When Amy Coyle from Athy, Co. Kildare and Brian Greene from Rathgormack, Co.Waterford tied the knot recently, they partied ’til the cows came home.
Amy, who is from a livestock and tillage mixed farm and Brian, whose family have been dairy farmers in Rathgormack going back generations, savoured every moment of their agri-themed wedding celebrations – which ran well into the early hours.
Amy and Brian are immersed in the world of agriculture.
“We both helped on our family farms since we were young. I was obsessed with cattle as a child and Brian was more into machinery,” Amy said.
“By the time both of us turned 16 we were driving tractors for the summer season. I helped my dad at home and Brian worked at home and for a local contractor, Blanchfields.”
Agri romance: Was it fate?
The couple’s initial encounter was in Australia in 2016.
“We met one night through mutual friends in an Irish bar in Perth,” Amy said.
“I went to Australia with my friend Julia, later my bridesmaid. We worked and travelled around Australia for the year. Brian and his friends had gone to New Zealand where they worked for an agricultural contractor for a few months, then worked and travelled in Australia.
“Both of us were back home for a year when we coincidentally met again at Langtons in Kilkenny on St. Stephen’s night in 2017. We just hit it off and have been together since.”
Amy works in marketing for DeLaval. “We both really love what we do,” she said.
“I’ve been working for DeLaval for over five years now and Brian has been farming at home in partnership with his parents Matt and Barbara for the past four years, milking a herd of 180 cows, milking all year round.
The stars were aligned for the couple in many ways, it seems.
“I had just started to work with DeLaval in January 2018 and on our third date I was telling Brian that I had my first open farm event for DeLaval coming up and I was a bit nervous planning it. Brian asked where it was on and I said: ‘Bryan Daniel’s farm in Kilmoganny’.”
As it turned out, that was the farm Brian was doing his placement on.
“Brian was doing a dairy herd management course at the time. Out of all the farms I cover for DeLaval Ireland and UK, the first DeLaval open farm day I worked on was the farm Brian was working on,” Amy laughed.
“Since then, Brian has taught me how to milk and I’ve sold him a new DeLaval parlour, so milking conditions have greatly improved. We both really enjoy working together on the farm and we really want to progress and make the most of it in the future.”
Amy’s enthusiasm is obviously catching as after her hen party, the revellers returned to Rathgormack and made it up on time the following morning to lend a hand with milking.
An agri-wedding
The wedding took place on Friday, January 6, 2023, with the ceremony in St. Michael’s Church, Athy.
“Most of our family and friends work in agriculture so this was a nice quiet time of the year for everyone. We had 170 guests on the day,” the new wife said.
“From the start, I always knew we would have an agri-theme and especially cows, but we didn’t know how to include them since the wedding was in Kildare and the cows were back in Waterford.
“I was able to design the invitations myself. I wanted to keep them elegant but still letting our personalities and background feature as well. Using the phrase; ‘Let’s party ’till the cows come home’ seemed to fit perfectly,” she said.
“Our florist was Elderwood’s Floristry. They were amazing. Once I mentioned I was marrying a dairy farmer, Dee had milk churns booked in for us. We also incorporated some Australian flowers since it was where we first met.
“The main agri-moment of the day was all down to my dad and brother George – GF Coyle Tractors and Farm Machinery. Both Brian and I wanted to get some photos that were agri-themed with the bridal party. So the week of the wedding George gave us the pick of tractors for photos and parked them up where we wanted them.
“The yard is always spotless at home but I think he did more power washing than usual to help keep all the dresses clean.
“After the church, we called to the yard en route to Kilkea for some champagne and photos. It was a quick dash in and out but one of the best moments of the day.
“We brought our dog Mini up from Waterford for the day so got a photo with her in the farmyard too. Our photographer was Elaine Barker.
“Kilkea Castle was the venue and it was literally two minutes down the road from home. We named all the tables after breeds of cows and cattle. We got great feedback from our friends and family on everything.
“We went to the church in my parent’s and my brother’s cars. The church entrance is very narrow and I’m not sure my dress would have fit inside the cab of a tractor.
“We did think about arriving by tractor but it just seemed easier to call into the farmyard for photos after, even the old farm buildings are sentimental to me so it was great to have them in the background,” she said.
“All the tractors are the stock of GF Coyle. Brian has always had a Massey at home and I’ve always had New Hollands so they both needed to feature, and the JCB Fast track was just an unreal tractor and being yellow, it was nice to mix up the colours in the photos too.
“Someone actually bought the JCB a day or two before the wedding and the lads had to postpone delivery until after the wedding,” Amy said.
“Once we booked the wedding, Brian planned the breeding season so January would be a quieter month on the farm.
“Brian’s family were amazing and encouraged us to go on a honeymoon. We organised some extra help for a few days but Brian’s dad Matt looked after everything while we were away.
DeLaval were a great support to me around the wedding and facilitating time off work, which made it easy to switch off and enjoy the honeymoon.
“We went to Cancun in Mexico for ten days, spent six days at a lovely resort and then the last four days at a country music festival on the beach ‘Crash my Playa’ which hosted all the top American country music artists. It was brilliant and a once in a lifetime kind of trip.”
The couple live in a house on the farm and Amy is always willing to roll up her sleeves. “I love helping him – it kills two birds with one stone, we get to hang out together and get the jobs done more quickly,” she said.