Nicky & Georgina In Hello! Magazine – Wedding Interview – August 2003

 

THE FAIRYTALE WEDDING OF WESTLIFE'S NICKY BYRNE AND IRISH PRIME MINISTERS DAUGHTER GEORGINA AHEARN

 

The childhood sweethearts share their special day with us as they set the seal on their romance at an idyllic French chateau

'We loved every minute of it - we've been planning our wedding day since we were kids. We kept looking into each other's eyes just amazed that it was happening at last'

 

The magnificent Romanesque church of St Pierre et St Paul was packed with more than 400 family and friends

It was a family affair, this most Irish weddings in France, when Nicky Byrne, of legendary boy band Westlife, married the Irish Prime Minister's daughter Georgina Ahern. The 410 guests were almost all family - there were dozen of cousins - and friends, but only close friends, some of whom also happened to be rock stars, or play football professionally. There was not a politician in sight, save for the father of the bride, Bertie Ahern, the Prime Minister of Ireland, that Taoiseach to give him his correct title. And they had all come to celebrate in true Irish style.

 

The day of the wedding, the air was heavy with romance: romance that naturally began with the couple themselves, and culminated with the venue, the exclusive Chateau D'Esclimont. Nicky and Georgina, both 24, had always wanted to wed in France, and once Nicky had proposed and been accepted on Christmas Day, then the hunt was on to find the place. "We went on the Internet and whittled the choice down to about 15 chateaux," Nicky recalls. "But after Georgina went to see Chateau d'Esclimont with her mum, that was it. She didn't want to see anywhere else. It's just an amazing place."

 

Seven and a half months was not long to put it all together, to reach the moment that Nicky and Georgina had been working towards during their nine-year romance. But come together it did, and beautifully, as the guests saw the moment they entered the church of St Pierre et St Paul, near the chateau, where roses and delphiniums in the wedding's signature cream, lilac and purple, and trailing ivy enhanced the Romanesque splendour.

After everybody had taken their places, there was a stirring behind the south door, where the "bestest men" and best man were lining up, as designers Donald Brennan and Niall Tyrrell made last-second adjustments to their deep-purple, lightweight mohair suits, and placed cream roses with purple violets in the buttonholes.

Then, the doors opened and the organ overhead thundered out the orchestral suite No 3 in D Major by Bach as the four groomsmen processed two by two up the aisle, followed by Adam, Nicky's 13-year-old brother and best man, carrying the two black ring boxes. Hard on his heels came the groom. Following a French tradition, Nicky walked up the aisle with both his parents. Nicholas and Yvonne.

He had wanted to look like a prince on his wedding day, and he did. His smile, though somewhat nervous, stretched from ear to ear: in fact he radiated so much happiness that the guests could be forgiven for not taking in his 'contemporary-retro' look of cream fine wool boot-legged suit and brocade waistcoat.

 

Soon after he took his place in the apse beside his little brother, another stirring at the south door heralded the arrival of the bride. This time, it was the turn of Synan O'Mahony to make sure that everything was right with his fabulous designs; her attendants' lavender silk-crep corsets and skirts, overlaid with French lilac Chantilly lace. The four bridesmaids, followed by the matron of honour, Georgina's sister Cecilia, and the little flowergirl, her cousin Caoimhe Kelly, processed up the aisle to Tchaikovsky's Waltz Of The Flowers.

Whatever had gone before, nothing had prepared the guests for the appearance of the bride. As she entered the church, she exuded a sense of magic. Her long hair tumbled loose down her back, the white silk-crepe hourglass corset dress accentuated her exquisite figure, its diagonal seams alight with cut glass crystal beads - a staggering 20,000 of them in all. And behind, there was a six-foot train.

 

At Georgina's side were her father Bertie and her mother Miriam, as she moved to join Nicky at the steps of the altar. The bride and groom took each other's hand, and the service started immediately. It followed the basic Roman Catholic Wedding Mass, but the readings, the prayers and music were all the couple's own choice.

