‘Get her to the wedding on time...’

Ding dong, the bells are ‘bout to chime, get her to the wedding on time! A Cavan couple got married in remarkable circumstances last weekend, and by one of their best friends who was given just 30 minutes’ notice, after the booked celebrant failed to appear.

Paul O’Hanlon and Aisling O’Hara (right) got hitched last Saturday in the Cavan Crystal Hotel with close friend Léan Brady standing-in at the last minute to oversee proceedings.

In ‘typical of 2020’ fashion, this wasn’t the first nuptial hiccup the couple had to overcome.

When Covid struck, forcing the hospitality industry to close, Paul and Aisling postponed their original date from July 2020 to a year later.But, as the calendar days ticked off, and seeing other friend’s face similar matrimonial modifications, it quickly dawned on Paul and Aisling that there was little point in deferring the wedding any longer.

In less than eight weeks, the couple managed to successfully reschedule everything for their newly chosen December 19 date, for their closest 25 family members and friends.Paul even had his sister and her partner fly in from the US early in order to quarantine.

“It was all going to plan... well sort of.”

Fast-forward to last Saturday afternoon, 2:35pm, and five minutes after Aisling was due to walk the aisle, it became clear an important person was still missing.

“We thought maybe he [the celebrant] was stuck in traffic,” says Paul.“I tried calling him and he just wasn’t answering.”

The couple didn’t have time to panic, but thought of Léan, who he has known since his teens.

Léan was at home in Belturbet, drying her hair, just after having a shower.

“I looked at my phone and saw 'Paul O'Han' come up and the first thing I said to him is 'What are you calling me for, are you not suppose to be getting married right now?'. When he asked me to stand in for the celebrant who hadn't turned up I just sat there... I couldn't even speak,” says Léan, who has some experience having officiated at another friend's wedding in the US after registering online.

Just 20-minutes later Léan, freshly dressed, walked through the hotel's front doors to be greeted by relieved staff who then escorted her quickly to a thankful Paul waiting outside the ceremony room.

Luckily Léan has known Paul since their teens, and Aisling since the couple first met, becoming close over those years.

Luckier still, Léan who gets married herself next May, only recently completed her first round of bridal trials.

“Not only did she say yes, but she looked the part as well,” laughs Paul, who was tasked with explaining to his wife-to-be about the change in personnel. “Everything we've had to do, everything we've had to change, the new plan has worked out 10 times better. I called up Aisling and said to her there was good news and bad news. The bad news was the officiant hadn't turned up. The good news was that Léan said she was going to do it.”

Because of their sense of closeness, Aisling says the ceremony couldn't have been more “perfect”.

Despite the couple's best efforts, and Léan's last-minute heroics, Paul and Aisling will still have to go through it all again as their marriage last Saturday was not legally binding.

“We kind of knew that deep down on the day but more than anything, and if nothing else, we've got this amazing story to be able to tell people about our wedding,” say the couple, who are now looking to rearrange, and reserve special praise for the Cavan Registry Office staff who they say have “bent over backwards” to help smooth the process for them in any way.

He also applauds the incredible dedication and effort shown to him and Aisling by management and staff at the Cavan Crystal Hotel.

“I literally don't have enough words for them to describe how they went out of their way to make the whole process easier for us,” says Paul of the hotel.

Subsequently Paul found out the couple's original celebrant was in his home county when he was suppose to be in Cavan officiating at their wedding.

“I suspect he just forgot,” says Paul bluntly.

However, Paul says of it all: “To be honest, the only person whose opinion I need whether I'm married or not is Aisling's. The legal stuff and all that is important, but nothing is more important to us than the experience we had with our friends and our family last weekend.”

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