My Wedding Day with Aisling Roche: 'We had a welcome night in a lemon grove — a unique experience'

Aisling Roche and her husband Byron Callaghan on their wedding day in Italy.

We got married on Thursday, May 21, in Italy. We had the ceremony in Positano in the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta church on the beach. We chose Positano because Byron did a surprise proposal outside Positano on a boat about two years ago, and when we looked back at our engagement photos, there was the church in the background. We felt like we had to go full circle with Positano.

We had our reception in Relais Blu in Massa Lubrense, just outside Positano. It overlooks the island of Capri and the Bay of Naples and has Vesuvius in the background as well — really spectacular views.

When it came to planning the wedding, thankfully, my husband Byron is very organised, and he’s very good at managing projects. But we did have a local wedding planner as well to help with the communications and stuff over there. It was a big project, I have to say, but I think it was worth it in the end.

Aisling Roche tried on 90 dresses before she found the perfect one.

For my wedding dress, I hadn’t an idea what I wanted at all. I originally went to Bridal by Tamem Michael in Dublin, and I loved their dresses. But then I thought I needed to get a different perspective. So, my poor dad came with me and we went to dress shops around the country, and I tried on ... I think it was 90 dresses. I really hadn’t a clue what I wanted.

Ultimately, I went back to Tamem Michael and worked with Paula King and her sister Siobhán, who helped me find what I wanted. They made bespoke alterations to the dress too, adding a detachable overskirt, which added a whole extra layer of drama.

We kept the guests to 60, just close family and friends. It was a lovely number because we got to talk to everybody. It wasn’t just the day, either — a lot of people made a holiday out of it. We had a welcome night in a lemon grove where we were all drinking limoncello spritzes in the sun. It was a unique experience.

I had two bridesmaids: my sister-in-law, Marion, my brother’s wife, and then Nicole, who works with me in Virgin as well. Byron had his brother James as his best man, and he’s good friends with Fergal Darcy, so he was his groomsman. It was a nice group, and they were brilliant.

Aisling with her bridesmaids in Italy.

On the morning of the wedding, I was so excited. After we got ready at the hotel, we walked through Positano to the church, and that was lovely. Tourists and locals were cheering and clapping as we walked past, it was really nice.

After the ceremony, myself and Byron went on a boat, just the two of us, and it was such a lovely part of the day. We went out to take some photographs in front of Positano, kind of recreating our engagement photograph. Then, to get to the venue, we’d hired a classic Alfa Romeo car from the 1970s. I’m glad I wasn’t driving, because I definitely wouldn’t have been able to manage it. But didn’t the car break down. Thankfully, our photographer came to the rescue and helped us to get it going again.

Aisling and Byron on a boat with Positano in the background.

The venue, Relais Blu, is like a boutique villa, with those spectacular views, and a Michelin-star restaurant, so the food was amazing. We had a saxophonist playing during the drinks and then we’d found a local band who played after dinner, but we also had a female duo with electric violins, and they were really cool and funky.

Aisling and Byron share an intimate moment.

For our first dance, we had a choreographed number to an Italian love song called Caruso by Lara Fabian, it’s a famous love song in Torrento, and we mixed it with Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partirò. It was a lovely blend of the two songs. We had included a couple of ambitious lifts in the dance too, so we were delighted we managed to pull it off.

The ceremony had been at 11am, it was the only time available in the church, and initially, we were concerned it was so early. But it meant we were able to get so much out of the day. And in fairness, everyone seemed to have great energy, and they were up dancing all night.

There are so many parts of the day that were special, but one of the main things that sticks out for both of us is probably the part in the church when we got to the top of the aisle after being separated the night before. That overwhelming sense of love, having all our family and friends there, and the eye contact between me and Byron seeing each other for the first time, it was just a lovely, lovely moment.

• Aisling Roche is a TV presenter and news reporter with Virgin Media Television. She is also active on Instagram @aisling_roche_tv.