Our Wedding Story: a plane with a banner saying “Kate – Will you marry me?”

Kate Moran and Richie Fitzmaurice Kate (30), fundraising manager at St Patrick's Mental Health Foundation, and Richie (35), a director of B&G Construction, started going out in 2005. They met in the Wooden Spoon, in Portmarnock – where they are both from – when Kate was working behind the counter and Richie came in regularly for lunch.

In November 2013, Richie organised a plane with a banner saying “Kate – Will you marry me?” to fly over Malahide Castle. Both families were hiding with champagne at the ready and that night they had a party to celebrate – also organised by Richie – at Portmarnock Country Club.

The groom's mother, Pauline, has a house in Vilamoura, Portugal (named "Vila Marco" after his late father, Mark) and Kate and Richie's favourite restaurant is Casa Do Lago in Quinta Do Lago. On June 5th, 2015, they were married in the Church of Estoi in the Algarve with a reception afterwards in the restaurant.

The bride walked down the aisle –with her father, Vincent – to She Moved Through the Fair – in a dress by Sarah Janks from Myrtle Ivory.

John Sheahan of The Dubliners (he and his wife, Mary, are Fitzmaurice family friends) played the fiddle and tin whistle during the ceremony.

Richie – his best men, brothers Marcus and Bernard Fitzmaurice, and groomsmen Kevin Duffy, Gary Grant and Ciaran Burke – wore suits from Massimo on Dawson Street.

Chief bridesmaids were Kate's sister, Faye Moran, her best friend Ciara Glover and the bridesmaids were Grainne Hartin, Mary-Ann Kavanagh and Tara Connon. Kate's mother is Anne Moran.

The newlyweds' first dance was to Ho Hey by The Lumineers. The band was The Six Irish Men, six Portuguese musicians who play traditional Irish music and Mumford & Sons covers. The couple's friends Ruth Hayden and Ciaran Mullen sang with the band and John Sheahan.

There was a drinks reception on the beach with DJ Tim Fortune who played Ibiza tunes through the dinner and then came on after the band until 4am.

For their honeymoon – planned two days before the wedding – the couple piled into a Fiat Uno with two friends and drove to Lisbon where they spent a night before flying to Toronto.

Photographs: Matt and Lena, mattandlenaphotography.com

Sarah Geraghty