A US-based couple are thankful to the good people of West Cork for their role in the success of their wedding celebrations last June, writes Emma Connolly.

This article was featured in our Weddings 2025 magazine – you can read the full magazine here!

THE welcome, friendship and generosity of the people of West Cork is what US-based couple Ross Burke and Violetta Harunova and their guests loved most about their ‘magical’ wedding week.

Ross was born and raised in New York but spent many of his summers in Glandore, while Violetta was born and raised in Belarus.

They met in an Irish bar in New York city in 2018 and now live in Fort Lauderdale, but decided to get married in West Cork as Ross considers it a second home with so much family here including his beloved grandmother Kay Calnan.

‘For the past seven years Violetta has come to feel the same too about West Cork. My parents Bill and Aileen got married in Glandore church in 1993 which was also a huge factor in our choice,’ said Ross.

Organising a wedding from a different country, and a different time zone, did present some challenges but nothing that they couldn’t overcome, especially with Aileen in the role as wedding planner.

‘We both work full-time,’ said Violetta, ‘I’m a remote business developer, while Ross is in the office daily as a recruiter. and of course it’s possible to do a lot online but it really helped having Aileen on board, especially with her local knowledge.’

Ross and Violetta with Ross’s mother Aileen (who acted as wedding co-ordinator) at the reception in Fernhill House Hotel, Clonakilty.

Aileen oversaw every last detail including having her sister Denise Moloney plant a wildflower garden in Union Hall specifically for the day, which had a wildflower theme run throughout.

She also made many trips back and forth from the US to her native West Cork, bringing over a large welcome banner, votives, floating candles, battery lights etc for the table decorations, table numbers and place cards, the chiffon for pew ends, the aisle runner, wedding booklets, novelties for bathroom baskets and much more.

‘I was so happy to be so involved with Violetta and Ross with planning their wedding.  The excuse to make about five trips to Ireland was a bonus.  Having organised my own wedding in 1993 from the United States I felt I was up to the challenge.  With emails and cell phones and websites these days it was so much easier. My family were a huge support  and did much of the in-person work and all my mom’s neighbours were a huge support and helped in every way. The vendors were also fantastic with their websites showing everything in detail. The five-hour time difference definitely made things a little tricky at times but wasn’t a big issue,’ said Aileen.

The couple chose Fernhill House Hotel for their ceremony which took place on June 24th last.

‘Aileen went to Fernhill before booking it and Ross and I only saw it for ourselves in person in December 2024 when it was already booked. Aunt Denise and Nanny attended the tasting menu and we made our choices based on their feedback!’ said Violetta.

‘We loved the gardens and the homely atmosphere and the staff and O’Neill family went above and beyond to help us with every detail. One of the main things we liked was that they allowed us to incorporate any and all ideas we had about decorating, open bar service etc.  Our guests thought the food was the best they had had at any wedding which is the ultimate compliment,’ she added.

Ross and Violetta cutting their wedding cake

With approximately 140 people at the wedding and the majority of people coming from America the couple organised a week of celebrations and activities.

‘Celebrations kicked off on a Friday with dinner at Hayes’ bar, followed by a barbecue at Nanny’s house the next evening for 80 people,’ said Ross.

‘On Sunday our Uncle Fin and cousin Damien organised boats to take 100 people to Rabbit Island for a barbecue there with help from so many local people that our guests are still in awe of how people help each other and are so generous. It was also my nanny’s first time on the island in her 91 years!’ he added.

Guests enjoyed music and food in Glandore on Sunday, a bus tour to Glengarriff and surrounding area on Monday, with a rehearsal dinner that evening in the Dock Wall ahead of Tuesday’s main event.

‘As part of a tradition from when Aileen and her friends had got married in Glandore church, we had locally grown wildflowers in all the windows and all arrangements included local driftwood in honour of Ross’s grandad Denis Calnan, and hydrangeas on all pews were provided by Aileen’s friend Ann Kelleher. A lot of  the flowers were also grown by Ruth Fortune and it all looked incredible,’ said Violetta.

All guests also received gift bags with West Cork whiskey or Garnish Island gin inside.

‘All our guests were beyond thrilled with their favours!’ said Ross.

‘On Wednesday we had band Rubicon play traditional music at the Glandore Inn and a meal for 120 guests which was incredible,’ he said.

The only tiny hiccup to proceedings was when a singer had to cancel the day before the wedding.

‘Luckily, my cousin Michael O’Brien saved the day performing with Tracy O’Shea,’ said Ross.

Other little hurdles they encountered because of getting married abroad were obtaining visas for Belarussian family members,

And because Violetta is Russian Orthodox and Ross is Catholic there were additional steps and paperwork to do in order for them to marry in a Catholic church.

‘But Father Terry O’Brien in Glandore was beyond helpful and guided us every step of the way,’ said Ross.

‘Another small thing was transportation – and our guests getting used to the fact that they couldn’t just call an Uber!’ said Violetta.

‘And a memorable story from the wedding day was when our extra-large bus  got stuck passing some parked cars in Glandore. The groom and groomsmen definitely did panic a little – getting through around 20 minutes later than planned!’ added Aileen.

Four months on, the couple who are looking forward to a honeymoon in Japan, are still happily reliving memories of their wedding week.

‘There was a huge amount of trust needed on our parts, to believe that everyone would deliver for us but everyone went above and beyond in everything they did. In fact the main things our guests remarked on over and over again was how wonderful the people were, so helpful and so friendly. We’re forever grateful.’

This article was featured in our Weddings 2025 magazine – you can read the full magazine here!

Ross with his grandmother Kay Calnan on their way to Rabbit Island for a barbecue with family and friends as part of the week-long celebrations.