This was such a family and friends wedding that as many as possible took part, friends like Ciara Moore and Betty Sherlock who read the two lessons, and Cathy Vard who sang in Gaelic.

Throughout the whole service, Nicky and Georgina appeared to be on a different plane from everyone else, totally aware of what was going on, but in a private world of their own, saying their vows in clear voices, without a stumble, and exchanging the rings without a slip. Before lighting the marriage candle, Nicky read the prayer for the newly married couple, chosen by him.

What would anyone give to get Ronan Keating to sing at their wedding? Nicky and Georgina just asked Westlife' mentor and he obliged, with their favourite song I Love The Way You Love Me. There was a little sob as Cecilia listened to it.

 

In keeping with tradition were the Prayers of the Faithful, one a prayer for musicians, and one, read by Noel Ahern, for world peace. He can only have been thinking of his brother, the Prime Minister, who brokered the Peace Accord in Northern Ireland.

As the service drew to an end, the penultimate prayer, the Miracle Prayer, was read by Jennifer, a cousin of Nicky's. This was found by Nicky's grandmother, who had it copied for all her family. She gave it to the teenage Nicky when he went to try his fortune as a football player in Leeds. Then he kept it in his 'goalie' bag, and it is with him still. As Father Kevin Bartley said to the bridal couple: "It is very encouraging for people of their generation to take a lead from their commitment to each other and to their faith."

 

When it was all over, Nicky and Georgina, made their way down the aisle to thunderous applause, as they were showered with lilac and cream rose petals.

Back at the Chateau d'Esclimont, they joined their guests in the shady grounds. There the champagne bubbled and the Irish stout positively flowed, but the mixture of the two, a Black Velvet, showed what the wedding was all about - the harmonious meld of Ireland and France. And love was definitely in the air, especially among Nicky's bandmates Shane Filan and his financée Gillian Walsh, who got engaged on the same day as Nicky and Georgina, were looking forward to their own Christmas wedding, while Kian Egan was looking very much attached to new girlfriend Jodi Albert from Hollyoaks, as our exclusive pictures show.

As the evening drew in, the party moved through curtains made up in the blue, white and red of France and the green, white and orange of Ireland into a massive marquee, where waiters circulated with plates of smoked wild salmon, fresh from the rivers of Ireland. The party had begun in earnest.

 

Dustin the Turkey, a favourite Irish TV presenter from Nicky's childhood, was there with his usual brand of caustic humour. Then there was the cutting of the cake - a wonderful creation on nine tiers, one for each year that Nicky and Georgina have been together . Then it was the turn of Bertie, the Bride's Father, as opposed to Bertie Ahern the politician, to make his speech. Groomsman Paul was taking bets on how long it would be. The winner was Georgina herself, a mere 19 seconds short of the recorded length of 15 minutes, 19 seconds. Among his moving remarks Bertie told her, "I thank you for all the joy you've brought into my life." He added that she and her sister are "my closest friends" and, turning to his estranged wife he said, "Miriam, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that."

 

With dinner over, it was time for the singing and dancing to start. While Nicky and Georgina changed, Westlife did an impromptu rendering of Lulu's Shout followed by a rap number from Bryan McFadden about the couple. Finally, Mr and Mrs Nicky Byrne returned, and took to the floor, inspiring the guests to dance until dawn.

With a new day approaching, Nicky summed up his and his bride's feelings about the wonderful one they'd just spent. "We loved every minute of it - we've been planning our wedding day since we were kids - to have it as special as it was. We kept looking into each other's eyes just amazed that it was happening at last," he said.

All in all, it had been everything they'd been looking forward to, when, two days earlier, they had chatted to us during a leisurely carriage ride around the park of the Chateau d'Esclimont.

 

In this setting, and on the eve of your wedding, you must be reflecting on the 'fairytale' nature of your romance?

