{"id":286424,"date":"2026-02-07T23:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/286424\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T23:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:53:21","slug":"cork-couple-lisa-and-cathal-lean-into-a-seasonal-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/286424\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork couple Lisa and Cathal lean into a seasonal theme"},"content":{"rendered":"

A night out in Macroom 11 years ago led to love for Cork couple Lisa Gray and Cathal O\u2019Riordan, who exchanged vows at Fota Island Resort.<\/p>\n

Lisa, from Macroom, and Cathal, from Inchigeelagh, were married by celebrant Rosemary Hartigan in a civil ceremony followed by a reception at the five-star venue.<\/p>\n

\"BrideBride Lisa Gray walks up the aisle on the arm of her dad Gerry Gray to bridegroom Cathal O’Riordan. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy, Sarah Kate Photography<\/p>\n

Helping them plan the big day were both sets of parents, Anne and Gerry Gray and Mary and Diarmuid O\u2019Riordan. The wedding party consisted of the couple\u2019s closest friends, with Sarah Gray, M\u00e9abh Hourihan, and \u00d3rla Walsh as the bridesmaids and Se\u00e1n Lehane, Gerry Noonan, and Darren O\u2019Riordan as the groomsmen.<\/p>\n

Lisa and Cathal got engaged in December 2023. \u201cThis was the year we bought and moved into our home. Cathal proposed in our new home by the Christmas tree,\u201d says Lisa.<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Gray and Cathal O’Riordan. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy, Sarah Kate Photography<\/p>\n

They had originally considered tying the knot in Portugal. \u201cWe go there every year, but once we got planning, we decided to look closer to home and opted for an October wedding in Cork, to ensure all our loved ones could make it,\u201d says Lisa.<\/p>\n

Fota Island Resort ticked all the boxes. \u201cWe stayed at the venue the night before with our family and wedding party, which meant the morning was really calm and unhurried while we were getting ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Gray and Cathal O’Riordan. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy, Sarah Kate Photography<\/p>\n

The highlight of the entire occasion? \u201cFor me, it was walking down the aisle,\u201d says Lisa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably the most daunting part of the day, as I was convinced I\u2019d be an emotional wreck. But being there with my dad and seeing the smiling faces of our loved ones as we walked towards Cathal made it such a lovely, grounding moment. We walked down the aisle to Linger, played on the violin by \u00c1ine O\u2019Halloran.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Gray and Cathal O’Riordan. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy, Sarah Kate Photography<\/p>\n

The \u201cshort and sweet\u201d ceremony set the tone for a relaxed celebration, says the bride: \u201cLike most weddings, it was an emotional day, but it was also full of laughter and fun \u2014 and the team at Fota were incredibly welcoming and looked after every detail so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa bought her super-elegant gown at The White & Gold during a Katherine Tash trunk show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Gray and Cathal O’Riordan. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy, Sarah Kate Photography<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted something classic with a modern twist. The alterations were by Urata Designs in Ballincollig,\u201d she says. \u201cThe bridesmaids\u2019 dresses were from Dresscode, and all the jewellery for myself and the bridesmaids was Rosie & Dott.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cathal, who wore a deep-green tux, and his best man and groomsmen were all kitted out by Morley\u2019s Cork.<\/p>\n

\"CathalCathal O’Riordan with Mary O’Riordan.<\/p>\n

Hairstylist Cathyanne Kelleher (@cathyanne.hairstylist) and makeup artist Jessica O\u2019Sullivan (@portraitbyjessica) added to the glamour and fun. \u201cThey made the morning such a laugh, and a stress-free zone,\u201d says Lisa.<\/p>\n

The couple made the most of the \u201cautumn vibe\u201d, adds Lisa: \u201cWe leaned into the seasonal theme even more with our drinks reception cocktails \u2014 pumpkin spice margaritas and apple cinnamon whiskey sours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Gray and Cathal O\u2019Riordan with their wedding party. Pictures: Sarah Kate Murphy<\/p>\n

Photographer Sarah Kate Murphy (sarahkatephotography.ie) made the entire event feel \u201corganic and effortless\u201d, says Lisa.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was such a brilliant addition and slotted in like part of the family. The day goes by in such a blur, and we\u2019re grateful that Sarah Kate captured both the big moments and the small details we didn\u2019t even realise were happening at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe bride with her mother Anne Gray. <\/p>\n

The couple paid tribute to all their vendors, including illustrator Lucia Moreno and florist Enchanted Flowers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t able to have our dog Daphne attend the wedding, so we tried our best to slot her in where we could, in the details like on cocktail stirrers and on the wedding cake,\u201d says the bride.<\/p>\n

\"AnneAnne and Gerry Gray.
\n If you would like your wedding featured in Weekend, email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A night out in Macroom 11 years ago led to love for Cork couple Lisa Gray and Cathal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4998,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-286424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-weddings","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}