Wedding of the Week: Desk swap leads to 'I do's' for Grace and Matt

Grace Egan and Matt Clancy are wed in St Brendan's Church, Curaheen, Co Kerry, and celebrate in The Tankard Bar and Restaurant, Fenit

Sat, 12 Oct, 2024 - 02:00

Eve Kelliher

His chatter during school hours propelled Matt Clancy right to the front row, under the teacher’s eye.

It was 2010 and Matt, from Blennerville, Co Kerry, was in his first year of secondary school. The seat swap meant his new deskmate was Grace Egan.

Grace Egan and Matt Clancy with their wedding party. Pictures: Natalie Maher

“We were 13 years old. Matt got moved from the back of class because he was talking too much and he was put sitting next to me so I could be a good influence. And the rest is history!” says Grace, from Ardfert.

Matt popped the question 13 years later, in May 2023, in Barcelona, before the couple embarked on a weeklong cruise. “He proposed in a park after we had gone for a walk — I felt he was acting strangely but I still never suspected a thing!” says Grace.

They were married in August of this year in St Brendan's Church, Curraheen, Co Kerry, by Fr Tadhg Fitzgerald and held their reception in The Tankard Bar and Restaurant, Kilfenora, Fenit, Tralee.

Natalie Maher was behind the camera to capture every special moment for posterity, as was Matt’s brother Ben Clancy, as the videographer.

The bride’s brother Michael Egan walked her up the aisle and her mother Breda Egan carried the honorary pageboy, Grace’s nephew Conor Egan, seven months.

“My brother was making me laugh as we were waiting for the musicians to start the processional song.

Michael Egan walked Grace Egan up the aisle.

Matt and I relaxed into the day as soon as the ceremony started. The whole day went by so fast but I remember us both laughing and smiling the whole time,” says Grace.

Also present to help them celebrate were the bride’s grandmother Nora O’Sullivan together with Matt’s parents Elaine and Paul Clancy and his grandparents Martha and Oliver Brawn.

Grace Egan, centre, with her mother Breda Egan and sister Mary Egan. Pictures: Natalie Maher

“We were both very lucky to have grandparents there for our special day. We also had friends flying from abroad to make the wedding which meant a lot to us,” says Grace.

“Our wedding day was also on Matt's mom Elaine’s birthday which made the day even more special.”

Grace chose her sister Mary Egan to be her maid of honour and her bridesmaids were her childhood friends Seija Nevalainen, Siobhan Breen and Clodagh Carr.

Grace Egan and Matt Clancy. Pictures: Natalie Maher

Matt’s friends Thomas Phelan and Patrick Walsh were the best men and his friend Gordon Burrows joined forces with his brother Tom Clancy to take on groomsman duties.

Grace looked super-elegant in a dress sourced in Finesse Bridal Wear, Listowel, and Matt was dapper in a suit by Suits Select, Tralee. The bridal hairstyling was by Tara Boughen, Killarney, and Rachel O’Driscoll, Tralee, was the makeup artist.

“We actually didn't hire a florist, my mom (Breda Egan) went above and beyond (as usual) and arranged the flowers herself,” says Grace.

The couple wanted their wedding to feel “traditional and intimate”, adds the bride.

“We kept our guestlist small and we did a lot of our own DIYs with the help of family, including the flowers, cake, and decorations and signage,” says Grace.

“We feel like this added more of a personal touch.

“Our day-two celebration, a relaxed barbecue, was graciously hosted by Matt's family in their home in Blennerville.”

The newlyweds honeymooned in Thailand. “We spent a few days in Bangkok before travelling to the island of Koh Samui. We booked our honeymoon with Nicola Browne at Travel Counsellors,” says the bride.

Grace is a GP in Listowel, Co Kerry, and Matt is a research scientist in Tralee. “We are currently undergoing planning for renovation and extension of a house in Ardfert,” says Grace.