My Wedding Day with Valerie Wheeler: 'Portugal felt familiar and special to us — and the golf courses were a plus'

Valerie Wheeler, who recently announced her first pregnancy, reflects on her 2025 wedding at an intimate venue, called Vau: A rooftop restaurant on a cliff just outside Portimão in Portugal

Valerie Wheeler and her husband Gavin Young on their wedding day. Pictures: Endless Moments Wedding Photographer.

We got married on September 18, 2025. We’d got engaged in January 2024 in New York, on top of the Rockefeller Centre, and when we came home, we decided we wanted to have a small, intimate wedding.

Considering the jobs we’re in, with everything so public, we thought we’d love to head off somewhere with family and close friends.

We chose Portugal, because we both used to holiday there growing up, so it felt familiar and special to us. Gavin is a PGA golf professional, so the golf courses in that part of Portugal were a big plus, too, and, of course, the weather.

We found a lovely, intimate venue, called Vau: A rooftop restaurant on a cliff just outside Portimão. We had the ceremony and the party there.

For my dress, I wanted something so simple and plain, with a square neckline and buttons on the back. That’s all I knew. When I first started dress shopping, I went to a few bridal boutiques with my bridesmaids and my mother, and I didn’t see anything I liked. Then, one day, myself and my mam booked into The White and Gold in Kinsale. I saw a dress there, and the second I tried it on, I knew that was it.

Valerie and Gavin at their wedding ceremony.

I had three bridesmaids; my closest friends. They wore beautiful, lemon-coloured dresses. I bought them online, on Abercrombie and Fitch, which I didn’t realise did more than hoodies and that kind of thing, but they do.

Gavin then had three groomsmen, including his best man, Daniel, who his mam minded when they were growing up and who’s like a brother to him.

We got married on a Thursday, but everyone arrived on the Tuesday and made a holiday out of it. It was great, because everyone was able to mingle and get to know each other before the wedding day.

I thought I would be nervous on the morning, but I felt great. I was so sure about who I was marrying and why I was marrying him. I’m an only child, so I know emotions were high for mum and dad.

Valerie and Gavin with their wedding party. 

Our ceremony wasn’t until 4pm, so we had a lovely, chilled morning; there was no real stress, because we had so much time. We had it that late to avoid the heat earlier in the day.

The ceremony was outdoors, looking out to the sea, and it was just beautiful. The wedding planners we’d worked with, Algarve Dream Weddings, had decorated the area beautifully with flowers.

Valerie and Gavin on the beach in Portugal.

We got legally married there on the day as well. I know most people who get married abroad might have a registry office wedding before they head off, but we didn’t. So we went through all the tough, tough paperwork to physically get married there on the day.

For the ceremony, we had a saxophone player. I walked down the aisle to Can’t Help Falling in Love with You, and then the girls walked down to Yellow, by Coldplay. 

The music matched the vibe on the day, with the sun shining and the sea in the background. Afterwards, we headed down to the beach for photographs. Gavin had brought a golf bag that he’d had engraved with ‘Mr and Mrs Young’, which was cool. And, of course, being a golfer, he had to hit a few balls into the sea, which the photographer captured.

We did the usual Irish wedding formalities with the meal and the speeches, and then we had a band and a DJ. The meal was inside, but we were able to open up one of the ‘walls’, which were all windows, so the party was inside and outside. Our first dance was to Frankie Valli’s I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.

It was a late night. And then, to make things even later, we’d organised a bus to pick our guests up from the venue, and it landed them on the strip of Portimão at about four o’clock in the morning! Some hardcore guests did keep the party going at that stage!

Valerie and Gavin share an intimate moment.

One of the things myself and Gavin look back on from the day was this thing we had called a "sweetheart table’". Our wedding planners had suggested it. It’s basically a little table in the middle of all your guests, just for the two of you to sit on your own for the meal.

So, we let all our bridal party sit with their partners, and our families, too, and we had a little table ourselves. What it did was give us the chance to sit back and look at everyone enjoying themselves, and we were able to have quick little chats about the day. It was lovely.

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