When Oisin (pron. UH-sheen) Tierney left Ireland for Canada in 2014, his one goal was to experience North American life before returning to his beloved homeland. The last thing he had in mind was meeting his future wife.
The bride’s Ouma wedding dress is from The Modern Bride, and her Sophia Webster shoes featured a flamingo heel: “I couldn’t resist!” Working as a bartender at a downtown Toronto restaurant, Oisin enjoyed flirting with the establishment’s hostess Madison (Maddi) Hanley, though it took months before the two had a real conversation.
“Of course, I knew who she was,” recalls Oisin. “She caught my eye straight away. But it wasn’t until we were properly introduced by my friend, John, that we got to know each other. At that point, she became my favourite person.”
John, Oisin’s best friend, had befriended Maddi and her group of friends, and one evening invited Oisin to join them. Maddi remembers the night well. As she puts it, “That’s when the flirting got real."
Maddi had been captivated by Oisin’s infectious smile and laugh for some time. “It caught my attention from across the restaurant,” she remembers.
“Despite having worked in the same building for months, it wasn’t until that first night out that we began to speak; we spent the entire night talking.” The couple exchanged numbers and spent a carefree summer working together by day and exploring Toronto’s bars and restaurants with their friends by night. According to Maddi, Oisin was “fun, down for anything and always the most fun person to be around.” Oisin felt the same way. “Maddi was funny, confident and always up to something new,” he recalls. “She’s beautiful inside and out, and is always the most fun person to be around."
A few dates later, sipping wine and watching an outdoor movie by the Toronto waterfront, the couple had a relationship-defining moment, and haven’t left each other’s side since. Oisin, who is now Director of Business Development for the cannabis genetics company, Apollo Green, remembers it well. “We couldn’t spend time apart, and when I went home for Christmas, I told my mom I’d found the one.” Maddi, who recently left her career in HR for a tech company to join Chestnut Park Realty in Prince Edward County, says that “Oisin was meant to be. I barely remember a time before O was in my life.”.
Eight years after the couple first met, Oisin — who had already purchased a house with Maddi — knew it would be tough to surprise her with anything, not to mention a marriage proposal. Multiple plans were sabotaged for various reasons, and time was running out. The two were flying to Ireland and Oisin wanted to announce their engagement to his family. “The Saturday before we left, I made Maddi breakfast in bed and had booked her hair and nail appointments. When she came back, I was standing at the end of the hall holding a bouquet of flowers. Maddi started crying and uttered two words: ‘Shut up!’ As you might have guessed, she said yes.”
“The fact that we were getting engaged was no surprise,” recalls Maddi, “but the actual moment caught me so off guard and was so special, that I hardly remember the details.”
The couple decided on a casual and intimate week-long joint wedding and honeymoon at the Four Seasons Anguilla. The tropical event featured a party of just 25. “With Oisin’s family and childhood friends living in Ireland, there’s never an occasion where everybody is together,” explains Maddi. “We needed more than a couple of days together and wanted to create a memory that everybody would have forever.”
The lead-up to the wedding included both a bachelor and bachelorette party for the bride and groom, and on their wedding day, guests watched as Maddi and Oisin exchanged vows against a backdrop of the Caribbean Sea. Given the beauty of their surroundings, the couple kept their wedding decor simple, focusing on local flora and fauna of Monstera, palm leaves and delphiniums. John, who introduced the couple, was the official 'flower boy’. Post-ceremony, the group celebrated at the Half Shell Beach Bar where they sipped cocktails by a firepit built into the sand. Dinner was served on the beach, where the formality of a white tablecloth felt out of place. Instead, the couple opted for a natural table setting with local flowers.
Dancing ensued, followed by champagne, cake, a late-night swim, and for some, a sunrise golf cart tour of the resort. “Although it sounds cliche, seeing Maddi walking down the aisle in her dress is a moment I couldn’t possibly forget. I couldn’t believe my luck,” recalls Oisin. As Maddi remembers it, “It wasn’t just a wedding for us, it was a week for our friends and family to bond for life.”.
Life as a married couple includes maintaining their already active lifestyle. They love to snowboard, skate and hike in addition to lots of entertaining. Maddi takes care of the menu while Oisin shakes up his favourite cocktails. And when the opportunity arises, Oisin flies back to Ireland to soak up his beloved homeland.
