PEOPLE MAGAZINE | By Erin Clack
Ira Dean is married!
The 54-year-old singer-songwriter, one of the founding members of former country music group Trick Pony, tied the knot with philanthropist and advocate Jennifer Parisi on Feb. 10 in Jamaica.
For their Caribbean nuptials, the couple chose a venue with special meaning to Dean — Cinnamon Hill, the former home of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, originally built in 1734 by Edward Barrett, an ancestor of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
"I’ve been extremely close with the Cash Family since I moved to Nashville in 1990," Dean tells PEOPLE. "They were like a second family to me, and I spent a few Christmases with Johnny and June at their home in Jamaica. Some of my favorite memories with them were in that house, so when I popped the question to Jennifer, I knew the only place I wanted to get married was at Cinnamon Hill."
Dean and Parisi — who first met in 2019 — hosted a small, three-day celebration with 80 loved ones, kicking things off with a festive welcome dinner at the Three Palms Restaurant on the eve of their wedding. "We wanted to keep our celebration intimate, but wanted it to be relaxed and fun and allow our guests to have some time for themselves to unwind," Parisi, 48, notes.
Celebrity guests included comedian and actor Jim Breuer, singer Jamey Johnson, former WWE wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and singer Gary Allan. John Carter Cash — the only child of Johnny and June — also attended with his wife Ana, and officiated the couple's ceremony.
The pair incorporated several unique traditions into their ceremony including a sand ceremony with their children — Dean's daughter Maya, 28, and Parisi's daughter Serena, 24, and son Sonny, 22 — to symbolically blend their family.
"We spend a lot of time at the beach and on the water and, after all, we were in Jamaica so we thought it was the perfect sentiment," Parisi explains.
