With picture-perfect 500-acre grounds, Markree Castle in Sligo was the perfect venue for the wedding of Consultant Mammographer Niamh McHugh and Life Science Consultant Oliver Odell on the 24th of August 2025. Captured by Kathy Silke Photography, the day was full of those little, thoughtful touches, right down to Niamh’s friends wearing pink as a sweet nod to her original bridesmaid vision.
The couple met at a party while both were attending the University of Exeter. "It was a friend of Ollie’s birthday, and one of my housemates was going, so I gate-crashed at the last minute. We chatted that night and then went on a date a week or two later." Breaking one of the cardinal rules of first dates, Niamh ran late and left him in the freezing cold with no coat, but luckily, he waited for her! Ten years later, after living long-distance for a few years, the two finally settled in London and moved in together.
"We got engaged on Hampstead Heath towards the end of August 2023. We live nearby and regularly go for walks and to the farmers' market there. Earlier that summer and the previous summer, we often had picnics on the Heath, so I had no suspicions when Ollie suggested an end-of-summer picnic. We set up camp under a tree, and unfortunately for Ollie, a bird pooed down his shirt just before the proposal. Of course, some say this is good luck, but he wasn’t expecting to have to remove his shirt, so it was lucky it was warm, and I most definitely wasn’t expecting a proposal then. My reaction to the proposal was a mixture of shock and elation. I was crying and laughing all at the same time, and it is just such a happy memory."
"My lovely cousin and her mum brought me to a Jo Malone wedding-scent experience in London, where I tried different fragrances and finally landed on wood sage and sea salt as my wedding scent. I also found a body lotion of the same scent to put on before the perfume to ensure it would last all day. I did my own tan, so I was consistent with dry brushing and moisturising in the lead up to the wedding. I also practised quite a bit to make sure my hands turned out well. The only other thing I did was tint and tidy my eyebrows the week before the wedding and get my hair trimmed, the wonderful Marcella (makeup) and Elaine (hair) did the rest to make me look and feel my best!"
In her search for the perfect dress, Niamh came across the J Andreatta dress and loved its printed lace and blush undertone. As luck would have it, she found the dress at a sample sale in her size! "As it had been the dress that people tried on in the store, it was quite damaged. I was sent pictures and videos from the bridal shop explaining how it could be altered and repaired before purchasing, and I decided to take a chance and go for it. When the dress arrived, I tried it on, and thanks to my amazing seamstress Katie, it looked like new again!"
"Ollie was keen to wear a morning dress and decided to go for an ivory waistcoat and a light blue tie. His two groomsmen were also in morning dress, wearing light yellow waistcoats to tie in with the bridesmaids, and then added a pop of pink and blue to their ties. I think that’s the fun thing about morning dress: you can easily add a splash of colour. For that reason, I decided to keep the flowers white and just asked for a few pink blooms to be added to our ceremony table floral arrangement."
Niamh had her two sisters as bridesmaids, then her other four nearest and dearest girls got ready with the bridal party on the morning of the wedding. Her bridesmaids wore buttermilk yellow dresses from Ghost. "Originally, I wanted the bridesmaids to be in pink, but I couldn’t find a shade that worked. We then tried the Ghost dresses on in a nude colour and loved the flutter sleeves and button detailing on the front, but settled on the yellow as it was more summery. As a nod to the pink dresses I had wanted, the four girls coordinated and all wore pink, which was very sweet of them, and they all looked amazing."
"Our ceremony took place outdoors on the terrace at Markree Castle. The only thing I was really hoping for on the day was an outdoor ceremony, which was risky given we were getting married in the West of Ireland, but the sun came out, and we had a gorgeous ceremony followed by an outdoor drinks reception. There was a bit of a breeze during the ceremony, and so we couldn’t light all of our candles, and my veil was getting in the way, but none of that mattered. Our celebrant, Loraine, kept everything very relaxed. My favourite part was probably my brother’s reading; I had a fit of laughter during it and couldn’t keep a straight face, but luckily it was towards the end of the ceremony. I then caught my veil on a bush after exiting the aisle, so the veil didn’t last too much longer after that."
"We wanted something close to home for the Irish guests and an event the evening before the wedding. After our Zoom meeting with Markree, we were convinced it was the right place for us. We then visited the castle, which reinforced that feeling. We loved that it was completely ours for the whole day, that we had the option of an outdoor ceremony if the weather allowed and that the guests moved throughout the castle as the day went on. From the outdoor ceremony, the stairs for speeches, the beautiful dining room for dinner, the courtyard for the first dance, to the downstairs dancefloor and butler’s kitchen, it was just perfect."
"For our ceremony music, we had the gorgeous Saoirse Murray, who sang accompanied by pianist Bridget McDermott. I came up aisle to the song “Red is the Rose” as the lyrics of the first verse meant a lot to me. The bridesmaids came into an instrumental piece played by Bridget, which then led nicely into the song. We then came down the aisle to “Walking on Sunshine”, which was nice and lively!"
"Following our first dance to Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean in the courtyard, surrounded by sparklers, we ushered everyone inside onto the dancefloor as the wonderful dancers from Celtic Dance Company performed for our guests, and we got involved. The guests, particularly those who had never experienced Irish dancing before, absolutely loved this, and it brought everyone onto the dancefloor ready for the band Bridal Wave to start. We found the band through word of mouth and had heard great things; they lived up to expectations and kept the dancefloor going all night, as did the DJ, who then took over."
"The best decision is a toss-up between having an event the evening before the wedding and doing a first look. We organised a space in a pub for drinks and finger food in my local town, which was a nice way to welcome people, particularly as we had so many people travelling for the wedding. It was great to say hello to people, introduce different friendship groups to one another and just a lovely way to start the celebrations early."
"We did a first look about an hour before the ceremony. I adore our pictures and video from this moment. I was so excited to see him and have him see me in my dress, and I will always cherish that moment. It was so nice to catch up over our morning coffee and enjoy some downtime before the ceremony. We had our immediate families join us after and did the family and bridal/groom's party pictures, which then left us free to roam around during the drinks reception and make the most of it."
- Gráinne