Irish country fan enjoys wedding of her dreams … backstage at Nathan Carter show

In addition to her marriage, Nicola from Saggart, Co Dublin, also landed the opportunity to spend her wedding night in the company of country heart-throb Nathan Carter.

“It’s a wedding day and night I’ll never forget,” Nicola tells the Sunday World as she relives the amazing experience.

As a busy mother juggling the demands of three children— Aoife, Jack and Daniel — bubbly Nicola, who is also a big fan of Cliona Hagan, says she doesn’t get the chance to see the Irish country singers performing live.

In fact, until her wedding night, she had never been to a Nathan Carter concert, which made the experience all the more special.

“Kevin and myself got married in the registry office in Dublin on the day of Nathan’s concert with just our children and our parents at the ceremony,” Nicola reveals.

“When we picked the day we did a search to see what was on entertainment-wise. I just absolutely love country music and I couldn’t believe it when we discovered that Nathan was playing at the Bord Gais theatre.

“I emailed his management telling them it was our wedding day and would there be any chance of meeting Nathan at the show. It was a lovely surprise when his manager (John Farry) came back and said that Nathan would be delighted to meet us.”

The couple booked into the nearby Grand Canal Hotel for their wedding night and enjoyed a pre-concert dinner together in the hotel before the show.

Then the icing on the (wedding) cake was their backstage pass to get up close and personal with the Wagon Wheel superstar.

“Nathan was so lovely, down to earth and easy to chat to,” Nicola says. “I think he was amazed that we had just got married a few hours earlier and had chosen to be at his concert for our wedding night.

“We had a lovely chat and had some photos taken. Nathan was also playing at the Bord Gais the following night and he then gave us a little wedding gift of tickets to that show as well.

“So, from never having the chance to see him before, I got to watch him two nights in a row.

“I brought my mum and daughter to his concert the following night and they were just so excited as well. The memories I have from those two days and nights are just fabulous.

“Nathan is an amazing performer and he puts on such a great show. It really had everything, including a big choir.

People loved it all and it was such a brilliant atmosphere in the theatre.

“As wedding days go, it was certainly an unusual one.”

Nicola and Kevin, who, she says, “met randomly” despite both being from Saggart, have been together for seven years and now have a more elaborate wedding ceremony organised for next month in Lanzarote.

They will be joined by a party of more than 50 family and friends.

“I’m afraid Nathan isn’t our wedding band, but he’s more than welcome to come,” Nicola jokes.

Country kingpin Carter, who is hosting a weekend of shows at the Gleneagle INEC in Killarney, Co Kerry this weekend, says he felt honoured that Nicola and Kevin chose his recent Dublin concerts in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre as the entertainment on their wedding day.

“Obviously getting married is the biggest day of your life, so for a couple to make you a part of that special moment is a real honour,” Nathan says.

“Nicola and Kevin are a lovely couple and I enjoyed meeting them on their wedding day.

“They were so relaxed and just seemed to be taking it all in their stride.”

The last time Nathan played the Bord Gais Energy Theatre was in July 2016 — and he arrived at the show by helicopter after earlier performing at a wedding in the North for a thrilled husband and wife who won the prize in a competition.

“I had a ball playing two gigs in one day,” Nathan said.