Our Wedding Story: A wedding in Brazil after first meeting in Dublin

Brian Kelleher and Ana Paula de Oliveira

Brian, from Dublin, met Ana Paula, from Brazil, in October 2010, when she came to Dublin to learn English.

On the day she arrived, Ana mislaid the contact details of the friend she was supposed to meet and was mistakenly dropped off by a taxi at The Windjammer Pub on Townsend Street.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 3

Brian, who was leading a historical walking tour of Dublin, came to Ana’s aid with directions and a glass of Guinness.

A year later, Ana left to study in Grenoble but she and Brian celebrated New Year's Eve 2011 together in Dublin. A few days into 2012, the couple had packed up and travelled from Grenoble to La Ciotat and on through Spain and Morocco.

Brian taught English in Brazil for more than six months while Ana finished university. When his visa expired, he returned home briefly before taking a job in Bahrain in 2013. "Again, circumstances were probably against us but we kept the faith and about a year later – God bless Skype – Ana got a job in the region. First in Kuwait where we commuted to each other and then finally in Bahrain."

On October 31st, 2015, Brian and Ana Paula were married in the Church of Our Lady of Pilar in Ouro Preto.

More than 40 of the groom’s family and friends travelled to Brazil including his parents John and Denise who live in Doha, Qatar. Brazilian tradition was upheld when 12 best men – from the groom’s alma mater Blackrock College – accompanied 12 bridesmaids up the aisle.

After the ceremony (in Portuguese), a brass band led the procession through cobbled streets of Ouro Preto to the reception at the Solar do Rosario Hotel.

An Irish bar was built for the occasion and the following day a Brazilian-style churrascaria (BBQ) was hosted at a bar in the town. The groom's father played a song he composed for the couple called "Lost on a Dublin Street" and was accompanied by friend Tom Shaughnessy on the flute.

Members of Ana’s family played traditional songs, led by her parents Lorival and Lucia.

The bride and groom honeymooned on the beach in Buzios before returning to Bahrain, where Ana Paula is a planning engineer and Brian is a lawyer. The couple are planning another celebration in Dublin next summer and look forward in particular to celebrating with Brian’s grandmother, Mary.

Photographer: Eduardo Araujo