‘Hi,’ I say to the gathered crowd as light snowflakes still fall. I turn to the bride, spectacular in a slim fitting, long-sleeved lace dress with a high neck and a flowing veil dotted with pearls. ‘Congratulations, you look utterly majestic.’ I’m not used to pushing myself into a crowd of people like this, but needs must.
‘Oh, thank you so much!’ She beams, her dimples creating small indentations in her cheeks, her auburn hair twisted in an elegant chignon with the long veil pinned into it at the back. She is holding her husband’s hand tightly, radiating happiness.
‘My name is Maggie Grace and I work forUltimate Locations Wedding Magazine,a publication in New York. I’m here doing a feature and maybe a cover story on weddings in the castle.’Needlessly, I lift one finger pointing up to the castle.
‘No way!’ The bride gasps as someone hands her a slim flute of over-fizzing champagne. She holds the glass out so as not to get any on her dress.
‘I’d love to capture a photo of you guys? Of all of you?’ I ask hopefully, extending my arm out to them all and the gathered group erupt in laughter and chatter.
‘Call my agent!’ a very tall, very slim guy with fiery red hair and his tie half undone at the back jokes.
‘Hair! Make-up!’ The petite woman beside him laughs then pushes herself forward through the crowd. Wearing a Tyrian purple V-neck skater dress, her blonde hair is pulled up in a tight, slicked-back bun, huge fluttery eyelashes above her dark, smoky eyes. Unusually for a wedding, she’s wearing flip-flops. My eyes dart down to them. Her feet must be freezing, I think.
She catches me looking. ‘I’m only five-foot-one and my Jimmy’s six-foot-three so I need the heels. However, I was crippled. Couldn’t even dance, so Jimmy ran back and grabbed my flippers. Now, normally I don’t get out of bed for less than a million euro!’ She struts a few steps comically swinging her ample hips left to right. The crowd all laugh.
‘Go Ka-te! Go Ka-te! Go Ka-te!’ someone chants as they click their fingers and Kate keeps strutting in a circle then stops beside the bride.
‘Of course you can take our pictures, how exciting.’ The bride playfully juts her hip to move Kate out of her way. ‘Move it, Ashley Graham. I’m Aisling by the way and this here is my .?.?.’ Aisling indicates to the crowd who all start to perform some sort of drum roll action, on top of the big barrels, on window ledges, on the red castle door.
‘.?.?. husband, Aaron!’ A huge roar startles me. ‘Sorry, it’s a tradition around Heartwell village that the first time one of us introduces our husband or wife as such it’s a big deal,’ Aislingexplains, still radiating happiness from her every pore. I’m completely taken aback. This must be what a community feels like. This closeness. A feeling of true belonging, almost like one big family. It’s the kind of thing I read about in books as a kid and always hankered for – a place where kids grew up together and stayed into adulthood. It’s amazing to me. I’m suddenly envious. I want this.
‘Brilliant,’ I say, trying to focus on the job at hand, ‘so if I can just get some shots of you guys as you were? I don’t want you to pose, I want it to be authentic, natural, real.’ I fix the long strap of the camera around my neck and adjust it, flick the key light on. ‘Just pretend I’m not here.’
‘Like J-Lo, wha’? All natural, my arse!’ Kate yells, shakes her backside and they all erupt. Again, I feel a silly longing to be a part of a community like this.
‘Jenny from the Block, Kate from the Well!’ another voice screeches.
‘I will have to ask you all to sign release forms which enables me to use your images, our conversation, the pictures in the magazine if my photo editors choose to use them?’ I pull the pages from my satchel, hand them out.
‘No bother at all.’ Aaron takes them from me, his hands like shovels I notice. His laughter lines crinkle as I click on my Dictaphone to record.
‘How did it feel today to celebrate your marriage at Castlemoon?’ I want to get them at their freshest and in real time. Real emotions in the moment.
‘Like we have a special power,’ Aisling says, leaning in close to the hand-held device, beaming from ear to ear. She lifts Aaron’s hand, still in hers.
‘Unbreakable,’ Aaron shouts.
‘But seriously, we know just how lucky we are. I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else,’ she says dreamily,before she stops herself. ‘Kate .?.?.’ She looks to the smaller woman in the purple dress and flip-flops while reaching her spare hand to her. Kate takes it but her eyes darken a little with a sudden downturn of her mouth.
‘Don’t be silly,’ Kate says with a toss of her wrist, but there’s a distinct look of longing on her face.
‘Not all of us are this lucky. We all want to marry in Castlemoon, but not all of us can. Like all the others that have gone before us, we know marriage isn’t all chilled wine and yellow roses, it’s about compromise, respect, loyalty, and a life-long companion. Support. Looks fade, skin creases, energy dips but love remains the same.’ Aisling looks like a magazine cover as snowflakes fall around her, sticking to her hair. I’m not feeling the cold myself my adrenaline is so high as I click away. ‘I first met Aaron in Castlemoon when we were kids at a communion party. We grew up together and, like Esther and Michael, we hope to grow old together.’ Before I can ask who Esther and Michael are, I swiftly put the Dictaphone in my bag, so that I can capture more pictures. Then, I pluck it back out again and start recording.
‘But it’s fierce expensive to marry here now. As Ais says we’re very lucky, my construction business is booming so we have the money. We’ll get the blessings.’
‘And what exactly are those blessings?’ I ask from behind the camera, zooming in.
‘The blessing of longevity. Of not giving up on a marriage. The blessing of a lasting union. All those who married here before us worked very hard at their unions, my mam and dad, Aisling’s mam and dad .?.?.’ Aaron lets go of his wife’s hand as he says the worddad, then pulls her close to him, his arm snug around her slim waist. ‘And Aisling’s grandparents, we’re very lucky.’ The newlyweds look at one another like star-crossed lovers.
‘I am one hundred percent using that quote.’ I smile sowidely.
‘Work away.’ Aaron smiles back.
‘And you, Kate?’ I’m drawn to her reaction. I need to know her story. What her sad reaction was all about.
‘Me? Oh, I just wish we could afford to get married here,’ Kate says moving her feet in and out of her flip-flops. ‘But we can’t and although it really does break my heart, I’ll be grand. Sorry to be maudlin. Don’t mind me, that’s the gin talking. Shut up, Kate!’ she chastises herself.
‘Ah don’t, Kate, we’ll have a great knees-up out at your aunt’s hotel next weekend.’ The tall, thin man with the fiery red hair squeezes in behind her, drapes his arms around her shoulders from behind. Jimmy, I’m guessing.
