Her father, Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte, husband John and her three brothers helped carry the 27-year-old's coffin as the funeral cortege made its way to the small country church where she was married last month.
Players from Mr McAreavey's local football club, Tullylish in Co Down, and Michaela's form class at St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon formed a guard of honour outside.
Tyrone senior gaelic football team members and local club Errigal Ciaran, which Mr Harte used to manage, provided the first guard of honour from her parents' home to the church.
Mr Harte was seen comforting his son-in-law as Bishop John McAreavey, uncle of John, who married the couple, received the coffin into the church.
Bishop McAreavey, together with the Cardinal Seán Brady, presided over the funeral in Glencull.
In the homily, he said Michaela was remembered for and as a "Tyrone woman through and through".
"The first love in Michaela's life was of the love of her parents, Mickey and Marian, and her brothers, Mark, Michael and Mattie," he said.
"As everybody knows, Michaela was close to her dad and through him became part of a wide circle of friends in Tyrone and in the GAA family throughout Ireland. Michaela was a Tyrone woman through and through and nothing was ever going to change that!"
Newlywed Michaela was found dead in her hotel room in Mauritius on honeymoon last week. Her funeral took place a day after the couple were due to arrive home from the holiday island to begin their married life together.
Those plans, Bishop McAreavey continued, have now been "shattered" by an "evil act".
"Today we also need to somehow face the darkness of these days," he continued. "An evil act ended Michaela's young life last Monday; it robbed John of his beautiful wife; it deprived the Harte family of their precious daughter and sister; it deprived the McAreavey family of the daughter-in-law they looked forward to having; it shattered hopes and dreams for the future."
"Even those of us who are older and who have had some experience of tragedy have been shaken to the core by what has happened. We are still in a state of shock."
A Pioneer pin and rosary beads representing Micheala's abstinence from alcohol and her strong Catholic faith were placed at the altar close to her ornate coffin.
Her passion for the Irish language and games also featured as a jersey of her beloved county team, Tyrone, and the Fáinne emblem worn by speakers of the language was also carried to the altar.
A rose symbolising beauty and love, long associated with St Thérèse of Liseaux, the French saint who received an early calling to religious life, completed the offerings.
Dignitaries including Irish President Mary McAleese and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were amongst the thousands attending the service.
Also in attendance were senior officials from the GAA. The Church of Ireland was represented by the Bishop of Down and Dromore, Harold Miller, and Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Ken Good.
At Stormont, First Minister Peter Robinson led the tributes to Michaela, as all political parties passed on their condolences to the McAreavey and Harte families.
"Michaela was known to a wide circle of family and friends, but this past week I believe we now all feel that we knew her," he said.
"This is one of the rare tragedies that has captured public attention and united the community in grief."
Mr Robinson added: "I am a father. I have a beautiful daughter of a similar age to Michaela.
"I love her to bits. It gives me a sense of the loss, but only a sense, for the reality is so much more painful than the imagining.
"Personally, as DUP leader, as First Minister, I want to convey the love, support and condolences of the whole community to the McAreavey and Harte families."
A special mass in Mauritius was held simultaneously in memory of Michaela led by the island's senior priest, Fr Gopille.
The former Ulster Rose was buried in the tiny graveyard next to the church in the wedding dress she wore last month.