Wedding of the Week: Cork couple married at  renowned church in Gougane Barra

A PROPOSAL in front of the Christmas Tree on Christmas Day led to the summer wedding recently of John Bohane and Molly Farrell.

John works as a news reporter with The Echo and Molly runs her own hair and make-up salon. John hails from Skibbereen and Molly is from Drimoleague, the couple now live in the countryside, just a few miles from Skibbereen town. The couple feature in this week's Wedding of the Week.

They first met at a charity fundraiser in December, 2016, when the local GAA club O’Donovan Rossa held a Strictly Come Dancing event, which John participated in.

The couple met at the interval for the first time and John said he made it his business to get Molly’s number. They had their first date in January, 2017.

They got engaged on Christmas Day, 2018, at home in front of the Christmas tree.

“I collected Molly from her parents’ house, and I proposed in front of the Christmas tree that night. She said it was the best Christmas present ever.”

They were married on Saturday, August 20, 2022, in Gougane Barra Church. The ceremony was conducted by Fr John O’Donovan.

John got his tux from Red Church, Drawbridge Street. Molly had two wedding dresses on the day - the first was bought online and the second was from VOWS. Beautique by Ashling Daly looked after the girls’ make-up and Molly and her mom Debbie, who is also a hairstylist, did the hair for the bride and bridesmaids.

The couple were surrounded by their immediate family and friends at the church ceremony. Their beloved pug Peggy was the ringbearer for the special day and her arrival up the aisle thankfully went smoothly.

The beautiful ceremony music was provided by the bride’s cousins Niamh, Noelle and Aine O’Sullivan.

The reception was held in the Westlodge Hotel in Bantry, who the couple said were fantastic to deal with. They had a hummer as their wedding car from Irish Diamond Limousines. The cake was from Lily’s Cakes. The Music Makers were the band and DJ and ensured the dance floor was packed all night.

Their first dance as newlyweds was to Queen Of My Heart by Westlife. This song resonates hugely with the couple as it is John’s party piece.

As to the most memorable moment of the day? John said: “Meeting each other at the altar. It was the ideal start to the best weekend of our lives.”

The photos were taken by Kathryn O’Shea Photography, while Ian Armstrong from Storybegins was the videographer.