Freya Carroll & Tommy McNamara 

Castle Oaks Hotel, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick

Photos courtesy of Tony Clancy Photography

The Meet

Freya Carroll and Tommy MacNamara met on Bumble in 2019. They got chatting when Freya (an occupational therapist from Newcastle-upon-Tyne) tapped into good old professional rivalry, asking Tommy (a physiotherapist from Clare) if they were to be ‘best of friends or worst of enemies.’ It piqued his interest. The conversations continued until Tommy invited her on an adventurous first date going bouldering together. Not for the faint hearted! It being around the time of Freya’s birthday, she had planned to meet friends for dinner after the date but was having such a fun time she ended up late for her own birthday meal. 

The Engagement

Freya and Tommy dated for three and a half years before getting engaged on October 13th, 2022, in England. They took a trip to Cragside House, Northumberland on one of their ‘date days’ where Tommy – a keen photographer – brought Freya to a beautiful part of the grounds on the pretence that there was a particular picture of the house he wanted to get. Having picked the spot, he went about setting up his camera ‘for what seemed like a lifetime,’ said Freya. School trips and other visitors came and went while the unsuspecting Freya waited for Tommy to take his photo. In reality, he was waiting for a quiet  moment, knowing she wouldn’t want a public engagement. Freya was somewhat puzzled when instead of taking a picture of the house or the landscape he asked her to get into a picture 
with him. Then he got down on one knee and proposed. Thanks to Tommy’s fine photography skills they now have a picture of that moment forever. Although Freya recounts that she was so happily in shock she can hardly remember what Tommy said, and doesn’t think she even said yes, but ‘just let him put the ring on’ her finger! 

The Wedding

A year later the couple celebrated their wedding at the Castle Oaks Hotel, Castleconnell, in the presence of 100 guests. Their wedding party was composed of three bridesmaids, a best man, and two groomsmen. They walked up the aisle to “Jane” by Picture This, and had their first dance to “She Burns” by Foy Vance. For main course, guests were offered chicken supreme or Munster beef. Their unique personalised touch was to name the tables after different spiced rums because spiced rum is the couple’s favourite drink. In keeping with the theme, wedding favours consisted of a miniature bottle of rum for guests according to the rum their table was named after. 


The couple’s favourite photo was taken in the woods by the river flowing through the Castle Oaks grounds, against a backdrop of autumn hues. Among their most treasured memories of the day were the speech Freya’s dad gave, the sing song at the end of the night and ‘seeing Freya walk down the aisle’. Their stunning wedding flowers were created with love by Dan Lawless and the team at Lawless Flowers from Limerick. They did an outstanding job. Their advice to others planning a wedding: ‘enjoy the day, forget about the small things that will go wrong’. Freya and Tommy took a trip to the Scottish Highlands right after the wedding (a mini moon) and have booked the real deal for March when they will go on a cruise around the Norwegian Fjords.

How was your experience with Tony Clancy Photography? 

 “Tony immediately made us feel comfortable and really managed to capture our personalities. He provided simple instructions to help with poses and make us look our best.” tonyclancyphotography.ie

 How was your experience with the Castle Oaks House Hotel?

We fell in love with the hotel the moment we saw it and knew that it was where we were going to get married, this decision was further confirmed upon meeting the staff. Food was amazing and a good pint of Guinness.” castleoaks.ie