Wedding of the Week: Valentia supplies the movie set magic for island wedding
Rebecca Curran and Dominic Tully. Pictures: Micheál O’Sullivan Photography, www.osullivanphotographyirl.com
You could hardly wish for a more out-of-this-world cinematic backdrop for your wedding snaps.
After all, Valentia's neighbouring island Skellig Michael was Luke Skywalker's sanctuary in the movies.
And once Rebecca Curran and Dominic Tully said "I do", the cameras followed them as they strolled hand in hand into the South Kerry landscape that sweeps up Geokaun Mountain and Cliffs and overlooks Foilhummerum Bay.
“I always wanted to get married on Valentia Island as it is my home and I have great pride in the place,” says Rebecca.
She and Dominic were wed in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Knightstown, Valentia Island, by Fr Larry Kelly.
They enjoyed a photoshoot led by Micheál O’Sullivan of Kerry-based www.osullivanphotographyirl.com that also took in Valentia bridge and the 17th-century lighthouse before their reception in The Royal Valentia Hotel, Knightstown.
“My family home is just a five-minute drive from the church and the hotel is only a two-minute walk away which made the day so much easier and relaxing for everyone as there was no driving from church to reception — and as many of the guests were local they got to wake up in their own beds the next morning which was a bonus,” says Rebecca.
The bride and groom, who is from Kilburn, London, and has strong Donegal roots, first encountered one another in London, where they are currently based.
“We met in The Kingdom Bar in Kilburn, back in 2012, on a night out,” says Rebecca.
“We got engaged during the August festival in Caherciveen back in 2018.”
They originally planned their big day for Friday, March 27, 2020. “Then, two weeks prior, everywhere went into lockdown following the Covid outbreak which left us with no choice but to postpone the wedding and we finally tied the knot two years and one baby later (our son John Daniel) on April 23, 2022,” says Rebecca.
“Having John Daniel present was special. We actually had him christened the day before.”
Both sets of parents, Anne and Kevin Curran and Pauline and Danny Tully, toasted to the newlyweds’ happiness, as did Rebecca’s sister and bridesmaid, Denise Curran, and Dominic’s cousin and groomsman, Barry Delargy.
John Daniel Tully was the pageboy while Alice Broderick, Saoirse O’Mahoney and Emily Tully were the flowergirls.
“It was a lovely, relaxed day with friends and family,” says the bride.
“It was everyone’s first get-together since Covid so we had a ball. Everyone danced from after the meal until the lights were out; we had music by Ger O’Shea followed by DJ Dave Sheehan. Killarney — he kept us going until the early hours.”
Rebecca looked super-elegant in a San Patrick design. “The dress was bought in Memories Bridal Boutique in Cork,” she says.
“I purchased it three-and-a-half years prior for the original wedding date so it was a long time on the hanger!”
The bridal hairstyling was by Sarah Dwyer of Sarah Ann Bridal Hair with makeup by Aine McMahon and Shades of Bloom, Killorglin, Co Kerry, created the floral arrangements.
The newlyweds plan to relocate from London to Kerry. “We are very lucky as we are currently in the process of building our ‘forever home’, with my dad overseeing the project and doing a lot of the work," says Rebecca. "It’s beside my family home on Valentia and we intend on moving back there within the next year, all going well."
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