Wedding of the Week: Cork couple wed surrounded by love...

A SIMPLE swipe right on Tinder changed their lives forever...

So said Ciara Moloney and Maria Collins. who wed recently and are featured in this week's Wedding of the Week.

Ciara, 30, is a dental nurse from Turners Cross, while Maria, 36, is a new product development manager at Silver Pail Dair and is from Midleton. They live in Carrigtwohill.

They got engaged in August, 2020, at the Jameson Distillery in Midleton. Maria got down on one knee in front of all their family during a private tour and asked Ciara to marry her.

Ciara and Maria were married on June 4 in the Triskel Arts Centre. Their celebrate was Rena Noonan, who had also wed other family members.

The couple said: “Our ceremony was very personal, important and powerful. We hand picked some readings/poems that were read by family and friends that were very special to us.”

Ciara wore a Mori Lee dress which she got at Vows and Maria got her dress from WED2BE in Dublin.

Ciara’s parents, Kathryn and John, her brother Derek and his husband Andy and her grandmother Kitty Kavanagh were in attendance. Maria’s parents Angela and Ger, her sister Niamh and her husband Stuart and their little boy Alex and her grandmother Pauline Buckley were also there.

The bridal party was Ciara’s brother Derek Moloney (best man) and Maria’s sister Niamh Lee (Maid of honour).

The couple said: “Our circle was small but it’s all we needed.”

Ciara was also lucky enough to have her cousin Aimee assist her with getting ready the morning of the wedding.

The reception was in the Oriel House Hotel, Ballincollig, who they said “went above and beyond to make our day run smoothly”.

Maria made the wedding cake as she is a trained pastry chef.

They got their flowers from Ina McCarthy Flowers in Midleton.

They choose The Cranberries song Dreams for their first dance.

“It’s hard to pinpoint the most memorable part of the day as EVERYTHING was perfect. From the ceremony, all the way through to the first dance, it was magic,” they said. 

“Family is really important to us, our wedding day wasn’t just a marriage of Ciara and Maria, it was a marriage of both families, who are also friends.

“We were surrounded by family and friends who have supported, encouraged, and loved us to be the people we are today. All that love walked us both up the aisle.”