I Do!: Stephen O'Connell and Kim Komara, formerly of Dix Hills

A wedding in Ireland’s County Wicklow was the culmination of a seven-year journey for Kim Komara and Stephen O’Connell.

Now living in Miami, Komara, 31, an executive assistant, grew up in Dix Hills, while O’Connell, 31, who works in wealth management, grew up in Armonk, New York. Connection brought them together through a larger friends group after graduating from the University of Miami in 2016.

O’Connell proposed July 26, 2024, by the rose garden in Dublin’s historic St. Stephen’s Green park. The city is special to them through their trips to visit family and sightsee, Komara said, noting O’Connell’s parents emigrated from Ireland in the 1980s.

He said he designed the engagement ring with a family friend who is a jeweler, carefully labeling it in his backpack: “This is an engagement ring, please be discreet,” in case a security agent came across it at the airport.

Everyone apparently was discreet, and “I was surprised,” Komara recalled.

They married Aug. 23, at St. Mary’s Church in Enniskerry, followed by a reception at the nearby Powerscourt Hotel. About 184 family and friends traveled from New York, Florida, California and around Ireland to celebrate. Pre-wedding events included a cliff walk and a visit to the Guinness factory in Dublin where “somehow we got 120 of our closest friends and family to go,” O’Connell said.

Even with careful planning, the day had its surprises. A replacement had to be found for their original officiant, a priest, who suffered a heart attack days before the ceremony (O’Connell said he is doing well). Then, the morning of the wedding, O’Connell left the hotel for first-look photos so quickly he forgot to tell his best man to bring the rings to the church. He sent his brother, John O’Connell, back to get them. “He made it back just in time,” O’Connell said.

Nominate a couple who has gotten married in the past 12 months. Email your love story, in 250 words or less, to lilife@newsday.com, subject line I Do!