My Wedding Day

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#My Wedding Day

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>John O’Grady with one of his 14 carriages drawn by some of his 18 horses at Dromoland Castle. He says he caught the horse-and-carriage bug as a child and went on to set up Step in Time Carriages in 2000. Pictures: Eamon Ward</p>

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Behind the fairytale: The years of work that go into preparing a wedding carriage horse

From loud music and busy roads to wedding-day grooming, John O’Grady explains the work behind his family-run carriage business

<p>Catherine Mahon Buckley: "We had around 350 guests at the wedding. Among them were several nuns from the Bons Secours Hospital. When I was 19. I had a cyst at the back of my head, sitting close to my brain. I had to have it removed and during that time the nuns really looked after me and cared for me."</p>

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My Wedding Day with Catherine Mahon-Buckley: I was into women’s rights so we took each other's surnames

<p>James Gabriel Martin and his wife Aisling on their wedding day. Pictures: Jacky Galm.</p>

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My Wedding Day with James Gabriel Martin: We had a traditional pagan ceremony led by a druid

Orla & Rob

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My Wedding Day with Orla Hennelly: GAA weddings tend to be in the winter

AOIFE & COLM // MOUNT JULIET ESTATE

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My Wedding Day with Aoife O'Sullivan: We had 220 guests — GAA alone made the numbers go up

Stacey and Connor

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My Wedding Day with Stacey Walsh: We jumped a broom made by a local witch to 'I Put a Spell on You'

My Wedding Day with George McMahon: We didn’t bother with a cake, we put money behind the bar instead

S My Wedding Day with George McMahon: We didn’t bother with a cake, we put money behind the bar instead

The party was hopping all night. And at 3.30am we all got a bus down to the town to a nightclub called Rockafellas. The party went on then until around 7am

Wed, 16 Sep, 2026

My Wedding Day with Heidi Higgins: I’m a fashion designer but I didn’t design my wedding dress

S My Wedding Day with Heidi Higgins: I’m a fashion designer but I didn’t design my wedding dress

I love hosting parties in general; there’s always something happening at our house, so the wedding was exactly what I wanted. I wouldn’t change it for the world

Tue, 08 Sep, 2026

My Wedding Day with Clíona Standún: I was a bit overwhelmed — I’d have preferred to be a guest

S My Wedding Day with Clíona Standún: I was a bit overwhelmed — I’d have preferred to be a guest

We had discussed having a really small wedding with just immediate family, but when we thought about it, we did really want to have everyone there

Wed, 02 Sep, 2026

My Wedding Day with Máire Uí Rabhartaigh: Our church ceremony was all 'as Gaeilge'

S My Wedding Day with Máire Uí Rabhartaigh: Our church ceremony was all 'as Gaeilge'

The buzz in the house that morning was just great. All my aunties had come over and their kids, and, of course, my own sisters and parents. I was really enjoying all the chats and the laughs

Wed, 26 Aug, 2026

My Wedding Day with Martina Murphy: My mother’s friend made my dress and my boss played music

S My Wedding Day with Martina Murphy: My mother’s friend made my dress and my boss played music

We planned the whole wedding ourselves, and it all went fine. We used people we knew for all the main elements.

Tue, 18 Aug, 2026

My Wedding Day with Kieran McGuinness: The priest shouted at me and my mum in Italian

S My Wedding Day with Kieran McGuinness: The priest shouted at me and my mum in Italian

Emily was 40 minutes late because she had to walk through the cobbled streets of Positano in heels — the priest was having a fit

Tue, 11 Aug, 2026

My Wedding Day with 2FM's Aisling Bonner: 'I was delighted to hear there was a crasher'

S My Wedding Day with 2FM's Aisling Bonner: 'I was delighted to hear there was a crasher'

We had our ceremony in Smock Alley Theatre. I’m a big fan of musicals. I’ve done them all my life, so that was symbolic. And then we had our reception in Hen’s Teeth in Dublin 8, which is a cool, arty event space

Tue, 04 Aug, 2026

My Wedding Day with Teresa Mannion: It was lashing — but I wasn't stressed at all

S My Wedding Day with Teresa Mannion: It was lashing — but I wasn't stressed at all