Nicky: "Absolutely, we've been together since we were kids, childhood sweethearts. When you're that age, you meet boys and girls at discos, but neither of us had serious, serious boyfriends or girlfriend - maybe a maximum of a month for both of us was the best we ever got. And as soon as we found each other, that was it. We never looked back."

Georgina: "We met in school and I was only 15, so it was definitely 'childhood' although we didn't think so at the time! It's every girl's dream to have a fairytale wedding, and this is a dream come true."

 

You got engaged last Christmas Day - is there any significance to choosing August 9 as your wedding day?

Nicky: "When you have a long-term girlfriend, particularly someone like Georgina whose father is so high profile, you're constantly asked, 'When's the big day?' I always said that I would only propose to Georgina when we both knew that it was the right time, and when we could plan a wedding properly.

"I never wanted to just get engaged, put a ring on Georgina's finger and say, 'Sure, there is no rush'. We wanted to get on with it. An engagement is obviously a commitment to the big thing, and this wedding is the big thing."

 

Seven months is not exactly a long engagement.

Georgina: "Well, we always wanted a summer wedding, and if we had to wait for next summer, it would have been a long time. We definitely want it this summer."

Nicky: "The band started a world tour in April, and it finished three weeks ago, and on top of that, we have a new single coming out in September and we've already started to record the album for November, so the timescale is pretty tight."

 

Was one of you the boss over the wedding plans, or was it joint decisions throughout?

Georgina: "It was joint decisions over everything. Obviously I was home a lot…"

Nicky: "Georgina took charge of everything!"

Georgina: "I would never make a decision without checking it out with Nicky. No matter where he was, I would ring him at all hours. I would fly over to him on tour to show him different options."

Nicky: "You know the song My Way by Frank Sinatra? I think that we should call this Our Way - we did it our way to make it our wedding."

 

Did you agree over everything?

Georgina: "Mostly, but then we do agree on most things anyway - even with the house."

Nicky: "Of course we disagreed on little things, but nothing to really argue about. The problems were that Georgina had to meet deadlines back in Ireland or the UK and make decisions. Me being away so much made it more difficult."

 

What roles did your respective families play in the planning?

Georgina: "My mother was always there for me - particularly for the dress, and the invitations that we did in London. All my family have been there for everything, too, but they have let us do our own thing."

Nicky: "We do both come from very normal backgrounds, but obviously in Ireland this is a high-profile wedding. Iabelled as the wedding of the year. That has added pressure to both families - something that really doesn't bother us, but our parents are not used to it, except Georgina's father. But they were there for everything we needed and backed us all the way. In every way they have been exceptional."

 

You rushed off a couple of days ago to a register office in Wicklow for a civil ceremony. Despite all this planning, was this an oversight?

Nicky: "We wanted to get married in France for as long as I can remember. We've been here so many times, and it's a beautiful country. But the legal requirements on getting married here mean you need two ceremonies - a civil one and a religious one. We had planned to do the civil one in London, but then we thought 'we don't want to do it abroad, let's do it in Ireland'.

"As far as we are concerned we are getting married on Saturday. Saturday is the day of our fairytale wedding, and we don't care what anyone thinks, Georgina in my eyes is not my wife until we are married on Saturday. Look, no wedding rings!"

Georgina: "It was over in five minutes. Nicky was wearing a red baseball cap and a T-shirt, and I was wearing a jeans. I didn't see it as a special day - every bride wants to feel like a princess on her wedding day, and that certainly wasn't it. I am a bride on Saturday."

 

Do you think that many Irish people will be disappointed that your wedding proper is not being held in Ireland?

Nicky: "We've been knocked for not having it there which really hurt because I can honestly say with my hand on my heart, that there is not a couple that I know that is as proud to be Irish as we are. But most people in Ireland are delighted - loads have said 'If I could, I would'. There were only a handful who wrote about us not having the wedding in Ireland, and they are not friends - so who cares?"

