Wedding of the Week: Magic of Disneyland Paris proposal followed by fairytale East Cork wedding
Ciara Purcell and Donagh O'Riordan. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com
Sleeping Beauty's castle was the backdrop to their engagement, and Barnabrow Country House in Cloyne, Co Cork, lent similar fairytale qualities to the ceremony and reception when Ciara Purcell and Donagh O'Riordan said “I do”.
Ciara from Kilrush, Co Clare, and Donagh from Cill Na Martra, Co Cork, were married by celebrant Marian Dooley this month.
Ciara, who works at Alcon, and Donagh, a secondary school teacher, first met in April 2021. “We instantly clicked and connected over our similar sense of humour and movie taste,” she says.
They got engaged three years later, in February 2024, at Disneyland Paris. “We both love Disneyland,” says Ciara. “Donagh proposed just outside the castle, and instead of an engagement ring, had an ‘engagement tiara’!”
Ciara's dream dress awaited her in the first bridal boutique she visited, Cinderella’s Closet.
“Wedding dress shopping was really easy. My sister and maid of honour Emily came with me, and I had a solid vision in mind. The designer was chosen well before the wedding as I loved every Justin Alexander dress I'd seen,” she says.
“The look was princess-like. I teamed my long ballgown-shaped dress with the tiara that Donagh proposed to me with — we didn't do rings because of preference.
“Donagh's suit, from Tom Murphy’s, was light in colour, which he originally wouldn't have gone for, but once he tried it on, it suited him great.”
The couple opted for an intimate wedding. “We wanted it to be low-key and to be very ‘us’,” says Ciara.
“We didn’t want a traditional wedding. Everything went better than we could have expected. There were lots of tears during the ceremony, the food was amazing, and every single person who helped during the day was wonderful. There was a lot of love in the place.”
Both sets of parents, Anne and Stephen Purcell and Geraldine and Tadhg O’Riordan, had key roles, including chauffeur duties.
“Our parents drove us to the venue, but we left in Donagh's red MX5 — he fully restored the vintage car just in time for the wedding,” says Ciara.
The bride’s sister Emily Purcell was the maid of honour and the groom’s brother Cian O’Riordan was the best man.
Elegance Florists devised the décor, and Ciara's sister Laura supplied a centrepiece and aisle flowers from her own garden. The bride's sister Sinead made the cake, and Donagh’s sister Andrea baked cookies for the reception and the sweets table.
The bridal hairstyling was by Dawn Monaher of Dawn HairyFairy with makeup by Allure.
Photographer Dermot Sullivan was behind the lens. “Dermot actually grew up next door to Ciara's father — we only found this out on the wedding day!” says Donagh.
DJ Bryan McDonnell “read the room well”, adds Ciara: “He kept everyone coming back for more dancing! Our first dance was to The Carpenters’ ‘Close to You’. We had a dance rehearsed for the song with the help of a dance teacher, Niamh from Cork Dance Scene. We practised loads but ended up forgetting a chunk of it and improvising on the day. No one noticed!”
The newlyweds jetted off to Corfu for their honeymoon. “We are there now and having a blast — the best holiday we've ever been on,” says the bride.
The Ballintemple-based couple are currently in “the long process of buying a house”, adds Ciara.
- If you would like your wedding to be featured in email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
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