Loathe as I am to make assumptions, there is a general feeling in the air that the wedding of the year will be tomorrow's nuptials between Hamish McAlpine and Karen Nicholls. Hamish, who is the son of the aristocratic Mal- colm McAlpine, is the man behind the film and video distributors, Metrotartan and Tartan Video, while Karen has recently graduated from the Courtauld Institute in London. She has recently set up a property development company in LA and is also planning to work with Hamish in the film world, using their Dublin house as a base.
Karen's dress is a hand woven number by hot designer Koji Tatsuno, while the other essentials, hair and make-up, will be attended to by James Mooney and Zoe Clarke, respectively. Mark Lawlor, Barretstown-Camp-main-manturned-florist, together with his partner in Flower Valet, Anthony Jackson, have been hard at work on the flowers.
Many of the 250 guests are from England and the States and staying in hotels around the city; the bride and groom's families are meeting in the Tea Rooms in the Clarence tonight.
The ceremony and reception will be held in their good friend Garech de Brun's place Luggala in Wicklow, with Garech's good friend, Bernadette Greevy singing at the ceremony. With Karen's art connections and Hamish's love of contemporary art, many of the guests are an arty crew, including current enfant terrible of the London scene Tracy Ermin, Patrick Hughes and Pat- rick Conyngham, brother of Henry Mountcharles.
The two best men are Chris Pattie and art dealer John Heather. John's brother Mark and wife Heather are also joining the party. Musicians Brian Eno and Simon Carmody, who is putting the finishing touches to his solo album, will be there as well as Eno's friend, music promoter Billy Gaff. Barbara Dawson of the Hugh Lane Gallery; Michael Colgan of the Gate; U2 manager Paul McGuinness and his wife Kathy Gilfillan; and photographer Perry Ogden, are all making the trip into the Wicklow hills tomorrow too.