Wedding of the Week: French connection for Cork couple with an Eiffel Tower proposal
Jessica Royce and Colin Beausang. Pictures: Matt Brooker
This Valentine’s Day is especially sweet for Cork newlyweds Jessica Royce and Colin Beausang as it marks their one-month wedding anniversary.
The couple, who live in Jess’ native Cloyne, exchanged vows on January 16 at Cork registry office, followed by a reception at Garryvoe Hotel in East Cork.
The bride and groom, who is from Ladysbridge, met 13 years ago in secondary school. “It was our first class back after the summer holidays of 2013, and Colin was the first person I spoke to that morning. We had to talk to each other in German as it was German class,” says Jess.
Ten years later, French félicitations were the soundtrack to their engagement in Paris. “Colin spontaneously decided to propose to me at the very, very top of the Eiffel Tower using a Disney ring he’d bought me in Disneyland Paris that I happened to be wearing,” says Jess. “We’ve since chosen a ring together that we both liked. It was March 9, two days after my birthday.
We then travelled back to Ireland, bought a dog, our boxer Tatum, because we had gone sale-agreed on our house in April, then got pregnant in August following two long years of trying for a baby.”
Their son Rían enjoyed being part of the wedding. “When he saw his daddy at the top of the aisle, he ran to him and hugged him hard,” says the bride.
Jess’ parents, Tori and Niall, and Colin’s mum and dad, Trish and Maurice, also played key roles, while Colin’s grandmother Kitty and Jess’ grandfather Paddy were also there to toast to their future happiness, with Paddy arriving from Spain especially.
Jess, a chef, and Colin, an Eir technician — and drummer in a band — had no shortage of help when it came to planning their big day. “Our wedding party went above and beyond for us,” says the bride.
Jess’ friends Shauna Walsh and Leah McSweeney were her maid of honour and bridesmaid, and Colin’s friends Aaron McSweeney and Leon O’Regan Edwards were the groomsman/witness and best man respectively.
Jess was glamorous in a Justin Alexander Estelle gown sourced in Cinderella’s Closet, and the groom and his party were dapper in tuxes from Tom Murphy’s, Cork City. “The hair and makeup was by my long-term hairdresser and close friend Annette, who works in Platinum Hair Limited in Ballincollig. I call her Aunty Netty. She’s been doing my hair and listening to me whine since I was four years old. She did my mum’s hair and makeup for her wedding day and promised me on that day she’d do mine for my wedding.”
Matt Brooker ( mattbrookerphotography.com) was behind the lens. “If our wedding was the best day of our lives, our photographer Matt Brooker was the best thing to happen that day,” says Jess. “He really was like the conductor/director. If it wasn’t for him, we’d all have been late.”
The couple’s friend, Niamh O’Connor, performed at the drinks reception and later in the evening with the band. The bride, who created the bouquets, boutonnières, and floral decor herself, also paid tribute to the management and staff of Garryvoe, and to Amanda Landers (@sugarandslicecork), who baked the wedding cake.
The newlyweds danced the night away to the Danny O’Leary Band, for which the groom is the drummer. “Colin rocked it out on the night too with the band, as did the best man Leon, on his guitar,” says Jess.
The newlyweds honeymooned in Wineport Lodge in Athlone.
- If you would like your wedding in , email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
