FSU alums to get married in Ireland castle before FSU-Georgia Tech game

In five weeks, a Sarasota-based engaged couple — also big Florida State University football fans — will exchange vows and say “I do” at an Ireland castle just days before cheering on the Seminoles at the FSU vs. Georgia Tech game in Dublin.

Wedding bells will be ringing Thursday, Aug. 22 in celebration of FSU alumni Matthew Fenske and Kayla McNulty as they seal the deal on their happily ever after in a fairytale-like manner.

“We’re looking forward to hopefully another great FSU football season coming off of an undefeated, unconquered season last year, and we're excited to kick it off in Ireland alongside our wedding,” said 31-year-old Fenske, a commercial real estate agent.

The destination wedding date and location — County Kildare, an hour west of Dublin — were chosen primarily because of the season opener game that is scheduled for Aug. 24. Both the Fenske and McNulty families are huge fans of FSU football and plan to attend the international game.

The Saturday event between the two university football teams will take place during the annual Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

“We watch every FSU game and try to get to as many as we can every year,” Fenske said. “When the announcement was made about the game being in Ireland, we thought it was too good to be true. It was destiny.”

Related news: Early look at Florida State football's season opener opponent Georgia Tech

While Fenske graduated from FSU in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, his fiancee McNulty graduated from the university in 2018, earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing before graduating from Georgetown University last year with a master’s degree in nursing.

The lovebirds of over five years met each other for the first time through mutual friends in October 2018 at Clyde's & Costello’s, a cocktail bar on South Adams Street, after a home game between FSU and Clemson University.

Now, they have a three-year-old golden retriever aptly named Clyde.

“It feels like yesterday that we met, but at the same time, it also feels like we've known each other and have been together forever,” said McNulty, 28, a nurse practitioner.

When the couple started getting to know each other at the cocktail bar in 2018, they realized they had a lot in common: Both were FSU graduates, both of their families moved to Bradenton from northern states in the same year and each of them have two younger siblings — a brother and a sister on each side — who are all FSU alumni.

“The rest was history after that,” McNulty said.

During 2023’s Memorial Day weekend, Fenske popped the big question, surprising McNulty with a marriage proposal on the rooftop of The Tampa Edition hotel.

In addition, both of their families are of Irish heritage and have relatives living in the European country, which also played a role in making Ireland a shoo-in for the destination wedding.

“It will definitely be cool to pay homage to a lot of our distant relatives that we've never even met,” Fenske said.

‘Feels like a dream’

With the epic celebration of love being a few weeks away, the couple recently traveled to Ireland for planning purposes and visited their wedding venue — Kilkea Castle, a luxury castle hotel.

The couple's plan is to get married in a rose garden with their 100 to 115 guests, including FSU friends, overlooking the castle. Following the ceremony will be a reception in one of the castle’s halls.

“It all feels like a dream,” McNulty said. “And Irish weddings are no joke, so it's going to be from 2 p.m. when the ceremony starts, and the castle bar closes at 3:30 a.m. It will be quite the party.”

She says the most challenging part of the planning process has been the time difference — Ireland is five hours ahead of the United States.

McNulty and Fenske work with their wedding planner via email and Zoom calls most of the time. But while visiting the castle in person, they were able to check off tasks such as food tasting as the big day approaches.

“We’re in the thick of it now,” Fenske said. “We’re in the home stretch.”

His father, Brian Fenske, says he and his wife Kathleen are thrilled about the wedding, and that the couple’s decision to get married in their ancestors’ homeland creates a “feeling of connectedness to past generations.”

“We're thrilled that Kayla is going to be joining our family, and we are so happy that they found each other.” Brian Fenske said. “I’ve never seen Matt happier.”

McNulty’s mother, Kim McNulty, says she and her husband Sean are excited for the couple to tie the knot — especially with the wedding taking place in Ireland.

“It's going to be a great opportunity for our American family and our Irish family to all be together and celebrate,” Kim McNulty said.

Besides the wedding celebration, she says over 50 of the family members will attend the university football game that weekend.

While the remaining football game tickets are currently between 785 euros and 797 euros — equivalent to about $849 to $862 — Matthew Fenske says he was able to secure Seminole Booster tickets at around $250 after the announcement of the game’s location.

The couple will travel to Ireland Aug. 19 with a stop in London, England during their flight to Dublin ahead of the wedding.

After the celebration and the FSU football game, they plan on honeymooning for about two weeks in the south of France, the Amalfi Coast in Italy and a couple of weeks on the Greek islands.

“I can’t even wait,” Kayla McNulty said. “It’s going to be so special.”

Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Couple plans Ireland wedding ahead of FSU vs. Georgia Tech in Dublin