The model, influencer and all-around beauty queen is on a solo mission to bring her wedding dress home — and as bad luck would have it, there seems to be one mishap after the other for the perpetually upbeat Dubliner.
While she scrambled to get her now too-big dress altered, her fiancé, Robert Barr, broke his foot just days earlier. But nothing will stop this bride and groom-to-be from declaring their love for each other in front of their loved ones.
“I went over to pick up my dress and my flight was delayed. It doesn’t fit, which was a little bit worrying but I was straight into the alterations this morning,” explains Lynn on a call toMagazine+.
The 34-year-old may be manically checking off the last of her to-do list ahead of her nuptials this Thursday, which are set to take place in the Italian countryside, but the laid-back beauty could only be described as a bridechilla.
“We don’t get stressed, to be honest — I was only a little stressed when the dress didn’t fit.
“The wedding planner is giving out stink to us because we are so laid back. She is asking us questions and we don’t come back for days. We are just like, ‘Whatever you think — we don’t mind.’
“And she just keeps coming back to me: ‘But what do you think?’” laughs the much-loved influencer.
While some women have curated a mood board of their ‘dream day’ from the time of their inception, Lynn, who has amassed over 62k followers on Instagram, has never visualised a big white wedding.
“I still think you don’t need to get married, and each to their own — we are obviously getting married but I wouldn’t have been upset or angry if he hadn’t proposed. I suppose this was just the next step for us.”
With an illustrious modelling career that has seen the Jervis Street native grace the catwalk in every wedding dress imaginable, it was almost a case of wedding dress fatigue for Lynn.
“People are asking what my dress is like and I am not going to tell people until the day,” she teases.
“But I have honestly worn thousands of dresses — I used to do a lot of bridal modelling and I’ve worn the most incredible couture gowns and never really found anything I saw that was that special. I was worried I wouldn’t find anything I liked.
“Then I found one dress on Pinterest and tracked it down to a shop in London — that was the first dress I tried on and I said yes.
“Then I found another dress and I fell in love with it too. I never thought I would have two dresses. I thought it would feel like putting on just another dress, but I am just so excited to wear them now. They are so beautiful.
“Robert asked, ‘Are you finished with your dresses now?’ And I was like ‘No, I have a wedding wardrobe for the week!’
After 35-year-old Robert got down on bended knee in Mykonos in 2020, there was only one obvious destination for the hen party.
“The hen party in Mykonos was quite big. When Robert proposed I just fell in love with Mykonos and I text the girls and I said, ‘This is where I want my hen.’
“I didn’t expect them to follow through but they planned it there and we stayed for five nights.
“It was perfection — really chilled beach clubs and gorgeous restaurants. My four bridesmaids are angels.
“I wanted something that could include all my family too, so I also had a Dublin hen. My nanny had a ball — I had to put her in a taxi at 2am. She’s 74. She hasn’t a hip of her own and she was raving all night.
“If you’re in doubt about what to do for the hen just ask the bride. My friends did surprise me with a stripper, which I was actually mortified about because my mam and nanny were standing there and Robert’s mam was too,” she says.
“But I think brides just have to take it with a pinch of salt. The girls dressed me up in an Ireland jersey one night in Mykonos and then in a cat bikini with my cat’s face on it.
“Just have fun with it — you’re there with all the people you love and they are memories you will have for the rest of your life.”
With the four-day countdown on, Lynn is looking forward to one thing this Thursday.
“I can’t wait to spend the day with everyone I love in the world,” she beams. “There are 80 close friends and family that have made such an effort to come to Italy.
“After 17 years, I am just so ready to marry Robert. We are best friends. We are as thick as thieves and sometimes it is like the blind leading the blind.
“It’s going to be a week-long celebration of love.”
Their wedding ceremony may not be televised à la Harry and Meghan, but there will be thousands of eyes following the pair’s every move across social media.
“I am very lucky I don’t get any hate or nasty messages, it’s all very positive.
“A lot of people my age are on the same journey as me, they have probably just bought their own house and are getting married. I think I am just a very normal person and people see that on social media and maybe that’s what they relate to.”
And as far as Robert’s foot is concerned?
“It’s just so typical of us. Rob has broken so many bones, they call him Mr Glass. He was in the gym and started with pull-ups and he didn’t realise there was a bench underneath him and then rolled over on his ankle. He’s in a boot for six weeks and has crutches. He will be getting a queen’s chair up the aisle from his groomsmen.
“These things happen,” shrugs Lynn. “That’s definitely the end of our bad luck, right?”
LYNN’S WEDDING PREP TOP TIPS
BRIDAL BEAUTY I went for regular facials with Kerry Hanaphy and she just tailored the treatments to exactly what I needed. I really stuck to a skin regime. I upped my water intake and also started taking Revive Beauty Complex — I swear by that, even for my hair growth.
HEN PARTY FASHION PICKS I wore a lot of Meshki, which is an Australian brand. I wore a Nadine Merabi dress on my Dublin hen and then if you are looking for something more high street, I wore lots of looks from River Island.
WEDDING DRESS EDIT I have three wedding dresses and other bridal looks. I am so excited to wear my dresses.
I got my dresses in Brown’s Bride in London and Love Ellie Bridal in Cavan.
I could not recommend them more. I also then have another wedding dress I am wearing the night before, and that is from Phoenix V in Cork.
MAKE-UP:DONNA MORRIS @DONNAMORRISMUA HAIR: VANDER CARRIL FOR QUEEN HAIR, DUBLIN 2. QUEEN.IE PHOTOGRAPHY:ANAMARIA MEIU @AMPHOTOSTAR STYLING: DENISE SMITH LOCATION:CAFE EN SEINE, DUBLIN 2
