Till death us do Parton
Country star Cliona’s wedding style inspired by her idol Dolly
COUNTRY star Cliona Hagan has shared plans for her May nuptials with the groom set to wear jeans and guests served cupcakes in place of a traditional wedding cake.
The countdown is on for the Tyrone singer who will tie the knot with her Westmeath musician Simon Sheerin at Kilronan Castle in Co Roscommon.
Cliona will take inspiration from her hero Dolly Parton with “lots of bling” and a guest list that includes her former Dancing With The Stars pro partner Robert Rowinski.
Describing her dress she revealed: “It’s a sweetheart corset with thin straps.
“It has low back with Pippa Middleton-style buttons running into a long trail – but it can be detached for dancing.
“It’s a brilliant white, I didn’t realise there were about five billion shades of white. Of course, there is lots of bling bling as well.”
Simon will wear a suit from Guy Clothing with “nice jeans” instead of traditional suit trousers.
Cliona told RSVP Country magazine: “We’re not going to have a cake, we’re going to have some cupcakes.”
However, she said a traditional church wedding was a must.
She added: “We can’t wait to get married in the eyes of God. That’s very important to the two of us and our families. I’ll be very nervous walking down the aisle and although I perform on stage I’m actually a shy person.
“I also get embarrassed very easily. I know everyone will be looking at my dress but I’ll be fine once I get to the altar and see Simon.”
The couple have had to pare down their original guest list which ran to 450 but stars Susan Mccann, Johnny Brady and Simon Casey make the final cut. Cliona said: “We hope people don’t fall out with us. It’s so hard because we have gotten to know so many wonderful people on the music scene.
“But there has to come a point where you realise things have gotten out of hand.
“At one point we had 450 people, we would have needed two venues to house everyone.”
The singer embarks on The Dolly Songbook Tour next month to promote her album of the same name, which features 12 self-penned tracks paying homage to the queen of country.
Cliona revealed: “She’s my favourite artist of all time. Being able to create this album... was phenomenal.”
Read the full interview in RSVP Country magazine which is out now.