Wedding of the Week: Lessons in love started in the classroom for childhood sweethearts

Their paths first crossed in the classroom 13 years ago for childhood sweethearts Emma Murphy and Kevin Leahy.

Kevin, from Eyeries, pulled out all the stops to organise his wedding proposal.

The couple, who are based in Dublin, where Emma works in fashion buying and Kevin in aviation, got engaged in December 2017.

“Christmas is hands-down my favourite time of year,” said Castletownbere native Emma.

“Being together as long as we have, getting the surprise element was his main priority.

"We were driving home for Christmas and got as far as Killarney which we would describe as ‘our place’.

"Kevin took a little detour and said we were staying the night.

"We walked into our suite and it was covered with roses and he got down on one knee.

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"It was perfect in every way. He had the engagement ring in his pocket the whole drive.

“I was in shock and for me to get surprised after 13 years was an achievement in itself.

"It was such a special time to get engaged as so many of our extended family and friends were home to celebrate. I will never forget it, he nailed it.”

The couple were married recently in the bride’s local church, Church of the Sacred Heart, Castletownbere, in a Mass led by Fr Noel Spring.

The reception took them over the border to the Kenmare Bay Hotel, Co Kerry, but beforehand they posed for the camera of Micheál O’Sullivan, while Marc Egan was the videographer.

“We had our photographs taken in our church as it’s such a gorgeous building and our florist, Denise from Kenmare Flowers, did such an amazing job we had to capture her work,” said Emma.

“We also went to Glenbeg lake in Ardgroom — such a beautiful romantic spot.”

The bride looked stunning in a Helena Kolan dress while the groom was dapper in Louis Copeland.

“The ceremony itself was our favourite part. Seeing everyone you love in one place celebrating us getting married was definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment,” said Emma.

“We had an evening jam-packed with entertainment, from a singing chef to my cousins performing Irish dancing on the night. We partied until 6am.”

The couple say their first dance was another “standout moment” for them.

“We felt like it was just the two of us in the room,” said Emma.

Leading the celebrations were both sets of parents, Margaret and Michael Murphy and Sarah and Brian Leahy and the bride’s grandmother Mary Harrington.

Emma’s sister Amanda Murphy was her bridesmaid as was her cousin Fiona Gallagher and her friends Julie Dorgan and Eimear Minogue.

Kevin’s brother Alan Leahy was his best man while his friends Shaun Glasheen, Ger Stephenson and Ross Daunt were by his side as groomsmen.

The bride’s cousin Aria Harrington joined forces with the groom’s nieces Teagan Leahy, Siofra Tobin and Lucy Creagh as flowergirls while the groom’s nephews Jacob and Ben Leahy took centre stage also as pageboys.

The newlyweds honeymooned in the Maldives and Dubai.