Photographs courtesy of Tara Donoghue Photography
New York city native Kate Passero and Kerry man Mícheál Hallissey first met when Kate went travelling after graduating from nursing school. “After I graduated, myself and two friends went on a five week adventure across 15 cities. Ireland was our last stop, and we took a bus tour around the south west of the country. Our tour guide warned us of Kerry lads and their heavy accents as we prepared for an overnight stay in Killarney. I knew it would be an experience I’d remember but I never realised I’d meet the man I was going to marry! We were making eye contact in a nightclub all night until I finally put my best foot forward and gave him my name. We became friends and modern day pen-pals, keeping in touch over Facebook,” Kate recalls.
Shortly after, Mícheál decided to do a J1 in the Bronx in New York, and ended up living a just train ride away from Kate and the pair began seeing each other. He later moved to New York permanently and the pair got engaged in 2016. They opted to return to the Kingdom to get married, with a ceremony in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Killarney followed by a reception in The Great Southern Hotel.
The celebration was a hybrid of American and Irish culture, and the bride and groom truly valued seeing their loved ones from separate parts of the world all coming together in celebration of their union. “We were lucky to have had over 60 American friends and family to fly over to Killarney for the wedding, and another 190 Irish attendees from Mícheál’s side. “We were able to watch Irish and American guests intermingled and dancing with one another, smiling and enjoying themselves. It’s humbling to know that no matter what side of the pond we are on, we have the love and support of so many people,” Kate says.
How was your experience with Tara Donoghue Photography?
“Tara and Dave are truly incredible and were an integral part in our wedding. They took every request we had on the day and had the vision to make it even better. They were also fantastic in keeping us on schedule on the day. In the build-up to the wedding, Tara and Dave were incredibly responsive to email and facetime which made my planning experience from stateside so much easier and put my mind at ease. Undoubtedly the best decision we made was having Tara and Dave for our big day.”
