Eimear & Mickey - Lough Rynn Castle

My third wedding in a row at Lough Rynn was a little bit different, with the coming together of two cultures - West Cork, and what was the old East Germany - now of course just Germany. Mickey hails from the town of Gorlitz on the Polish border, while Eimear is from Macroom. They met quite a few years back when Eimear went to Gorlitz to improve her German. Her initial homesickness dissipated quickly once she met Mickey, and before too long he arrived in Ireland, where he's stayed ever since.

I've done plenty of weddings in Bornacoola Church, so was taken aback to discover that a pretty section of birch woodland had appeared around the entrance that was never there before. Not only that, but two 20-foot high Hornbeam trees were growing either side of the alter. It was the work of Ciaran & Keilin of Leitrim Flowers, and it looked fantastic. I don't know if the idea for the trees emanated from Macroom or Gorlitz, but there were plenty of cross-cultural touches to this wedding, including the welcoming of the bride & groom with traditional foodstuffs of bread, salt & oats, the couple demonstrating they can work successfully together by sawing a log, which they did with Mickey's Grandfather's old saw, and a ritual downing of schnapps after the meal. There was also a special fireshow after dinner which set the rest of the night up beautifully.

A few things will stick in the mind from this wedding - Dad Dennis's tears, the way the rain started every time we so much as thought about going outside, Dad Gerhard's poignant speech, and best man Eoin's understated dry-witted speech, where he took the Mickey out of everyone, especially Mickey himself, in a way that offended nobody, but had the audience rolling in the aisles.