A 16th-century castle, uniquely situated on a private 310-acre island, the ever-enchanting Waterford Castle was the venue for the wedding of project manager & researcher Fiona Kavanagh to stakeholder and regulatory liaison Zachary Lane on the 26th of July, 2025. Captured by David Murphy Studios, it was a gorgeous summer celebration filled with personal touches and plenty of emotion.
In June of 2020, Zach and Fiona ended up at the same bar in Washington, D.C. "My girlfriends and I threw a paper aeroplane over to their table (we had to social distance at the time!) with one of our phone numbers on it and invited them all come over to my friend's back garden that evening for an impromptu night of outdoor socialising." Later that night, the groups met up, and that is how the newlyweds began their love story! "We fell in love pretty quickly after that, and it’s been an amazing 5+ years since!"
"One of our favourite things to do together is hiking. Zach took me to Moab, Utah, where we hiked in Arches and Canyonlands National Park. I really wanted privacy and nature, and for the proposal to feel like ‘us’. He proposed at sunset, just the two of us, overlooking hundreds of miles of canyons and mountains. He immediately reserved a ‘glamping’ weekend for us and even organised a day at the spa to celebrate."
The most important thing for Fiona regarding her beauty journey was to feel like herself on the day. "I didn’t want to look in the mirror or at photos and see someone I didn’t recognise." As she doesn’t normally wear much makeup, she was quite transparent about that with her makeup artist, who helped Fiona understand that for the photos to show up really well, it’s good to wear a bit more makeup than you’re used to. "She was absolutely right about that, and it lasted all night."
In the lead-up to the wedding, Fiona focused on healthy eating, exercise, good sleep, and staying well-hydrated. She grew her hair out over the nearly 2-year lead-up to the wedding, so it would be nice and long on the day. "I woke up early and went for a little run by myself before everyone came to the bridal suite. It was so nice just to have a moment to shake off the nerves!"
"My mom flew over to London, where Zach and I live now, and we planned a whole day around dress shopping. To be honest, I’m not very picky and went in with an idea for a dress I thought I’d like, knowing it was in the shop. I was more concerned with afternoon tea once the dress shopping finished. I tried on two dresses and bought the second one. I think the whole thing took about thirty minutes. It was really fun, but I also don’t believe in ‘one dress’; I would have felt good in many different styles and just wanted to commit to one!"
Fiona had six bridesmaids in her bridal party: her sister, her now sister-in-law, and four of her close friends. "I went with a sage green colour palette because I think it suits everyone, and let the girls pick whatever they felt best in. My priority was that everyone felt really beautiful and comfortable on the day, in styles that suited them best. We ended up with a gorgeous mix of dresses, and everyone looked incredible."
"The ceremony was, surprisingly, outside! We ended up with a beautiful day, which we weren't counting on, and were able to hold both the ceremony and the cocktail hour outside before we headed into the Castle for dinner. We did personalised vows, which were definitely the most special part of the ceremony. I’ve written Zach a love note every day for the past 5+ years of our relationship, and I was able to weave several love notes into my vows. It was a really special moment. By the end of it I think everyone including Zach and I needed a tissue. A lot of our grown male attendees approached me after to say the vows had made them cry, which was equally touching and hilarious."
In the search for a venue, Zach came across Waterford Castle, and the pair were smitten. "It was genuinely the first one we seriously considered, and I think they only had one date available for 2025, so we snatched it up!" The pair didn’t even see it in person until several months later, when they went for their menu tasting. You can imagine their relief that it exceeded all expectations!
"I loved that every single one of our guests was on the island with us for the entire weekend; it made the whole thing feel like a shared getaway with our loved ones. We were able to host our Friday night welcome party in the golf clubhouse, which set the weekend off with a nice vibe where all the guests could mingle. And, no one had to drive home—they could all just walk back to the lodges or the Castle!"
"My dad is a musician and played music all throughout my upbringing. He sings and plays guitar. He kicked off the festivities with a gig that brought literally everyone onto the dance floor. It was such a special touch to have him be our entertainment for the night. Then we switched to a local DJ (Thomas Moorhouse), who did a fantastic job. He had every single wedding guest on the dance floor until the very end of the night! I wish I’d had my running watch on because I genuinely think I would’ve hit a record for steps based on how much dancing I did."
"I don’t have a single regret about my wedding, I think it’s in part because I had so much fun on the day. I felt really laid-back and very grounded on the wedding day, and was aware that my only responsibility was to have fun and party with my friends and family. I knew Zach, and we were aligned on every decision and were just so excited to get married, and that, when it came down to it, what anyone else thought really didn’t matter to us as long as they were having fun. There’s so much pressure around the day when it should just be a fun celebration of a love story."
- Gráinne