Wedding of the Week: Cork couple met as teens in secondary school

Katelyn Collins, from Cloughduv, and Eoghan Hawkes, from Dounoughmore, first got together back in 2012 and were recently married.

The couple met as teens in secondary school.

“We were on a school trip to the Gaeltacht in Dingle when we had our first kiss, and a few days later Eoghan asked me to be his girlfriend,” recalled Katelyn.

Eoghan proposed during the pandemic at Mullinhassig Waterfall.

“When Eoghan first got his car when he was 19, this is where we would go all the time, we just love it there so much. It was absolutely lashing so we were stood under a tree near the waterfall, and before I knew it Eoghan was down on one knee asking me to marry him. Of course it was a definite yes,” said Katelyn.

The couple bought their forever home in Aherla in June, 2022, and added a new member to their family that Christmas- their dog, Harley.

They were married on August 2 at St Joseph’s Church, Cloughduv, by Fr Ben Hodnet, surrounded by friends and family including the bride’s parents and two sisters and the groom’s parents, four sisters and three brothers.

“We had the most amazing day. We were especially grateful to have my grandmother and grandfather with us on our big day,” said Katelyn.

The bridal party included Katelyn’s sister Shauna as maid of honour, and her sister Clodagh, Eoghan’s sister Bronagh and Katelyn’s best friend Jade as bridesmaids.

Eoghan’s brother Kieran was his best man and his brothers Steven and Cian and his best friend Shane were groomsmen.

“We had the most important people to help us as flower girl and page boy. Eoghan’s niece Mia was our beautiful flower girl and my cousin Ian was our handsome page boy,” said Katelyn.

The bride wore a gown from Brides of Éire in Clonakilty and the suits were from Suits Distributors. The bridesmaid dresses were from JJ’s House and the flower girl and page boy outfits were from Next.

The couple held a reception afterwards for their guests at the Trident Hotel in Kinsale.

The band was Route 66 and the couple said they kept everyone on the dancefloor.

“Our first dance song was Flaws by Callum Scott,” said Katelyn.

The photographer was Arnis Photography and the videographer was Arclight.

“We had the best day and I think our favourite memory was officially becoming husband and wife after all these years, hearing the wonderful speeches from Eoghan, Kieran, my two sisters and both our fathers,” said Katelyn.

Pictures: Arnis Photography