Wedding of the Week: Cork couple's five-star celebration is 'nothing short of magical'
Maeve Dooley and Alan Cadogan. Pictures: Studio Lordan
Sharing one of the happiest days of their lives with family and friends was “a dream come true” for Cork newlyweds Maeve Dooley and Alan Cadogan.
Maeve, from Rathcormac, and Alan, from Douglas, exchanged vows in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Rathcormac, where they were married by a relative of the groom, Fr Michael Keohane, from the Blackrock/Mahon parish.
“The wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful, and the music added an unforgettable touch,” says Maeve. “Our wedding day was nothing short of magical. Every moment felt like a dream come true, from the wedding ceremony to the joyous celebration. We had such a fun and memorable day.”
Their vision for the occasion was to bring together their “nearest and dearest — the family and friends who have shaped our journey and supported us along the way”, says the bride.
The five-star Castlemartyr Resort proved to be the ideal reception venue. “We absolutely fell in love with Castlematyr when we first saw it. It was the only venue that we looked at. It was the perfect location for us and it exceeded all of our expectations,” says Maeve.
The hotel's spectacular grounds formed a fairytale backdrop for the outdoor shots as Seán Lordan (studiolordan.com) led the photoshoot with videographer Aidan Kennelly (@editsxaidy) capturing moments on camera also.
“We were extremely lucky with the weather and were able to get lots of our photos outside,” adds Maeve.
Maeve and Alan have been an item since 2016 when they met on Tinder. Alan popped the question at home, six years later, on November 25, 2022.
“He wanted to catch me off-guard so it was a complete surprise. We spent that night with our families and then went to celebrate in the Europe Hotel in Killarney the following day,” says Maeve.
The bride’s parents Carmel and Dan and the groom's mother and father Eileen and James helped the couple put their big-day plan into action as did the bridesmaids, Maeve’s sister Carol-Marie Dooley and her cousin Aine Gavin, best man, Alan’s brother Eoin Cadogan, and groomsman, Alan’s friend Shane O’Donoghue.
Maeve's niece Léana Horgan and Alan's niece Grace O’Sullivan were the flowergirls and Alan’s nephews Cian and Ryan O’Sullivan were the pageboys.
Music is extremely important to the couple. “A lot of thought went into the music for the day,” says Maeve.
“My cousins sang during the church ceremony, Aine Gavin, who was also my bridesmaid, Sarah Barry and Niamh Sheehan, accompanied by Marjorie Moran on piano and Gerry Kelly on the cello. We had a saxophone player perform during dinner and had traditional music at our drinks reception and our wedding band was The Pearly Whites.”
Maeve looked elegant in a sleek design from Sinead Corcoran’s The One couture collection and Alan was dapper thanks to Simply Suits.
“Sinead was incredibly helpful and helped with the styling of the dress. I loved every minute of the wedding dress shopping experience,” says Maeve.
UpStyle Junkie and Glamour by Dawn were the hair and makeup team and Ina McCarthy, Midleton, created the floral décor.
Maeve, a primary school teacher at Leamlara National School, and Alan, a secondary school teacher at St Francis College, Rochestown, are deciding on their honeymoon destination.
The couple, who are currently living in Glounthaune, hope to build their “forever home” in Douglas.
- If you would like your wedding featured in Weekend email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
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