JULIE HUGHES-COTTER from Dublin, and Cameron Muir from Australia, were married in a civil ceremony at Ballintaggart House in Dingle, Co Kerry on July 24th. Ms Mary T. O’Shea, from Killarney Registry Office, performed the ceremony.
Julie grew up in Ballsbridge, Dublin, and is the daughter of Catherina and Jimmy Cotter and Ogmore Tilley. She has four step-brothers, one step-sister, two half-brothers and two half-sisters. She attended Muckross Park School and St Conleth’s College before receiving a BA in Leisure Management at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Cathal Brugha Street. She was manager of Old Belvedere RFC before moving to Australia. Her bridesmaids were Niamh McCormack and Maria McGrath.
Cameron, a butcher by trade, grew up in small town of Coleambally (population 600), in rural New South Wales. His parents are Vicky Jacka and Ken Muir and he has three brothers and two sisters. His brother Paul served as his best man, with Andrew Herbert as his groomsman.
The pair met while travelling in South America in 2007. Cameron lost his passport in Ecuador, and as a result was delayed in the small town of Banos, waiting for a new one. They met again in Australia and became engaged in November 2008.
They decided to get married in Dingle, and successfully made all they arrangements from Australia. They discovered Ballintaggart House, a former hunting lodge that belonged to the earl of Cork, online. Newly restored, the proprietor John Cluskey organised everything they requested, including a piano from the local music school. Their friend Vivienne Hough played the piano throughout their ceremony. John’s sister Clodagh looked after the wedding party’s hair and make up and his mother oversaw the wedding food.
Theirs was the first wedding to be held at Ballintaggart and the couple had 75 guests from all over the world who stayed in and around Dingle for the occasion.
“My bridesmaid Maria McGrath stole the show with her well-prepared and witty speech, in which she recited e-mails that I had written about Cameron during the course of the relationship in Australia,” says Julie.
“We were blessed with the weather. It meant we could have our drinks reception in front of the house and have our first dance in the courtyard,” Cameron said.
The flowers, orange calla lilies for the bride and white calla lilies for the bridesmaids were created by Julie’s mother Catherina Cotter and godmother Margaret Dooley. Thai lanterns were released into the sky at dusk, much to the surprise and delight of not only the guests, but also some locals, who rang the Garda thinking they were UFOs.
John Cluskey planted a birch tree with a plaque in the hotel gardens to mark the occasion. He plans to plant a tree for every wedding held at Ballintaggart House.The couple also had a sand pouring ceremony – using red sand from Cameron’s home town in Australia and yellow sand from Sandymount strand, poured by both mothers into a glass vase.
The couple spent a week in Co Clare and are planning a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express next year. They plan to remain in Ireland for the foreseeable future, jobs permitting.