Gemma describes how she and Neal met..."I went to Boston on a J1 visa with two girlfriends (Grainne, “the bunting making bridesmaid” and Laura), it was there that myself and Neal met. Only two days after arriving in Boston, Grainne brought us to a friend of a friend's house party, and to make the connection even more tenuous that friend lived with Neal. Neal opened the door to find three Irish girls on his door step that he never meet before. As cheesy as this sounds, within a few moments of meeting him, I was mad about him and I knew that he was very special. He had this giant maple leaf in his hand and was explaining to us how it was the most beautiful leaf he had ever seen, that he had to stick it to his fridge. It was such a funny first encounter and one I could never forget."
A week later Neal and Gemma found themselves on their first date and Gemma was quickly tempted to extend her American visa. Reality intervened and Gemma returned home to accept a place in medical school, with a promise from Neal that he'd join her in Ireland soon after. He kept his promise but things didn't go quite to plan. Gemma remembers..."He left his job one month later and moved into my tiny student accommodation in Limerick. Unfortunately, it proved too difficult to get Neal a visa in Ireland, six weeks later we both were devastated when he had to return to the states. The next two years were tough, the Atlantic was between us and Skype was the third wheel in our relationship! We only saw each other at Christmas and during the summer."
Second time lucky, in the summer of 2013 while Gemma was visiting Neal, he proposed, and that following Autumn, Neal once again moved to Ireland, fortunately this time with a visa. Although happily engaged Gemma and Neal's long distance wasn't quite over..."Neal lived with my parents and worked as a waiter in Sligo town, while I moved from Tullamore- Portlaoise-Limerick- Ballinasle, completing my hospital rotations. Now instead of seeing each other only during holidays we got to see each other every other weekend. In 2014 Neal got a job in Facebook and moved to Dublin. It was a busy time for us as Neal adjusted to his new job, new culture, new city and I worked my way through final year of medical school. We saw each other at most every other weekend."
Finally after 4 years together, but apart, Gemma graduated and got a job in Dublin. Gemma gushes..."Finally after four years of closing the gap, the “ocean is in our hearts” and not between us. We live in Grand Canal Dock and see each other every day. We have never been happier."
For their wedding Gemma and Neal really wanted the wedding to celebrate all their friends and family for supporting them so much through their long distance love. They ensured the wedding was laid back and fun - using Gemma's parent's beautiful garden as their venue of choice, and enlisting the help of local suppliers and close talented friends where possible.
Gemma recalls..."Everything about the wedding was very much DIY, friends and family helping out and lending a hand. Luckily between Neal and I, we have some talented friends with a wide range of skills that came in very handy for the wedding. My brother Mikey made the elderflower cordial, my sister Anna (who is on a running scholarship in the states) kicked me into shape and acted as my personal trainer, my cousin Peter Clyne who runs Outer Cells Media was our videographer."
Friends also provided all of the ceremony and reception music, Gemma's aunt arranged the flowers, while another aunt handmade her headpiece and one of her best friend's designed and made her stunning wedding dress. A super impressive team effort all round.
Last but not least Gemma's artist brother Gary Reddin (whose Angela Lansbury paintings we're big fans of in One Fab Day!) made the “Gemma & Neal” logo for each of the wedding invites, save the dates and mass booklets. Eager to capture all the love and effort put into each aspect of the day Gemma and Neal hired photographer Darek Novak - who they couldn't recommend highly enough..."Darek is so professional, friendly and talented. We didn't even notice him taking the pictures. He took more than 850 pictures, and each one more beautiful than the next. He is truly passionate about what he does and is an extremely talented artist, which is evident from the beautiful work he creates. I could not recommend him more to any prospective bride and groom."
A huge congratulations to you both and thanks so much for sharing your story and wedding with us all!