{"id":520369,"date":"2026-06-05T16:34:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/520369\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:34:14","slug":"cork-bride-getting-on-a-bus-in-a-wedding-dress-was-just-so-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/520369\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork bride: &#8216;Getting on a bus in a wedding dress was just so cool&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"contextmenu internal_BodyInitial\">When Rachael Hickey asked her now husband, Conor McDowall, if they could get the bus to their wedding, he laughed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cWe go to the jazz every year, and I pitched this idea of getting the Cobh Connect to our wedding to my now husband years ago,\u201d recalled Rachael.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">When the Cobh couple went to see the Metropole Hotel as a potential venue for their nuptials, he had a change of heart. \u201cWe were blown away, and it was actually the best decision ever,\u201d the bride said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Rachael and Conor\u2019s love story started from the sideline. \u201cConor played rugby with my younger brother and I\u2019d go to all the games. That\u2019s where I first saw him,\u201d recalled Rachael. While it took some time for the stars to align, and for both Rachael and Conor to be single at the same time, eventually they did align and the couple hit it off.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5104536_4_articleinline_ECHO_20FEATURES_20Wedding_20of_20the_20Week_20Rachel_20and_20Conor_208.jpeg\" alt=\"Conor proposed to Rachael during Christmas 2021 and they were wed in early May in Cork.\" title=\"Conor proposed to Rachael during Christmas 2021 and they were wed in early May in Cork.\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Conor proposed to Rachael during Christmas 2021 and they were wed in early May in Cork.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Conor proposed to Rachael at their home during Christmas 2021. \u201cWe were just about to start IVF and wanted something positive to think about when things didn\u2019t go right\u2026Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would have our beautiful CJ with us on the day. We are so blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The couple were wed last month at a civil ceremony at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh by \u201cthe amazing\u201d Darren Grace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cDarren was a dream to work with. He was there any day, any time we needed him, coming up with some amazing ideas to make the day more personal. We had our mams come up to give us a kiss before we did our first kiss, because they were the first ones to kiss us as we came into the world. It was so touching,\u201d Rachael recalled.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5104539_4_articleinline_ECHO_20FEATURES_20Wedding_20of_20the_20Week_20Rachel_20and_20Conor_202.jpeg\" alt=\"The couple were wed last month at a civil ceremony at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh.\" title=\"The couple were wed last month at a civil ceremony at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh.\" class=\"card-img\"\/>The couple were wed last month at a civil ceremony at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The couple were joined on the day by just under 100 guests. \u201cEveryone there was someone that we had been in touch with in the last six months, which made the day extra special.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cWe also got the guests involved. Our flowers were done by the lovely Louise, and all our extras, table numbers, welcome sign, bathroom baskets, and even flip flops were done by Conor\u2019s niece, Rach. And I have to say she did a super job. I would highly recommend roping people in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Rachael was supported on the day by her sister Ella, who was Maid of Honour, while Conor\u2019s sister Michelle and her cousin Sarah Hogan were bridesmaids.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5104542_4_articleinline_ECHO_20FEATURES_20Wedding_20of_20the_20Week_20Rachel_20and_20Conor_205.jpeg\" alt=\"Rachael first mooted the idea of getting the bus to their reception to Conor when they were looking at wedding venues.\u00a0\" title=\"Rachael first mooted the idea of getting the bus to their reception to Conor when they were looking at wedding venues.\u00a0\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rachael first mooted the idea of getting the bus to their reception to Conor when they were looking at wedding venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Conor\u2019s best man was Alan Alcock, while his groomsmen were Stephen Hickey and Owen McSweeney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The bride sourced her gown from the Modern. \u201cIt was the first dress I tried on after having CJ\u2026I fell in love the second it zipped up my back.\u201d Alterations were by Marie from House of Marie in Cobh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Hair was by Debbie from DKH, while make-up was by Gemma Whelan from Les Femme Beauty and Brow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5104545_4_articleinline_ECHO_20FEATURES_20Wedding_20of_20the_20Week_20Rachel_20and_20Conor_20_206.jp.jpeg\" alt=\"Rachel and Conor are both from Cobh and continue to live there today.\u00a0\" title=\"Rachel and Conor are both from Cobh and continue to live there today.\u00a0\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rachel and Conor are both from Cobh and continue to live there today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The groom\u2019s suit was from Simply Suits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Music at the ceremony was by Andrea Fraher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">After the ceremony, the guests took the bus from Cobh to Cork city for the couple\u2019s wedding reception at the Metropole Hotel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cGetting on a bus in a wedding dress was just so cool,\u201d said Rachael.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5104548_4_articleinline_ECHO_20FEATURES_20Wedding_20of_20the_20Week_20Rachel_20and_20Conor_207.jpeg\" alt=\"The wedding party en route to the Metropole Hotel.\u00a0\" title=\"The wedding party en route to the Metropole Hotel.\u00a0\" class=\"card-img\"\/>The wedding party en route to the Metropole Hotel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The couple had high praise for their reception venue and their wedding coordinator, Janice Casey. \u201cThe woman moved quietly in the background and made sure the day ran so smoothly,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Rachael and Conor opted for cookies and brownies from Lab82 instead of a wedding cake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">That evening, Up to 90 provided music at the reception, with the couple taking their first dance to George Ezra\u2019s  Hold My Girl.\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The couple sought to engage as many local suppliers and businesses as possible for their wedding, including their photographer, with pictures on the day by Bartski Photography.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Rachael Hickey asked her now husband, Conor McDowall, if they could get the bus to their wedding,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[18,117,19,17,24593,24594],"class_list":["post-520369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-wedding","tag-wedding-of-the-week"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}