Morgan Mackenzie Evans was “always attracted to the European way of life,” she said.
And she had a soft spot for European men.
“My sister is a Francophile, and I studied abroad three times,” said Ms. Evans, who grew up in New Orleans.
So it’s no wonder that Colm Anthony Browne’s profile intrigued her on that rare occasion she went on Hinge, in July 2018, just after a two-week family trip to Italy.
“He was a true Irishman,” she said.
Mr. Browne, 37, grew up in Drogheda, Ireland, about 35 miles north of Dublin, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography and urban planning from the University College Dublin, from which he also received a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. He also received a master’s degree in business and entrepreneurship at the Dublin Institute of Technology, now TU Dublin. He is a director of sales at YipitData, a market and consumer research company in New York.
“I’m looking for a girl who could make a perfect cup of tea,” he said in his profile, which she took in stride, and even joked about in her vows. (Ms. Evans, who rarely drinks tea, or coffee for that matter, goes for herbal teas when she does, while he favors the more traditional Irish Breakfast).
Ms. Evans, 34, holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. She is now a freelance style and culture writer who has worked as a red carpet reporter at various media outlets.
“I just needed to talk to her,” he said, dazzled by her profile photos on award show red carpets or interviewing celebrities. “She had all these incredible outfits, and an incredible job.”
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They quickly realized they lived 10 blocks from each other on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and two weeks later, in August 2018, he suggested they meet in the neighborhood after work at Infirmary NYC, a New Orleans-style bar and restaurant, now closed.
When Ms. Evans walked into the bar, she greeted him, in her usual manner, with a hug.
“She had the brightest eyes I’d ever seen,” Mr. Browne said.
The first thing she noticed was his accent, “which I love,” she said, along with his “perfectly coifed hair” and “hazel eyes.”
They bonded over music — she had seen The Killers on Randall’s Island in Manhattan the previous weekend, and he had seen them several times in Europe.
Two weeks later, they had dinner at Uva, an Italian restaurant, also in their neighborhood, and she told him she planned to meet up with friends later that night.
“Sounded like Morgan had extra time,” Mr. Browne said. So they picked up a bottle of wine and headed to his apartment. Before they entered, they had their first kiss outside his door.
They started dating, usually sticking to restaurants on Second Avenue in their neighborhood, and saw Irish bands that came to town, like Ash and Fontaines D.C.
In August 2019, she joined him on a trip to Ireland to visit his parents and later attend the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Irish culture, dance and music festival with his family in his hometown.
But it wasn’t until March 2020 that they got even closer. “The pandemic brought us together,” said Ms. Evans, who spent most of her time at his third-floor walk-up, where he enjoyed singing random songs while cooking dinner, especially different curry dishes.
That August, with both their leases up, they moved into a new place with more space, including a balcony and shared rooftop, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
When the pandemic began to ease up, they attended about 20 weddings in three years, where well-meaning friends asked about their future plans.
“We were both on the same page,” she said. “We weren’t in a rush.”
In 2022, during a trip to a picturesque resort in Porto, Portugal, Ms. Evans thought she could imagine a proposal there; turns out, so could he.
“Incredible sunsets were ingrained in my mind,” he said.
In August 2023, after they attended a wedding in Poland and were en route to the Rugby World Cup in France, he got down on one knee in Porto, where Ms. Evans’s sister, who was in on the plan, joined them.
On Nov. 13, her sister was again on hand as their witness at their legal ceremony at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau led by Yanfang Chen, an officiant at the Manhattan City Clerk’s Office.
On Aug. 23, in Ireland, during a misty rain with fog-covered mountains, 112 guests attended a celebration at Killruddery House and Gardens, in Bray, County Wicklow, where traditions included Ancient Celtic hand-fastening and jumping the broom.
The bride wore a blush gown by Galia Lahav and the groom and groomsmen wore custom tuxedos by Louis Copeland and Sons, a Dublin tailor.
A reception followed at Powerscourt Estate, House & Gardens nearby, where the night before, the New Brass Kings, a Dublin-based band, led the couple and their families in a New Orleans-style second line processional to the welcome party at the estate’s distillery. They surprised guests already there when they arrived to the tune of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love.”
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