Wedding of the Week: Former Limerick Rose weds her groom in Kerry celebration
Kayleigh Maher and Joe Barrett. Pictures: Padraig Healy Wedding Photography
Limerick couple Kayleigh Maher and Joe Barrett’s paths crossed when they were teenagers, during their Leaving Certificate year.
That was in 2010, at Limerick Tutorial College.
Twelve years later, the couple’s cute cavapoo, Taz, played a key role when Kayleigh, from Kilcornan, Co Limerick, and Joe, from Raheen, Co Limerick, got engaged, in June 2022, on Ballybunion Beach.
“The beach is very special to us, it was just us there. It was perfect,” says Kayleigh.
She and Joe moved with Taz into their forever home, in Kilcornan, at Christmas and while the pooch had to stay back at base while his human housemates crossed the border into Kerry for their nuptials recently, he was still part of the occasion. “We had a ‘mini-Taz’ added to the decoration of our cake, which was made by Cakes By Lorraine in Limerick. She did an incredible job!” says Kayleigh.
The bride and groom exchanged vows in St Mary’s Cathedral in Killarney, on July 13, 2023, where Fr Seán Jones led the Mass, and they held their reception in The Brehon Hotel.
“Fr Seán made our ceremony so special, personal and memorable,” says Kayleigh.
“There was energy and love oozing from all our guests from the moment the church doors opened."
Leading the celebrations were both sets of parents, Una and John Maher and Ita and Ray Barrett, as well as Kayleigh’s grandmother, Kathleen Mulcair.
The couple’s friends were by their side for the occasion, with Eve Kearney as Kayleigh’s maid of honour and Sinéad Pearse, Róisín Aherne and Ashley Foley as her bridesmaids. Patrick Keane was Joe’s best man and Shane Grehan, David Cowpar and Cian Russell were his groomsmen.
The bride’s niece Ornaith Maher took on flower-girl duties while the groom’s nephew Séimí Barrett was the pageboy.
As for their wedding vision? “We wanted it to be minimalist,” says the bride.
And aside from the visuals? “We wanted a party!” says Kayleigh.
“We checked into the hotel for three nights. We had casual drinks gathering in The Brehon bar the evening before and music was important to us for the wedding day. Michelle O'Callaghan and her mother, from Killarney, sang at our ceremony. Seán Tierney played at our drinks reception, upstairs on The Brehon’s mezzanine.”
The bride and groom arranged to surprise their guests during the reception by booking a singing waiter, Dickie Donnelly, from Singers Secreto. “The crowd loved it, we had a ginormous conga line around the function room. This got everyone going for our band, the Simon Casey Band, and DJ. The dance floor was full all night,” says Kayleigh.
Kayleigh, who was the Limerick Rose at the Rose of Tralee Festival in 2017, knew exactly where to source the perfect wedding dress and looked super-elegant in a Margarett gown.
“Orlaith Carroll from The Attic Bridalwear had made my dress for the Rose of Tralee,” she says. “While I loved the wedding dress, I had a clear vision of exactly what I wanted, so I worked with Orlaith to customise the gown. Orlaith also made bespoke sleeves. She did an incredible job, they were exactly what I imagined and was obsessed with them!
“I styled the overall look with a ribbon trim veil and earrings by Kyna Maree, all available at The Attic."
Kayleigh also booked her hair and makeup team as soon as she got engaged.
“Catherine Hickey of Catherine Hickey Make-Up & Hair in Limerick did my hair and make-up for the year I was Limerick Rose. We had 13 ladies for hair and makeup on the wedding morning. Catherine and four of her team had us all glammed to perfection.”
Sextons Menswear in Limerick was the go-to for the gents’ black tuxedos, shoes and accessories. “Ab at Sextons was fantastic. So much fuss and focus is always placed on the bride's dress, but Ab made sure to fuss over Joe and the lads at each visit, recognising the importance of the groom also,” adds Kayleigh.
Killarney photographer Padraig Healy of Padraig Healy Wedding Photography led the photoshoot. “Padraig made us feel at ease from the get-go and we would highly recommend him. The photos turned out so well and no request was too much for him,” says the bride.
Film Me was the videographer and Alan Brady of Blooms, Killarney, “helped us to create the exact vibe we were looking for”, adds Kayleigh.
And helping the newlyweds "end the wedding on a high" was their "day two" event in The Outback at the Golden Nugget Bar & Restaurant in Fossa, adds the bride. “The food was delicious and we had Geraldine Brosnan and Barry Lynch playing trad music, followed by Daryl Music Band".
The couple recently returned from their three-week honeymoon in Bali.
- If you would like your wedding featured in Weekend email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
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