{"id":89906,"date":"2025-09-28T01:33:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T01:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/89906\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T01:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T01:33:09","slug":"irish-indian-and-brazilian-flavours-at-rita-ray-and-eoins-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/89906\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish, Indian, and Brazilian flavours at Rita-Ray and Eoin\u2019s wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>IT WAS destination Cork for California-based Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire when they set the date for their big day, which blended Irish, Indian and Brazilian traditions.<\/p>\n<p>The couple were married in June in St Colman\u2019s Cathedral, Cobh, by Fr Tom McDermott, and held their reception in the Maryborough Hotel &amp; Spa in Douglas.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797047_5_articleinlinemobile_114_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_NZF_9394.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ray, from California, and Dublin-born Eoin chose to get married in Ireland after visiting Cork during their one-year anniversary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The bride and groom, who grew up in Athgarvan, Kildare, live in San Francisco, which is where their paths first crossed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797050_5_articleinlinemobile_162_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_2787.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWe met in 2023 at a fancy hat party while Eoin was visiting friends from university,\u201d says Ray. \u201cUnknown to me, he was leaving the next day for Boston. But we managed to have our first date right before he left for the airport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cOver the course of a year and a half, we made five trips back and forth [between Dublin and San Francisco]. Ultimately, after 1460 hours on video calls, we decided we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797053_5_articleinlinemobile_086_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_1345.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">So, how did they feel the morning they were to say their \u201cI do\u2019s\u201d? \u201cEoin was a bag of nerves, rushing around trying to make sure that everything was in order!\u201d says Ray.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Eoin adds that Ray \u201cwas also a bundle of nerves\u201d thanks to a few last-minute &#8220;dramas&#8221;, including the check-in luggage containing a bridesmaid dress \u201cturning up at the hotel one hour before the ceremony started\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797056_5_articleinlinemobile_118_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_1919.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">But everyone took it in their stride on a day the bride describes as \u201cenchanting\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ray, an associate marriage and family therapist and associate professional clinical counsellor, surprised Eoin, a tech risk consultant, by having the organist perform &#8216;You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone&#8217; by Gerry and the Pacemakers in the cathedral as she walked down the aisle.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797059_5_articleinlinemobile_142_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_2371.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ray sourced her designer Lazaro gown at Bridals by Lori (of  Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta fame), and Eoin wore a navy tux and a feathered bowtie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The newlyweds travelled in style in a vintage 1930s Beaufort.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797062_5_articleinlinemobile_096_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_1553.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Dermot Sullivan Photography (Dermotsullivan.com) captured the occasion on camera and BridalSuite Weddings provided the videography. <\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Toasting to their future happiness were both sets of parents, Angela and Jiten Chhabra and Gillian and Paul Maguire. \u201cMy mother, Gillian, gifted Ray a shawl knitted in the Maguire family stitch to symbolise her becoming a Maguire, which gave Ray happy tears,\u201d says Eoin.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797065_5_articleinlinemobile_119_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_1951.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire with their wedding party. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire with their wedding party. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire with their wedding party. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Meanwhile, the bride\u2019s mother, Angela, had booked two dance troupes to deliver surprise performances \u2014 Bollywood dance school Aatma Dance Company Cork, with Dr Lekha (principal), and professional Brazilian samba dancers, Samba Dance Brazil.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWe had live music or performances that represented all of our cultures, including an Irish harpist, Kim Juliet Healy,\u201d adds Ray.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797068_5_articleinlinemobile_044_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_NZF_8176.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra with her bridesmaids. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra with her bridesmaids. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra with her bridesmaids. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">DJ Bryan McDonnell ensured the dance floor was full.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The rehearsal dinner, at Blackrock Castle the day before the wedding ceremony, shone a spotlight on Indian wedding traditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797071_5_articleinlinemobile_147_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_780_2466.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cEveryone in attendance wore traditional Indian clothes, even my grandmother, Helen \u2014 all of which meant the world to Ray because she was the first woman in her family in almost 100 years to get to carry on the Indian traditional ceremonies,\u201d says Eoin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This was followed by a mehndi ceremony and tea at the Maryborough Hotel. Ray had traditional bridal henna done on her hands and feet by Yamini Kshatriya, of Henna by Yamini.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4797074_5_articleinlinemobile_146_Maryborough_20Hotel_20Wedding_20Photographs_NZF_0391.jpg\" alt=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" title=\"Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com\" class=\"card-img\"\/>Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire. Pictures: Dermotsullivan.com<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The hair and makeup for the wedding rehearsal were by Nataniel Mota and Caren Mota, of AL Beauty. For the wedding day, the bridal hairstyling was by AL Beauty with makeup by Powder Room Girls. Enchanted Flowers created the floral d\u00e9cor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWe were also the subjects of an RT\u00c9 documentary, &#8216;A Ring and a Prayer&#8217;, which led to some fun moments over the course of the week of recording,\u201d adds Ray.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"listbullet\">\n<li>If you would like your wedding to feature in Weekend email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IT WAS destination Cork for California-based Rita-Ray (Ray) Chhabra and Eoin Donnelly-Maguire when they set the date for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[18,117,19,17,7263],"class_list":{"0":"post-89906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-weddings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89906","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=89906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}