Georgina: "We are having a very Irish wedding anyway. Everything is Irish - the food, the clothes, the designers."

 

With all the logistics involved, has there ever been a moment when you wished you had gone for a small wedding in Ireland?!

Georgina: "There have been times, as the guest list has grown and multiplied, when we thought 'Oh God!'. But we are really excited as we have all the people we really want here, all the important people to us, our families and friends."

Nicky: "It is going to be a new experience for a lot of our Irish friends, who wouldn't necessarily choose France as a holiday destination. If they go abroad, they go to the south of Spain or to see America. Because we are so lucky to be in the position we are in financially, and to come from such a strong family background, we're able to throw a party like this which is going to be a treat for everybody including ourselves."

 

I believe two celebrants conducting the service are your local parish priests?

Georgina: "Father Michael McCullagh worked in a college where my granddad worked across the road from where he lived. When my grandparents passed away, he conducted their funerals, and since then he has said annual massed as well as family masses, christenings and weddings."

Nicky: "Father Kevin Bartley is a young lad with a young attitude, and a very good friend of my mam in the local church where I grew up. When we decided to have a priest from both side I talked to my mam and we both decided that he was the perfect priest to do it."

 

The religious aspect of marriage is obviously important to you both.

Georgina: "To me the most important part is church service, as the blessing of our marriage. Anyone can go in and sign a piece of paper - this is more special. It is two people coming together with their families and making their personal commitment to each other before them."

Nicky: "For me too, the whole ceremony. Making such commitments as 'in sickness and in health', and 'til death do us part', in the house of God.",

 

How did you choose the music?

Georgina: "Tchaikovsky's Waltz Of The Flowers was a piece that we both had to study in school. I think it is really pretty for the bridesmaids when they arrive with their flowers. I think I just stored it away in my mind for my wedding."

Nicky: "Nadine Coyle is a young Irish girl from Girls Aloud, appearing in Pop Idol. We don't know her that well, but we know her voice. Our favourite song is Because You Love Me, sung by Celine Dion. We knew Nadine could pass it off with such an amazing voice.

"And of course Ronan is singing. When I came back from playing football in England, Boyzone were really big and I was trying to get into a boy band. I really loved the lyrics of I Love The Way You Love Me. If you analyse each line of the lyrics of Because You Love Me and I Love The Way You Love Me that is the way Georgina and I feel about each other."

 

When it came to your outfit, Nicky, did you have a clear idea of what you wanted?

Nicky: "I actually like to think I'm quite fashionable and the wedding suit was something that I wanted to be absolutely magnificent. I'm so used to wearing a suit on stage, but I didn't have a clue how I was going to capture what I was looking for in a wedding suit to make me look like a prince! So I mentioned what I wanted to some friends, and they came up with Niall Tyrrell and Donald Brennan, and I have to say that they could not have done better."

 

Georgina, can you just whisper a few hints about the gown. Did you have a clear idea from the start as to how you wanted it?

Georgina: "I had particular shape and style in mind and I wanted something extra special, something completely different that nobody else had, and therefore I wasn't going to get it from a shop. Synan O'Mahoney made a few sketches for me and the result is exactly what I have always wanted - a fitted type of dress, very sparkly. I love sparkles! It is a dream dress."

 

What was it like the first time you put on the finished dress?

Georgina: "I just had my mother in the room - even my sister hasn't seen it. I was just so excited. I haven't let the dress go since Synan gave it to me. I've guarded it like the crown jewels."

 

Tell us about the rings you'll exchange.

Georgina: "My 18-carat gold band set with eight diamonds was something that we chose together. Where we girls get three rings - the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the eternity ring, the man has just one. So I think it should be rather special. Nicky's is a handmade platinum band, set with 30 diamonds: 20 princess cut and ten brilliant cut, designed by Paul Sheeran."

 

Was it difficult to decide on the bridesmaids?

