My Wedding Day with Emma Barry Murphy: I did a few pulses on the day with mini champagne bottles

Barre instructor Emma Barry Murphy says her wedding day was relaxed, fun, and featured a few exercises

Emma Barry Murphy and her husband Cian on their wedding day. Picture: SOSAC (Shane O'Sullivan Photography).

We got married on May 23, 2025 in Ballyseede Castle in Tralee, Co Kerry. We had the ceremony and the reception there. It was the only venue we viewed. When we booked our wedding, we were very much in the middle of every second person in our group getting engaged, so everyone was viewing all these different venues. It’s not like we wanted to avoid a venue that friends picked, but I suppose we did want to go somewhere different.

We’d bought a house and were planning on moving into it in May that year too, so it was all go. The fact that the team at Ballyseede were so hands-on and helpful meant we didn’t get overwhelmed with the wedding planning.

Another draw with Ballyseede was that, when we were viewing it, they were telling us about a new venue they were building on the grounds for wedding ceremonies, which would be ready by the time our wedding date came up. It was called the Belfry and it looks like a church, but it’s not religious at all, and it was the most beautiful building.

Emma Barry Murphy and her husband Cian on their wedding day. Picture: SOSAC (Shane O'Sullivan Photography).

For my dress, I saw the dress first online, and I wasn’t even really looking at that stage. I feel like once I got engaged, my Instagram algorithm just changed to wedding straight away and I kept getting served these dresses by an Australian brand called Chosen by Khya. 

From there, I went and looked up stockists in Ireland. There was only one place and it was called The Suite in Rathmines in Dublin. I booked the appointment there, thinking: ‘Let me see if this is the dress because that’s going to save me a lot of time if it is’. I tried it on and I loved it, and every time I went back for the various fittings, I fell in love with it all over again.

Emma Barry Murphy on her wedding day. Picture: SOSAC (Shane O'Sullivan Photography).

Having a meetup the night before the wedding really helped to settle my nerves. We had a meal with our bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and some family that had travelled from Australia, and our parents, and it was lovely and relaxed. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to sleep the night before, but I did. And then the next morning was, honestly, a dream.

Because we had a late ceremony — it wasn’t until 3pm — we were able to really take our time in the morning. We woke up and went for a lovely walk around the grounds of the hotel. It wouldn’t have been me either if I didn’t do some exercises. I’d actually recorded myself doing some upper body pulses using those mini champagne bottles, but I’d also brought my mini hand weights and did a couple of pulses in my wedding dress. It was a bit of fun!

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We had a celebrant marry us on the day, and the whole ceremony was nice and chill. People were chiming in from the audience; it was lovely and casual. The ceremony was nice and quick too, which I think people appreciated!

After the ceremony, we had a two-minute walk back to the castle. Cian and I went off to do our photos, but we did those so quickly as we wanted to get back to our guests and enjoy the drinks reception.

Emma Barry Murphy and her husband Cian on their wedding day. Picture: SOSAC (Shane O'Sullivan Photography).

We had a singer for the drinks reception, her name was Lorna Moore, she did fun songs, like Dancing Queen by Abba, and stuff like that. And then our band took over — they were called Black Tye.

It’s so funny because it’s only when you look back on the videos and the pictures that you actually see everyone really giving it their all out on the dance floor. I was writing my thank you cards a couple of months ago — I know, I did them a little bit late, a month before our one-year anniversary, I was frantically writing them — and I was thanking people for being so active on the dance floor.

Even my granny, who’s 86, was up on the dance floor until 1am! Having her at the wedding was such a special moment because I know not many people can have their grandparents at their wedding. I was so grateful.

Emma Barry Murphy on her wedding day. Picture: SOSAC (Shane O'Sullivan Photography).

We had our first dance to Kylie Minogue’s Love At First Sight. There was a little problem with the audio on the track, which meant that the singing didn’t actually come in until about 30 seconds in, but you know what, if I were being fussy about it, I probably would have been raging, but we were so ‘go with the flow’ that it could have been the alphabet, and we would have made it work.

Looking back on the day, one of my favourite moments was getting ready that morning. It was such a special time; it’s like you enter into this world of excitement. It’s really fun, you’re playing music, and you’re getting fussed over. And then seeing my mom and dad all dressed up and taking lovely photos with them. 

You never know who’s going to pop into the room to say hi. I think it’s the part of the day that makes you feel like most special or excited. It’s just like your little piece of heaven before the day gets started.

• Emma Barry Murphy runs Barre By Emma, a combination of ballet barre, Pilates, yoga, dance and strength training. She will be running events throughout the summer. Visit barrebyemma.com.