Wedding of the Week: Michelle and Stephen paint it black with a musical wedding do
Connell Michelle O’sullivan Stephen Pictures: O’sullivan, Photography And Sosac Shane O
After buying their first house together and multiple home improvement projects together, Michelle O Connell and Stephen O’Sullivan took a DIY approach to their wedding.
It had one unusual side effect: “Until the big day we had about 165 disco balls of varying sizes clogging up our spare room!” adds Michelle.
She and Stephen, from Douglas, Cork, first met on Tinder.
He proposed to Michelle on Valentine's weekend in 2022 in her native Inch, Co Kerry, overlooking the beach.
“He presented me with a teal sapphire engagement ring. He had had it custom-made to recreate a ring my grandparents gifted me in my childhood,” says Michelle.
They “had a firm idea” of how to celebrate when they tied the knot on October 6.
“We wanted retro, disco, Studio 54 with reds and pinks and lots of fun and laughter,” says Michelle.
“We struggled to find a lot of what we envisaged so we did it ourselves, including my husband building and programming a working audio guest book, and tying mini-disco balls to homemade place settings.”
The bride and groom also paid tribute to their rocker/goth teen years at the celebration in Cork’s River Lee Hotel.
“I walked down the aisle to [My Chemical Romance's (Welcome to the)] Black Parade performed on tin whistle by my brother's girlfriend Róisín McCloskey (an accomplished traditional musician) and Stephen's brother Martin read an extract from Metallica's Nothing Else Matters,” says Michelle.
“We had made a quick dip to the civil registration office the day before and did the legal [side of things] in less than four minutes. On the day, we were ‘married’ by my aunt Lilian Smith. Lilian has been a radio DJ for years (presenting Rising Time on RTÉ Radio One) so it was perfect.”
Michelle made sure to include her grandfather, the late Dermot Smith, in the proceedings.
“Unfortunately, my grandfather passed before we wed; he was so very dear to me and I needed to feel like he was there in spirit,” she says.
“As he wasn't a massively religious man and had an almost conspiracy theory with regard to the foundations of the universe, we remembered him by lighting a candle with a sign that read: ‘This candle is lighting in memory of the bride's grandfather Dermot Smith, who is watching us today from Jesus's spaceship’.”
Both Swifties, the newlyweds ensured Taylor Swift's music was a soundtrack throughout the day.
“Our tables were also named after Taylor albums, and we made the table name settings using records we found in my granddad's house,” says the bride.
“Our first dance was to Taylor Swift’s Lover. We opted for a DJ-only for a night of wall-to-wall bangers with a disco and 70s feel.”
Michelle’s friends Aoife Foley (maid of honour), Allie Matthews and Aisling O'Callaghan (bridesmaids), and her cousin Sinéad O Connell had key roles as had Stephen's friends Paul O'Keeffe (best man), Brendan O'Brien and Kevin O'Leary (groomsmen) and the bride’s cousin Donál O Connell (ringbearer).
The bridal hairstyling was by Shane Connolly of Revo Hair and Beauty, Cork, with makeup by Rebecca O'Donovan, Cork.
Michelle wore a Wilderly gown which she purchased in Memories Bridal Boutique, Cork. Stephen and his attendants wore Remus Uomo suits from Redchurch, Cork.
The floral décor was by Rachel at Ina McCarthy for Flowers, Midleton, Co Cork, and the cake was by Ramune at Ms Cupcake, Cork.
The newlyweds will honeymoon in 2024 in California.
Michelle is a regional housing manager at Respond Housing Association and Stephen is an ICT analyst at Kerry Group.
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