family. It was truly special. The second was the handfastening ceremony, for which we were able to involve all our bridesmaids and groomsmen. To have them involved in unifying our marriage, including something with a Celtic tradition and doing something our guests hadn’t seen before, was really memorable."
Quite quickly after their engagement, the couple began to form an idea of the size of the wedding and the number of guests that they wanted to invite. Then Deborah was hot on the venue search! Ballymagarvey Village was the first venue that appeared on her radar (through Instagram), and the photographs looked stunning, so she booked a viewing for later that month. "The moment we walked through the front door, we knew Ballymagarvey was the place for us. It is such a beautiful and romantic venue, the perfect mix between an old country house, but also modern and comfortable, with the added benefit of enough rooms on site to house the majority of our guests!" After quite a short period of deliberation, Debhrah and Jon chose Ballymagarvey and met their fabulous wedding co-ordinator, Cassie.
"Choosing our band & DJ for the evening entertainment was possibly one of the most challenging decisions we faced. We decided that we wanted a band to bring the party vibes, with lots of funk and 80s tunes to keep the dance floor filled all night. Off The Wall stood out to us because their music, style, and overall vibe were what we were looking for, and they sounded fantastic in their online videos. Luckily, they were available to play at our wedding and as the DJ. They brought so much energy and fun. Our friends and family were on the dancefloor all night, a perfect way to top off the best day of our lives."
For their day 2, the couple booked The Irish House Party, and what a band! "They had absolutely everyone up on their feet dancing and singing from start to finish (even those who were feeling a little worse for wear)! We were absolutely delighted with them and would highly recommend them to anyone wanting a lively trad band for their celebrations! We also want to call out our very talented ceremony singer, Lucy Kavanagh. She was a delight to communicate with, and she performed every single song we chose for our ceremony absolutely beautifully."
"By far, the best decision we made was to get married in Ireland, as we are both British, now living in Ireland. It was so special to have all our family and friends from back in the UK (and further afield!) come over to the country we love and now call home. We got to show them a slice of what we love about Ireland and hope they will all return. We also think having a day 2 at Ballymagarvey was another fantastic decision as it gave us so much more time to spend with our guests and we could make even more special memories that will last a lifetime."
"The worst decision was probably leaving the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets to the day before the wedding – that was a little bit stressful! I (Deborah) had decided to go with homemade faux bouquets, and although I had bought all the individual flowers in advance, I didn’t get around to putting them together until the very last-minute! Luckily, I had my bridesmaids on hand to help me and was really happy with the outcome!"
- Gráinne