We had the wedding ceremony in the little chapel of the St Mary’s Holy Faith Convent in Glasnevin, which is where I went to school. It’s across the road from the Met Office and it adjoins the grounds of the Botanic Gardens

Tue, 21 Jul, 2026

My Wedding Day with Bríd Ní Chumhaill: 'To keep costs down, our reception was in Dublin Airport'

S My Wedding Day with Bríd Ní Chumhaill: 'To keep costs down, our reception was in Dublin Airport'

At the airport for the reception, we had the usual formalities like the speeches. We didn’t do a first dance — it wasn’t really something that was done in those days — we just took to the floor and danced in an ungainly manner and gestured for everyone else to come save us!

Tue, 14 Jul, 2026

My Wedding Day with Orla Hopkins: Our ceremony was short and focused on our families coming together

S My Wedding Day with Orla Hopkins: Our ceremony was short and focused on our families coming together

One of my favourite memories of the day was my dad's speech. Sitting there and listening to my dad and how he talked about bringing the two families together was just really special to me

Tue, 07 Jul, 2026

EMMA & CIAN

S My Wedding Day with Emma Barry Murphy: 'It wouldn’t have been me if I didn’t do some exercises'

Barre instructor Emma Barry Murphy says her wedding day was relaxed, fun, and featured a few exercises

Tue, 30 Jun, 2026

My Wedding Day with Laura Nolan: 'Our reception tables were named after our Dancing with the Stars performances'

S My Wedding Day with Laura Nolan: 'Our reception tables were named after our Dancing with the Stars performances'

Because we had met on Dancing with the Stars we had included a few nods to the show throughout our day

Wed, 24 Jun, 2026

My Wedding Day with Aisling Roche: 'We had a welcome night in a lemon grove — a unique experience'

S My Wedding Day with Aisling Roche: 'We had a welcome night in a lemon grove — a unique experience'

We chose Positano because Byron did a surprise proposal outside Positano on a boat about two years ago

Tue, 16 Jun, 2026

My Wedding Day with Sinead Sheppard: 'Being from Cobh, I had to get married in the cathedral'

S My Wedding Day with Sinead Sheppard: 'Being from Cobh, I had to get married in the cathedral'

I have a background in the arts, so music played a big part in our day. We had the Carrigtwohill Gospel Choir singing in the cathedral, and it was beautiful

Tue, 09 Jun, 2026

My Wedding Day with Fionnuala Jay: 'Cian and I did a joint Six O'Clock Show-style speech'

S My Wedding Day with Fionnuala Jay: 'Cian and I did a joint Six O'Clock Show-style speech'

We did all the planning ourselves, which was so stressful. There were a lot of things to keep track of, and that’s not in my wheelhouse. I don’t know why I ever thought it was

Wed, 27 May, 2026

My Wedding Day with Annalise Murphy: 'We planned a cycle with our friends the night before'

S My Wedding Day with Annalise Murphy: 'We planned a cycle with our friends the night before'

My granduncle is a priest in his 90s. We wanted him to marry us, but he didn’t want to do anything big. So we had two weddings!

Tue, 19 May, 2026

My Wedding Day with Sheila O'Flanagan: 'I just walked in and bought my dress off the rack'

S My Wedding Day with Sheila O'Flanagan: 'I just walked in and bought my dress off the rack'

The ceremony in the registry office was quite short, but we added little touches that were personal to us

Tue, 12 May, 2026

My Wedding Day with Jenny Egan: Our canoeist friends made a paddle arch for us to walk through

S My Wedding Day with Jenny Egan: Our canoeist friends made a paddle arch for us to walk through

We had lots of international athlete friends from the UK, Denmark, Austria and Canada with us on the day

Tue, 05 May, 2026

My Wedding Day with Caroline Downey: 'We walked down the aisle to The Sunday Game theme'

S My Wedding Day with Caroline Downey: 'We walked down the aisle to The Sunday Game theme'

We did a ‘How well do you know the bride and groom’ quiz. That was instead of spending money on party favours — we used the money we would have spent to give a prize for the quiz of an overnight stay in the Kilronan Castle Hotel

Wed, 29 Apr, 2026

My Wedding Day with Caroline Morahan: When looking for a venue, I called Lucy Kennedy

S My Wedding Day with Caroline Morahan: When looking for a venue, I called Lucy Kennedy

We had planned to have the entire wedding outdoors, dinner among the trees, and the drinks reception in the piazza in Siena, the disco out by the pool. As soon as we got to the venue I had to try and source a marquee and we had to make a plan to move the disco indoors. But we pulled it off

Tue, 21 Apr, 2026

Valerie & Gavin

S My Wedding Day with Valerie Wheeler: 'Portugal felt familiar and special to us — and the golf courses were a plus'

Valerie Wheeler, who recently announced her first pregnancy, reflects on her 2025 wedding at an intimate venue, called Vau: A rooftop restaurant on a cliff just outside Portimão in Portugal

Sun, 19 Apr, 2026

My Wedding Day with John Brennan: 'Priest ran off with the shopkeeper's wife before the wedding'

S My Wedding Day with John Brennan: 'Priest ran off with the shopkeeper's wife before the wedding'

On the Saturday before our wedding, didn’t our lovely priest, who was set to marry us on the bank holiday Monday, run off with the shopkeeper's wife! So we were down a few guests and a priest

Wed, 08 Apr, 2026

My Wedding Day with Caoimhe Hartley: 'Mick’s dad was an All Star so the servers wore GAA jerseys'

S My Wedding Day with Caoimhe Hartley: 'Mick’s dad was an All Star so the servers wore GAA jerseys'

The priest was my husband’s uncle, Jim, who married his entire family over the years

Wed, 01 Apr, 2026

My Wedding Day with Holly Carpenter: 'We used Cork colours to tie the knot’

S My Wedding Day with Holly Carpenter: 'We used Cork colours to tie the knot’

We had a secular ceremony and one of our best friends married us. We had the ceremony outdoors, under a big tree. And it was really chilled

Tue, 24 Mar, 2026

My Wedding Day with Linda Stinson: ‘I woke that morning to a patchy and green fake tan disaster’

S My Wedding Day with Linda Stinson: ‘I woke that morning to a patchy and green fake tan disaster’

I wanted a real 1920s' wedding. I’ve always been into black-and-white movies and that whole era

Fri, 20 Mar, 2026

Diana and Steve

S My Wedding Day with Diana Bunici: 'Our dogs wore their little tuxes — they were adorable'

Steve performed a song that he wrote for me as part of his speech. It’s called 'Without You' and it’s a beautiful love song. Steve wouldn’t be a fantastic speaker, but obviously he speaks through music. It just meant so much to me

Tue, 10 Mar, 2026

My Wedding Day with Paula MacSweeney: 'Our elopement was the perfect fairytale of New York'

S My Wedding Day with Paula MacSweeney: 'Our elopement was the perfect fairytale of New York'

We just had no interest in the planning of a wedding; we didn't want to do the big circus. We also loved any excuse to hop on a plane. So we thought this was probably the best thing we could do

Tue, 03 Mar, 2026

My Wedding Day with Johnny Ward: 'I felt my late father and best friend were with us on the day'

S My Wedding Day with Johnny Ward: 'I felt my late father and best friend were with us on the day'

They say don’t book the first place you see, but that’s exactly what we did

Tue, 24 Feb, 2026

My Wedding Day with Emma O'Hagan: It was very much a community event — we bartered for a lot of things!

S My Wedding Day with Emma O'Hagan: It was very much a community event — we bartered for a lot of things!

Emma O'Hagan and her husband Kevin O'Reilly wanted their wedding to be as sustainable as possible, so they made all the decorations themselves

Thu, 19 Feb, 2026

My Wedding Day with Fiona Frawley: We didn’t have our 'green book', we ran out of time to get it

S My Wedding Day with Fiona Frawley: We didn’t have our 'green book', we ran out of time to get it

I was five months pregnant at the time and I thought my bump was going to balloon and I'd be flashing everyone as I walked down the aisle. But it didn't, it fit perfectly. I loved my dress

Tue, 10 Feb, 2026

My Wedding Day with Nichola Fryday: We were among the last ones standing

S My Wedding Day with Nichola Fryday: We were among the last ones standing

Stuart even managed to get nine holes of golf on the morning of the wedding

Tue, 03 Feb, 2026

My Wedding Day with Jeanni O'Shea: My mom only got her visa three weeks before our wedding

