Wedding of the Week: Reigning in my heart

A COUPLE who first met getting the train from Mallow to Cork for college tied the knot in September. Sharon Hanna and Ruairi Ryan eventually got together after a blind date five years later.

They are both from Mallow and wed at the Church of the Resurrection in the town. “We now live on a mountain in a village called Lyre,” said Sharin. She and Ruairi are both 32 and have been together seven and a half years.

They both work for Musgraves, he works for Centra and she works for Super Valu.

The couple got engaged at the Clayton hotel in Cork on February 22, 2019.

“I got my dress from Sharon Gregory Design Studio in Mallow,” said Sharon. “The material on the dress was sparkly, it had a fitted top and a multi-layered bottom and also had a train. I got my veil from the same place, which was medium length, and we kept it plain as there was a lot of detail already in the dress.

“I got my shoes from Quiz, my earrings and necklace were from Wedding Belles and my bracelet is my mam’s that I had as something old and borrowed.

“I got my hair done by Lisa from Flairs Hair Salon in Mallow, who did an amazing job and was able to do the hairstyle I had picked perfectly. My make-up was done by Christine O’Connor. I loved what she did.”

Ruairi got his suit and shoes from Morleys in Cork, his barber was Danny from the barber rooms in Mallow - “both of whom did a fantastic job,” said Sharon.

Both sets of parents of the bride and groom were there on the big day, as was Sharon’s brother Andrew. Her bridesmaids were friends Jamie McSweeney and Sally Tobin.

Sharon added: “I had a song I had wanted to walk up the aisle to for years which isn’t very well-known and our wedding singer Fiona Kennedy learnt it especially for our day and played it perfectly.”

The reception was at the Oriel House in Ballincollig. The band were Bog the Donkey and the couple were driven by a beautiful 1930 Regent from Wedding Vintage Car Hire. Breda Barry, Ruairi’s aunt and a former baker for Brackens, baked the wedding cake.

Their first song was to A Thousand Years by Cristina Perri

As for the most memorable moment, Sharon said: “For me, it was walking up the aisle and seeing Ruairi at the altar. For Ruairi, it was finally putting a ring onto my finger, after years of waiting, finally calming his nerves and taming his heart, that and it was the wettest day of the year.

“We had an unforgettable day with great company, food and music. We also want to thank all our suppliers who were incredible.”

The photographers were Barry and Sheenagh from Bismark.

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