Surrounded by extensive gardens, water features, woodland, and lakes, the 300-year-old Gloster House was the magical venue for solicitor Aisling Maher's wedding to business analyst Conor Hegarty on May 24, 2024. Captured by Emma Russell Photography, this wedding is rich with moody and romantic photography inspo!
The couple first met through friends of friends while in college at University College Cork around 2012. However, it wasn’t until late 2019, when the timing was right and the two were both single, that Conor reached out to Aisling online. The rest is history, as they say!
"In December 2020, during the height of COVID-19, we decided the time was right to move in together. Having pounded the pavements of Cork City for the previous 10 months, we decided to escape the city and rent a place by the beach in Redbarn, Youghal. This was, and always will be, a special place for us, and we frequently return there to walk on the beach and boardwalk. Knowing this, one afternoon in October 2022, Conor and I went for a walk on the beach, and he found a private area and went down on one knee!"
From the onset Aisling swore that she wouldn't get sucked into any crazy new beauty regimes as she wanted to look like herself on the day. So, in the lead-up to the wedding, she adopted a few new skincare items and attended microneedling and other hydrating facials to have her skin look its best. Besides that, she tried to stay true to herself and knew her glam team would deliver on the day. "Despite having a summer wedding, I stuck to my taste and decided to wear a musky scent from Le Labo, 'Santal 33', rather than a floral aroma."
"Honestly, I found the dress shopping experience tedious; I struggled to find a dress I loved and had all the elements I wanted. Shamefully, I’ll admit I went to about 12 shops around Ireland to find the “one”, before I started emailing boutiques I had not attended, showing “inspo” pictures of what I was looking for. In the end, Diamond Bridal in Cork (located a 5-minute walk from where I work!) sent me a picture of a dress they had in stock, which excited me. I attended the shop during my lunch break to try it on. I asked the lady if I could try on the sleeves with it, which were made for another dress. Instantly, when I added the sleeves, I fell in love with the look and bought the dress there and then, with the plan to have the sleeves custom-made. A lesson to shop local but also not to settle for a dress that you only half like."
Conor knew from the outset that he wanted to wear a Tuxedo as he had never worn one before. "We went to various suits shops in Cork before he settled on a Wilvorst Tuxedo (with a velvet Blazer) from Tom Murphy’s in Cork, paired with an Eton Plissé tuxedo shirt. He bought his Groomsmen ‘Herbie Frogg’ suits in Savilles, Cork."
Aisling had three bridesmaids, including her only sister, Edel, and two best friends, Aislinn and Cathy. The girls' only caveat for the dresses was that they wanted to feel comfortable enough to eat and dance, so they were keen to avoid wearing a “slinky” dress, which can sometimes be unforgiving. Aisling turned to a dress she had worn to a wedding a year prior for inspiration and ordered her bridesmaids the tulle tea-length Karen Millen dresses in ivory to complement her own gown.
"We had a church ceremony in Birr, Co. Offaly, and a family friend, Father Declan McInerney, married us, which was special. Our favourite part was seeing each other for the first time at the top of the aisle. I had also asked my friend Carmel to do a surprise reflection for me, and she recited the most beautiful excerpt, “Love is Friendship Caught Fire” by Laura Hendricks, which resonated with so many on the day."
With Conor from Cork and Aisling's family from Kilkenny, the pair wanted a venue within a reasonable driving distance for either side. So, limited the search to venues in Munster and Leinster. One of their main non-negotiables was an entirely exclusive venue, so when they visited Gloster House and had a tour from the owner, Tom, they knew they had found the one. "We were so lucky that our wedding day was a balmy 20 degrees, which showed off the venue in all its glory; it felt like we were in the South of France."
"Our reception music was a Saxophone player, Darren from Sax Appeal. We wanted a chilled but upbeat vibe for our reception music, and he delivered that in spades. Our band was Spring Break. We wanted a band that we hadn’t seen before at another wedding and who were a bit different from traditional wedding bands. While we had never seen them play in person, we read great reviews about them online, and they also came highly recommended by our venue. They had the dance floor packed all night! Our DJ was Paudie Walsh, whom we had seen at our friends’ wedding and whom we loved. Both of us are really into dance music and love attending festivals. Therefore, the DJ was the first vendor we booked after the venue, as we wanted to throw our guests a good party and end the night with a bang. So many of our guests said the DJ was the highlight of the day and that they had pains in their legs the next day from dancing."
Regarding the best decision, Aisling said, "Choosing Gloster House as our venue. We fell in love with it; the Alexander family has so beautifully restored the house and grounds. Our favourite part was that the House was exclusively ours for the 4 days we were there to celebrate, and Tom, Mary and Nigel made it feel like a ‘home from home’ for our families."
Regarding the worst decision, Aisling said, "Hiring a vintage Bentley to bring my dad and me from Gloster House to the Church. The car stalled and would not restart upon entering the outskirts of Birr town, which meant that my dad and I had to run the last 10 minutes to the church, with my dad holding up the train of my dress. To passersby, it looked like a scene from Runaway Bride; we attracted many beeps from cars, etc! Luckily, we saw the humour in it, which made for a great story. Much to our surprise, the car was waiting for Conor and me outside the church afterwards and escorted us back to Gloster House, before it broke down again and had to be push-started out of the venue by the Groomsmen!"
- Gráinne