Getting Married In A Castle

dahooligan

Hey, My sis has FINALLY set a date for her wedding (she has been engaged for ages now) and she says she has her heart set on getting married in a castle.
I am not sure that you can, or at least, I am not sure that it would be recognised by the Catholic church.

Anyhow, I told her I would post on here to get some feedback from those in the know.

Is it possible to get married in a castle?

What if you had a small church wedding followed by a blessing/saying of vows in the castle, surrounded by friends and family?

Where can I find a list of castles in Dublin / Kildare/ Meath/ Wicklow? (Having no use getting such a specific search through google)

Has anyone here ever married in a castle, or been to a castle wedding?

How much do you think it would set you back?

And last, but not least, can anyone share any wedding advice with her, as I know she is incredibly nervous about the whole thing.

Thank a million everyone!

Sisters Question: I would like to get married (preferrable Dublin/Meath) in an old castle/manor that has both a chapel and room for the reception. What do you recommend/? Accommodation would be an added advantage too.

Ruu_Old

It is possible. Theres a few posts in the Weddings/Marriage forum about wedding locations.

Gone West

dahooligan wrote:

How much do you think it would set you back?

If you have to ask, you most certainly cannot afford it.

Seriously, every Tom, Dick and Jane of Ireland's middle "nouveau riche" wants something like this to better their friends or work buddies.
Does it really matter where they get married?

dahooligan

FuzzyLogic wrote:

If you have to ask, you most certainly cannot afford it.

Seriously, every Tom, Dick and Jane of Ireland's middle "nouveau riche" wants something like this to better their friends or work buddies.
Does it really matter where they get married?

don't think she wants to 'better' her friends, she only plans on doing it once and it has always been a dream of hers to get married in a castle. She like's the idea of a fairytale day, or so she tells me.

What's wrong with that?

ST*

I attended a wedding reception in Kilkea castle a few years ago. It was a lovely setting tbh, but they did seem somewhat more interested in how the food looked on the plate, rather than giving out a good meal. That didn't seem to go down too well with the oldies.

So I'd go over the meal plan with them carefully, let them know what is more important to you.

Ruu_Old

Afaik she could be looking at a fair few quid and a long waiting list, OP but if its what she wants then there are plenty of places to look at. I haven't been at any castle weddings I'm afraid.

Eoin

There's also Clontarf Castle. We briefly checked it out - though not to "to better their friends or work buddies". There aren't any grounds to speak of though, so the photo opportunities are limited.

6th

I know my brother is catering a wedding this week in a castle out near athlone. From what he said it was costing €9000 for the castle for possibly 3/4 days.

I know a few castles that have been used for photo shoots after the weddings but i suppose having the actualy ceremony there is important?

dajoy

Try Slane Castle if she can spare €6000 for one day.

iguana

Try this website, http://www.tourismresources.ie/cht/castles.htm it has a pretty comprehensive list of castles and stately homes for hire. Some will cater for a full wedding, and others can be hired for a weekend and you can arrange your own caterers. If she's interested in anything I'd advise her to shy away from using the 'w' word when she first talks about hiring the venue as it tends to make prices mysteriously double. I always prefer 'family party.'

Legally she can't get married outside a church or registry office, but the law is said to be changing next year. However they have been promising to change it for years now. She could consider getting married in Scotland as there are a number of castles there where you can get legally married, you don't need to be resident and it will be recognised in Ireland.

dave2pvd

I had my wedding reception in Kilkea Castle. So I can answer most of your questions regarding Kilkea. I would highly recommend the venue.

Price is very dependant on what you choose; they have an a la carte option list. I do know it was about half the cost of a US wedding (where I live now). Don't recall exact amt, but perhaps it could be done for $10k with 80 people?

The quantity/quality issue re the food never came up. Everyone thought the food was 1st class and there seemed to be plenty of it. Even our farming friends - and they eat quite a bit. Depends on what your perspective is, I suppose.

iguana wrote:

Legally she can't get married outside a church or registry office, but the law is said to be changing next year.

True for us (2002, mind you). The ceremony was in Moone. Fr Coughlin is your man. Parochial House, Moone, Co Kildare.

Accomodation: Castle has 30(?) rooms. Lots of guesthouse & B&B accomodation nearby too. No problems for accomodation.

If you want to 'customise' with flower arrangements, etc (women usually do!), try to use the florist the castle uses. Contact them with your changes/requirements - if you use your own florist, Kilkea doesn't give you much of a price reduction. Big savings this way!

jackieod

HI Dahooligan it may be too late but a great castle to have your wedding reception is Dafur Castle in Dundalk and they are great fro organisisng weddings!!

topher

try kinnitty castle in offaly, a nice looking castle, not sure about food etc

kippy

Howdy,
Just been browsing the forum and spotted yer post.
We've been checking out a few venues in general and we checked out one castle for the craic.
Cloonacaunen castle is the name of it. Personally its not my scene but the fiance wanted a look.
It is just off the main Galway to Claregalway road. The meal prices are as competitive as anywhere else and in fairness I dont think this particuliar castle would be much more than a standard "hotel" wedding.
The downside (for us) is that there max for sitting is 180.
Well worth a chat to and a further investigation if ye interested in that area.
Kippy