Wedding of the Week: From Cork to Italy for Jennifer and Dean 

They chose Abbazia Di San Galgano (Abbey of San Galgano) for the ceremony and the nearby 19th-century farmhouse (Agriturismo San Galgano) for a three-night party.

They were wed on August 8 and the mayor of the nearby town, Chiusdino, Luciana Bartaletti, performed the ceremony.

The reception took place outside the farmhouse, overlooking Tuscany’s rolling hills, just a 200m walk from the abbey.

“Dinner was served in the farmhouse courtyard, which later became the dance floor,” adds the groom.

“We wanted everything onsite (ceremony, reception and accommodation for 60 guests) but also big enough for people to have their own space to chill out and take in the beautiful location." 

The pool helped.

The ceremony was in the abbey, within walking distance of the reception. “It was ideal, as everyone could enjoy watching the sun go down over the Tuscan hills,” adds Dean.

“Italian is our favourite cuisine so being able to indulge in everything Italian was amazing. Our dinner was not your standard wedding menu. It was a mix of all locally sourced food. Mostly pork (wild boar), which is a common and popular dish in Tuscany.” 

Everybody danced the night away with “a nice mix of pop and Irish song choices”, says the groom. “I'm guessing it's probably the first time this venue has had the Saw Doctors played,” he said.

“We must give a special shoutout to our wedding planner Laura Colavalle ( chocoweddings.com). Laura was amazing from start to finish and made this whole event come together,” says Dean.

Capturing every moment on camera was their photographer, Dylan Clifford, (@dylancliffordphotography).

Helping the newlyweds celebrate were both sets of parents Theresa Jones and Joseph Ryan and Stephanie and Charlie Johnson.

Laura Ryan was the maid of honour with Jessie Ryan and Ruth Hurley as bridesmaids.

“Even though Jenny, Laura and Jessie are all ‘Ryans’ none are related. They met in secondary school. Jenny became friends with Ruth in their first year at UCC,” says Dean.

Tom Rohan was the best man, with Peter Traynor and Muiris Bartley as groomsmen — all friends who met at UCC.

Jenny and Dean have been together since April 2015, having met through mutual friends.

Italy was also where they got engaged, on September 5, 2021, during a two-week break. “We were travelling around and getting the Monza F1 Grand Prix in as we are both huge F1 fans,” says Jenny.

“As we were driving around Lake Garda, we stopped in a small town, Limone sul Garda, Dean spotted you could rent a boat, so we had complete privacy. It was perfect. Dean drove out to the middle of the lake and popped the question, followed by small bottles of champagne Dean managed to bring for the occasion.” 

Jenny bought her dress in Shoreditch, London, and Dean shopped locally in Cork for his and the groomsmen's suits, which were purchased in Red Church Suits, in Cork City, redchurch.ie.

The newlyweds enjoyed a minimoon in Sardinia and plan to visit Japan next year.

Jenny works in finance in asset services and Dean works in sales as a key account manager.

They plan to move to the Cotswolds in the UK with their new puppy Indy.

• If you would like your wedding featured email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie