Navy guard of honour for Cork couple who finally wed after Covid disrupted plans

THIS couple had initially planned a wedding with 200 guests, but ended up having only 19 due to Covid — but that didn’t dull the sparkle of their special day.

Clare Moran (nee O’Keeffe), of Ballincollig, and Cian Moran, from Galway, who now live in Carrigaline, originally met on Tinder — however, it turned out they had mutual friends.

Clare said: “I’m in the army band, and Cian’s in the navy, and one of my friends from the band’s fiancee was in Cian’s cadet class in the navy. So we had the connection there.”

They got engaged at the start of August, 2020, in Morocco, on the rooftop terrace of their Riad.

They were married on December 5 in the church of St Mary and St John in Ballincollig.

Cian wore his navy uniform, and Clare had a princess style dress. She did her own make-up on the day, but Aisling Kelleher (Polkadotdreaming) did her hair.

Clare said: “Thankfully, all of my family were able to make it to the wedding — my parents, my two brothers, my two sisters, my brother and sister-in-law, and my two nieces and nephew. 

"Unfortunately, only Cian’s parents and one of his brothers were able to come, as his sister, Caoimhe, works with the NHS in Manchester, and his brother, Eoghan, and sister-in-law, Audrey, live in Corsica, and with the restrictions, they weren’t able to make it over. They watched the live stream from the church though.”

Clare said the ceremony was so special for a few reasons.

“Because of the lockdown, it was the first time any of us had seen each other for a long time, so it was amazing to see mine and Cian’s family and friends when I walked in.

“I also had my two-year-old niece, Aoibhín, as a flower girl, and she’d grown so big since I’d last seen her.

“My brother David and my friend Carol played the music for the ceremony, as they are both professional musicians. I’m so lucky to have such talented friends and family!”

They had the reception in the Oriel House afterwards, which they said was ‘amazing’ and ‘nothing was too much trouble’.

Their First Dance was Your Song from Moulin Rouge. Clare is a big musical fan.

As to the most memorable thing about the day? 

They said: “Having most of our closest friends and family around us, having not seen them for so long. 

"We had initially planned for a big wedding with 200 guests, but because of the restrictions, we only ended up having 19. With the exception of some of Cian’s family and his groomsman not being able to make it, it really was the perfect day, and we couldn’t imagine it being any different.”