Georgina: "It was difficult to leave people out, but I have always known who the important people are in my life. Obviously the two sisters are bridesmaids, and I have got three really close friends, Gemma, Karen and Barbara - if I could have had more I would!"

 

What about the best man and groomsmen?

Nicky: "My little brother Adam was always going to be best man, but suppose that him being only 13, I have never socialised with him, so he wouldn't have had the funny side of my life. So as groomsmen there are these three guys I have grown up with, who were in the same football team as me, guys I always regarded from the age of four as my best mates. And with everything I have ever achieved, they are just the same as always. I think that my mates are an inspiration, and basically there was never a question that Colm, Sean and Paul should be there. I also have Mark, my sister Gillian's fiancé, who is part of the family."

 

Was it hard to limit the number of guests?

Georgina: "Yes. We do have very big families."

Nicky: "We are up to 410 guests, and I've only invited about 15 people from work."

 

This is so obviously a family wedding: was there no move from our father to bring along the party faithful?

Georgina: "Absolutely not, there are no politicians coming. My father is a private man as well and he sees this as strictly a family day. And that is a nice way to have it. It is a bit of a break for him too.

"He has been very relaxed. I never knew how he would take it, from the day Nicky asked him if he could marry me. He has been so excited for me, and really involved as well, even though he has been so busy. He has been really great."

 

Your parents have been legally separated for a long time. Has the wedding brought you closer as a family?

Georgina: "My parents have always been on talking terms on special occasions like graduations. I don't know if we have become closer as a family because of the wedding as we have always been close - so this is nothing out of the norm."

 

Did you have a wedding list?

Georgina: "No. We told the guests in the invitations that what we really wanted was their presence rather than their presents."

Nicky: "Some members of the Irish Government have sent gifts. Also the fans have been really generous as always."

 

Speaking of fans, you face audiences of hundreds of thousands without apparent nerves: how does Saturday strike you?

Nicky: "The nerves are beginning to set in - the thought of entering the church with 410 people there, having to walk up with my mother and father to give me away. It is time to grow up, and I find it a bit awesome. I am going to be nervous, but obviously I deal with nerves quite well so I should be okay."

Georgina: "I am nervous, but also very excited - I am not used to hundreds of people looking at me. But then they are all our friends and family giving me their support."

 

Are you planning to start a family?

Nicky: "We see Bryan McFadden with his two young daughters, and they are the most beautiful things in the world. You lift them up and you want to start a family. When? That is the big question. It could be tomorrow, and we'd be delighted. But we haven't started to plan."

Georgina: "But definitely we will be."

 

What did you do for your stag and hen nights?

Nicky: "Last weekend my mates told me to show up at Dublin Airport with my passport. When I turned up they were all wearing T-shirts of me as a five-year-old and they flew me to Marbella."

Georgina: "The hen night was in Manchester and there were 30 girls. We had a lovely meal, then played a game where everyone had to ask me questions that they had already ask Nicky, and if I answered it correctly they gave me a very personal gift. I was definitely in tears, and came home with sackloads of memories."

 

Nicky, you've already had two careers, as a footballer and pop star. Might you have a third?

Nicky: "I don't know you can beat going from a footballer into a pop life, and I couldn't be happier with the girl of my dreams. Maybe some time in the future if the band ended I'd look at other things - acting maybe?"

 

It's always reported that Georgina was there for you when you came back from playing for Leeds broken-hearted that your football career was over, who bought takeaways for you with her pocket money, who encouraged you to go for the interview that led you joining Westlife. What have you done to complement Georgina?

Nicky: "We have done everything for each other."

Georgina: "He has always been there for me and I for him. We are the best of friends and we have grown together, and we have both been there for each other through everything."

Nicky: "It might have been puppy love in the beginning, and it has just worked out so fantastically well. We are both the luckiest people in the world, and I am sure that we will be the happiest people in the world on our wedding day."

 

Credit/Source: Hello! Magazine