Wedding of the Week: Cork couple enjoy day of smiles... not tears

WHEN Sarah King and Shane Deeney celebrated their wedding day, they promised it would be one of smiles and not tears.

The couple had put off their special day due to Covid and set March 12, 2022 as their new wedding day. Sadly the bride’s mother passed away last September and the intimate, traditional wedding they planned then changed.

Sarah explained: “We had entertainment all day long. Our intention was to have zero opportunity to dwell on my mam not being there, but instead celebrate all the happiness and fab memories in our lives. 

"We knew my mam was with us throughout the day and we really hope we did her proud.”

The couple feature in this week's Wedding of the Week.

Groom Shane is originally from Manchester but moved to Cork when he was a child. The couple first met through mutual friends, when they were teenagers.

“Shane asked his friend to get my phone number. I was a young 15 year old and I turn 30 this year so it’s been a long but fantastic 15 years of knowing him,” said Sarah.

“We got engaged in Newcastle on a weekend trip and Shane had the whole weekend planned without me knowing!”

Recalling the wedding day, Sarah continued: “Our magical day wasn’t a typical traditional wedding, but it definitely was a day to remember for us and all of our guests.

“Our original date was for last June, but due to Covid we had to put it off. We had it all planned, but in September my mother suddenly passed away so in January we sat down and discussed putting it off again, but instead we completely changed everything, all our songs changed, our band changed and we added more entertainment. 

"The day was going to be emotional anyway so we wanted to make it as upbeat and happy as possible, while still having touches for my mom.”

The couple were married in House Hotel, Clonakilty, in a spiritual ceremony by Damian Moloney.

Sparkle performed for the couple at their drinks reception and set the tone of the day. 

Right after dessert, the HIIT Drummers did a set – a big surprise for everyone! The Pearls band then took over and the dance floor was full for the night. The party also enjoyed a second day of celebrations in Fernhill, where an Irish trad ban performed for a few hours.

“It was the best day ever and we both would love to do it all again,” the bride said.

“Overall, we all loved our day it was truly special,” she added.

Ray and Irene Terry were the photographers, and the videographer was Brian of Arcklight.