{"id":615667,"date":"2026-09-05T21:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T21:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615667\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T21:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T21:46:12","slug":"wedding-of-the-week-instant-yes-led-to-an-unforgettable-day-of-laughter-and-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615667\/","title":{"rendered":"Wedding of the Week: Instant ‘yes’ led to an unforgettable day of laughter and tears"},"content":{"rendered":"

As she glanced out the window while getting ready on her wedding morning, Joanne O\u2019Dwyer was thrilled with what she saw.<\/p>\n

Joanne, from Doon, Co Limerick, who exchanged vows with and Christopher (Chris) Barry, from Limerick Junction, Co Tipperary, at The Lodge, at Ballygarry Estate Hotel & Spa, Tralee, Co Kerry, says: \u201cWhile all attention was focused on me and my makeup prep inside the venue, outside my aunts, uncles and extended family \u2014 although you may think could be beyond it \u2014 were to be seen on the estate lawns, playing swing-ball, oversized Jenga and reliving their youth cycling around the grounds on the complimentary bicycles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer and Christopher Barry. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n

It summed up the spirit of the occasion. \u201cOur day was full of moments of laughter with happy tears \u2014 with many tears coming from the groomsmen!\u201d adds Chris.<\/p>\n

The newlyweds, who live in Lattin, Co Tipperary, were married by celebrant Catherine Lewis, a neighbour of the groom\u2019s family. \u201cCatherine made our ceremony personal to us, and was able to involve our guests and the younger wedding party,\u201d says Joanne. \u201cWe had our wedding drinks reception at the \u2018Pavilion\u2019 at Ballygarry Hotel, and we were fortunate with the weather \u2014 our guests were able to enjoy the wedding celebrations outside, soaking up the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joanne, a mental health nurse, and Chris, an agricultural mechanic, have been an item for a decade. \u201cWe met online and had our first date in June 2016,\u201d says the bride.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer and Christopher Barry. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n

Seven years later, they got engaged on holiday in the US. Chris got down on one knee to pop the question as they walked in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. \u201cIt was an instant \u2018yes\u2019,\u201d says Joanne.<\/p>\n

The couple chose the Kerry venue because they wanted to have both their ceremony and reception onsite. \u201cOur big day was unbelievable; we couldn\u2019t have asked for better or more,\u201d says Joanne. \u201cWe were supported and reassured by the staff of Ballygarry from the moment of our arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer and Christopher Barry. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n

Joanne\u2019s sister Pauline O\u2019Dwyer was her maid of honour, and her friends Lisa McCarthy and Claragh Pye were her bridesmaids. Chris\u2019s friends Sean Kiley, best man, and Cormac Flanagan and Daniel Bowes, groomsmen, were by his side. Also taking centre stage as flowergirls were Christopher\u2019s daughter Ciara Loobey, his nieces Emma Long and Zoe Long, and Joanne\u2019s niece Annie O\u2019Dwyer, while Joanne\u2019s nephew Paul O\u2019Dwyer shared the spotlight in the role of pageboy.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer and Christopher Barry. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n

Modified cars, including a vintage tractor and the groom\u2019s prized Ford Transit van, were on display for the event. Joanne sourced her wedding gown at The Attic Bridal Boutique in Limerick, and the groom purchased his suit from Esquire Formal Menswear in Limerick city.<\/p>\n

Makeup artist Lisa Ryan and hairstylist Audrey Cashman from Upstyle Junkie \u201cmade a wonderful glam team\u201d for the bride and her attendants, adds Joanne.<\/p>\n

Kaspars Sarovarcenko of Black Diamond Photography and content creator Chloe Walsh of Say I Do by Chloe captured the big day on camera, as did videographers Jackie Cahill and Lucas Machowski from LM Wedding Videography. Danielle O\u2019Donoghue of Tie The Knot Weddings created the floral d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n

Bryan Murphy conducted the music for the ceremony and reception, and No Strings Attached was the wedding band. \u201cThe band made sure the dance floor was never empty and kept all our guests involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey even had our groomsman Cormac and bridesmaid Lisa out on the floor making their best attempt at the brush dance,\u201d says Joanne.<\/p>\n

The newlyweds have yet to decide on their honeymoon destination.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne O’Dwyer and Christopher Barry. Pictures: Black Diamond Photography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As she glanced out the window while getting ready on her wedding morning, Joanne O\u2019Dwyer was thrilled with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4998,93,61,60,55665],"class_list":["post-615667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-weddings","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-wedding-of-the-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}