Cork couple celebrate ultimate Christmas wedding after eloping to Lapland

A CORK couple celebrated the ultimate Christmas wedding when they eloped to Lapland.

Adam Gould and Roisin O’Connor, who live together in Wilton, had been dreaming of the holiday for months but kept their plans a secret from friends and family.

Even their children who travelled in tow to Rovaniemi-the Official Hometown of Santa Claus and the capital of Lapland-had no idea of the surprise in store.

The family travelled to the ceremony in a husky-led sleigh before Adam and Rosin exchanged vows in a scenic forest.

Jack (9) served as the ring bearer alongside his little brother Max who is four.

Special measures

Roisin spoke about the measures taken before the event.

“I wanted to wear a white ski suit but I couldn’t find one online.

“I bought a dress in the end but I had to wear three pairs of trousers underneath.

“The children had base suits under what they were wearing.

“It must have been around -10C but not as cold as we initially thought it would be. It probably felt colder when we got home,” she said.

The 31-year-old, who works in marketing, said her family never suspected a thing.

“They were so surprised. Nobody had any idea even though we have been together so long and have two kids together.

“We are quite adventurous but we are also laid back so we wanted to do it in a way that was memorable but still low-key.

“When you hear of weddings in Cork you often hear of the same venues, the same bands and the same dinners.

“There is nothing wrong with that, we just wanted to do things a little differently.”

She laughed that while Jack and Max loved the holiday, they were underwhelmed by the nuptials.

“We only told them we were going on the night 'The Toy Show' aired.

“However, we still kept it to ourselves about the wedding.

“I would have placed an ad in The Echo before telling Jack because he’s never been great with secrets.

“The boys didn’t really have any concept of the significance of us getting married. It went over their heads really but I’m glad to have the photographs for them to look back on.

“Hopefully, in years to come they’ll think it’s cool that their parents eloped to Lapland.”

Highlights 

The couple had got engaged in January of last year, and Roisin said she was glad to experience such an intimate ceremony.

She said that seeing the northern lights was among the highlights of their holiday.

Adam, who is an electrician, met Roisin while they were both working abroad more than a decade ago.

They moved to Cork 10 years ago so Rosin could be closer to her family before the birth of their oldest son, Jack.

Despite settling in Cork, the couple still relish the odd adventure.

“I used to be a travel agent, so I’m a bit more adventurous when it comes to holidays. For all the time we’ve been together I’ve been the chief holiday booker.”