{"id":651375,"date":"2026-10-11T09:38:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T09:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/651375\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T09:38:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T09:38:26","slug":"wedding-of-the-week-all-working-out-for-cork-couple-who-met-in-the-gym","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/651375\/","title":{"rendered":"Wedding of the Week: All working out for Cork couple who met in the gym\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Orla Rall strolled into a Cork gym seeking a personal trainer, she little imagined they\u2019d be striding down the aisle together as newlyweds<\/a> eight years later.<\/p>\n

The paths of Orla and Damien Long crossed in Sarsfields Hurling Club. \u201cThe minute I met Damien, I knew there was something special about him,\u201d says Orla, from Mayfield, Cork.<\/p>\n

Damien popped the question in May of last year when the couple were in Nerja, Spain. \u201cThere was no fancy setup, no ring, and definitely no big romantic speech. He simply looked at me and said: \u2018Think it\u2019s about time.\u2019 And that was it!\u201d says Orla. \u201cThe next morning, we found a jeweller in Nerja and picked out my ring together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Orla and Damien, from Ballincollig, Cork, returned to Nerja last month to exchange vows in the Church of El Salvador and held their reception at nearby Cochran\u2019s Terrace Bar. \u201cOur wedding day was everything,\u201d says the bride. \u201cThere was so much laughter, so much love, so much joy \u2014 and so many tears. I honestly don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen so many men crying in one room. The speeches were emotional, to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eighty-threeEighty-three friends and family members celebrated with Orla Rall and Damien Long in Nerja, Spain.<\/p>\n

Accompanied by her twin daughters Gracie and Alex, 13, as her bridesmaids, Orla made her entrance to the wedding ceremony to \u2018A Million Dreams\u2019 from The Greatest Showman, played on violin. \u201cHaving my girls walk me up the aisle, so proud and emotional, and then give me away to their stepdad, who they absolutely adore, was a moment I will never forget,\u201d says Orla. \u201cMy nieces, Kaci and Hayley, were our gorgeous flower girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrlaOrla Rall was accompanied up the aisle by her twin daughters and bridesmaids Gracie and Alex.<\/p>\n

Casey from Weddings by Casey, originally from Limerick and now living in Nerja, was the wedding planner. \u201cMy mum Phil, my four sisters, my youngest brother Shane, who is special needs and the only boy after four girls, along with my nieces, nephews, aunties and extended family, were all in Nerja to celebrate with us,\u201d says Orla. \u201cDamien had his mum Marie, his sister, brother, brother-in-law, niece, family and friends there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrlaOrla Rall and Damien Long. <\/p>\n

Content creator Hayley Wilkins. Marbella Wedding Moments, captured the occasion on camera. \u201cMy dress came from the amazing girls at Diamond Bridal on Maylor Street, Cork,\u201d says Orla. \u201cIt was only the second dress I tried on, and I just knew it was the one. My makeup was by Kellie Fitzgibbon, my Dublin friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the day was filled with joy, the couple say they also felt the presence of those they had lost. \u201cMy dad, John Rall, sadly, couldn\u2019t be there to see me get married, but I have no doubt he was looking down on us from above and sharing that day with us in his own way,\u201d says the bride.<\/p>\n

\"OrlaOrla Rall.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just like my dad, we know that Damien\u2019s dad, Paddy Long, and Damien\u2019s beautiful daughter Shaunagh were looking down on us that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cShaunagh was only 17 when we sadly lost her. She will always be part of Damien, and she will always have a very special place in both our hearts. As Damien said so beautifully, he now has three daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orla, a personal trainer and stylist who runs an online clothing shop, Orla\u2019s Fashion Closet, and Damien, who owns two gyms in Glanmire, Damien Long Personal Training & Nutrition, live in Glanmire. \u201cI am 47, and Damien is 51 years young, and we can now say we have found our happy ever after. It took us a few years, but we got there in the end,\u201d says Orla. \u201cIt\u2019s never too late, and you\u2019re never too old to finally be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Orla Rall strolled into a Cork gym seeking a personal trainer, she little imagined they\u2019d be striding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4998,93,61,60,55665],"class_list":["post-651375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-weddings","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-wedding-of-the-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651375","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=651375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}