Wedding of the Week: Sun smiles as Tara and David say 'I do'
Pictures: And O'leary Healy Costin Sullivan David Dermot Tara
Few newlyweds would fancy a downpour destroying those picture-perfect moments and the tradition goes that a Child of Prague statue left outside will ward off any wild and windswept ideas the weather may have.
So, the divine effigies were duly planted in gardens across Cork the night before Tara Costin Healy and David O’Leary exchanged vows — and the heavens got on side.
“When we woke up the morning of our wedding it was lashing but by the time we were ready to leave for the church the sun was shining,” says David.
“The statues had been put out the night before by Tara’s aunts and I believe they played a part in the weather — but we also believe that Tara’s mam Vivienne was looking down on us.”
The couple were determined to include the late Vivienne in the entire celebration — from the Mass at St Coleman’s Church, Macroom, Co Cork, where they were married by Fr Donal Roberts, to the reception, at Kinsale Hotel & Spa, Kinsale, Co Cork.
“We wanted to make sure Taras’s mam was a part of the whole day, so we had a memorial candle, poem and picture of Tara’s mam,” says David.
“The candle was lit at the beginning of our wedding ceremony to ensure Tara’s mam was included in the day from the start and we also had a memorial table at reception that included a picture of Tara and her mam.”
Tara, from Macroom, and David, from Clondrohid, Co Cork, met over 13 years ago in secondary school. “We went off to college and would meet the odd night out in Macroom or in Cork City and the rest is history,” says Tara.
David popped the question on December 30, 2021, at Tara’s childhood home as they dined together. “I was never a fan of Christmas and David loves it so one of his goals was to make me fall in love with Christmas,” she says.
“David had said one of my Christmas presents didn’t arrive on time for Christmas — so the engagement ring was under the Christmas tree, and I didn’t even know.
“I couldn’t believe the amount of thought that he put into my engagement ring. I have a ring that belonged to my mother before she passed away and David designed my engagement ring to have similar elements to my mam’s ring to have her part of our journey through our next step in life.”
Their wedding was “amazing”, she says: “We wanted our day to be filled with happiness, laughter and that’s what it was."
Helping them celebrate were father-of-the-bride Liam Healy and the groom’s mother Joan O’Leary, along with their bridesmaid, Tara’s sister, Belinda Costin Healy, and best man, David’s cousin, Denis O’Donoghue, and flowergirls, Tara’s nieces, Sophie Senkane Costin Healy and Robin Fiedler, and David’s niece, Niamh O’Leary. “We wanted our wedding to be intimate, with our close family, friends and work friends there,” says David.
Tara found her dream wedding dress at Memories bridal boutique in Cork, and David was dapper thanks to Morleys Suit Hire, Cork.
The bridal make-up was by the Beauty Suite, Macroom, with hairstyling by Lavender Hair, Macroom. Dermot Sullivan (dermotsullivan.com) captured the big day on camera and John Hennessy of JH Visual was the videographer.
Enchanted Flowers, Macroom, devised the floral décor. “My aunt Kathleen made our wedding cake and it was amazing. She is so talented,” says the bride.
The newlyweds’ honeymoon took them on a Caribbean cruise and to Las Vegas.
Tara works for Cork County Council and David is a special needs assistant. They plan to live in Macroom.
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