Wedding of the Week: Bride and groom married twice in one hour in Cork
Muireann O'Neill and Eoin Conway with their son Páidà Conway. Pictures: Shane O'Neill (Aspect Photography)
Bride and groom Muireann O'Neill and Eoin Conway were married twice in one hour at the same venue.
Muireann, from Ring, Co Waterford, and Eoin, from Ladysbridge, Co Cork, exchanged vows on the double at the Maryborough Hotel & Spa in Cork which was also where their reception took place.Â
“My good friend is a celebrant and I really wanted her to officiate but we also needed to do the legal part,” says Muireann.Â
“We couldn't get a date at a registry office around the time of our wedding so as a compromise, a registrar from Cork, Ann Walsh, came to the Maryborough and married us in a small private ceremony with just family.Â
Sixty minutes later, it was celebrant Aileen Moon's turn to preside, as she pronounced the Muireann and Eoin newlyweds yet again — this time "in front of all our friends and extended family", adds the bride.Â
The couple first met in April 2021. “It was during the covid pandemic and for our first date, we did the cliff walk in Ardmore,” says Muireann.
Eoin popped the question on a holiday in Spain in April 2024. “We were at the beach, just after a swim with our little boy, PáidĂ. He was six months old at the time. It was a complete surprise and really lovely,” says Muireann.
The couple initially wanted a small wedding abroad but “realised quickly that that wasn't going to be practical”, says Muireann: “It was going to be a big wedding, but we wanted to hold onto that small relaxed wedding vibe.”Â
The event lived up to all expectations, she adds. “Hoping for your day to go as planned is one thing but for it to actually happen is something else. Both ceremonies turned out to be my favourite part of the day,” says Muireann.
The legal ceremony was “surprisingly poignant”, according to the bride. “We had joked that we wanted to keep it sterile so it wouldn't take away from the main ceremony but I'm so glad it didn't turn out that way. It felt very intimate and special.
“The main ceremony was totally different but just as memorable. It was held in the hotel’s orangery with all of our friends and family. Dad walked me down the aisle, while my brother and friend played music.Â
"Aileen, our celebrant, did the most amazing job of balancing humour and sentiment throughout the ceremony especially when she told 'our story'. She put it together as a surprise based on conversations with Eoin and me.”Â
Capturing it all on camera was Shane O’Neill, Aspect Photography ( aspectphotography.net) and also leading the celebrations were both sets of parents, Helen and Christy O'Neill and Christine and Maurice Conway.
Muireann’s sisters Aoife Joyce and Cliodhna Power were her bridesmaids and Eoin’s friends Billy Murphy and Alan Brett were his groomsmen while the bride’s nephew Liam Power was the pageboy and her niece Etain Joyce was the flowergirl and the groom’s niece Kate Harrington was the ringbearer.
Sara Condon was the bridal hairstylist with Donna Nagle as makeup artist. Bláth by Kerrie Bedell created the floral arrangements, while the floral arch for the ceremony and the signate was by Divine Events.
A Little Sweet by Paula baked the wedding cake and the Bentley Boys ensured everyone got into the groove on the dance floor.
The newlyweds, who live in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, honeymooned in Sardinia.
- If you would like your wedding featured in Weekend email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
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