S My Wedding Day with Jeanni O'Shea: My mom only got her visa three weeks before our wedding

Visa challenges reshaped Jeanni and Greg O'Shea's plans, but an intimate Dublin ceremony delivered a deeply personal, joyful wedding day

Tue, 27 Jan, 2026

My Wedding Day with Sharon Mannion: I was delighted to have everything done for me

S My Wedding Day with Sharon Mannion: I was delighted to have everything done for me

Didn’t I burst out of the dress. The button at the back came off. My mother had a needle and thread with her and she fixed it

Wed, 21 Jan, 2026

My Wedding Day with Ciara Revins: My sister is a hairdresser so she sorted everyone’s hair — including her own

S My Wedding Day with Ciara Revins: My sister is a hairdresser so she sorted everyone’s hair — including her own

We had our wedding in Casa Santonja in Costa Blanca, Spain. We had the whole thing in the venue — a non-religious ceremony and then a party afterwards

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

My Wedding Day with Jenny Fennessy: To be honest, we planned the wedding around the band

S My Wedding Day with Jenny Fennessy: To be honest, we planned the wedding around the band

As we expected, the band was amazing, and everyone was up dancing all night

Tue, 06 Jan, 2026

My Wedding Day with Suzanne Kane: The priest forgot to marry us. We had to go back and do it properly

S My Wedding Day with Suzanne Kane: The priest forgot to marry us. We had to go back and do it properly

The parish priest, who must have been following the ceremony from the sacristy, stuck his head out the door and told the best man 'he hasn’t actually married them'. Sure enough, he hadn’t

Wed, 31 Dec, 2025

My Wedding Day with Joanna Donnelly: My phone rang during the ceremony and I answered it

S My Wedding Day with Joanna Donnelly: My phone rang during the ceremony and I answered it

It was a friend of mine ringing to congratulate me on our wedding. I said: 'I’m getting married.' And she said: 'I know, that’s why I’m ringing', and I said: 'No, I’m getting married right now!'

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025

My Wedding Day with Joanna Cluskey: I’ve been to Dingle once in my life... to get married

S My Wedding Day with Joanna Cluskey: I’ve been to Dingle once in my life... to get married

My husband Danny used to be in a band called The Kanyu Tree, and he actually sang me up the aisle

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

Katie & Leon

S My Wedding Day with Leon Diop: 'Looking at my wife was the most magical moment of my life'

Katie’s dad had had a nasty fall, and ended up in A&E with a broken collar bone and some broken ribs. Thankfully he was able to make the wedding the next day — so while we were tired, we were feeling so lucky that he could even partake in the wedding day

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025

My Wedding Day with Maeve Madden: The rain was biblical but the party went on until morning

S My Wedding Day with Maeve Madden: The rain was biblical but the party went on until morning

The legal ceremony and the church wedding were held more than six months apart

Tue, 25 Nov, 2025

My Wedding Day with Sarah Louise Dunne: 'People were dancing on tables until 5am'

S My Wedding Day with Sarah Louise Dunne: 'People were dancing on tables until 5am'

Cormac arranged a surprise musician... people were dancing on tables till 5am

Tue, 18 Nov, 2025

My Wedding Day with Ally Garvey: It was my dream to marry abroad but Dublin made sense

S My Wedding Day with Ally Garvey: It was my dream to marry abroad but Dublin made sense

My mom gave me away, which is extra special

Tue, 11 Nov, 2025

My Wedding Day with Orla Ní Fhinneadha: 'The ceremony was as Gaeilge and my local priest married us'

S My Wedding Day with Orla Ní Fhinneadha: 'The ceremony was as Gaeilge and my local priest married us'

'We got married on February 21, 2020 — just about three weeks before the covid lockdowns'

Sat, 08 Nov, 2025

My Wedding Day with Laura Drury: ‘We met in Hollywood, so we had nods to America on the day’

S My Wedding Day with Laura Drury: ‘We met in Hollywood, so we had nods to America on the day’

We wanted to bring in notes of America into our wedding, because we met in the US

Tue, 28 Oct, 2025