Where to have BBQ Wedding Reception

ste2006

Me and my GF are planning on getting married next year and are not really into the whole hotel scene,

We are thinking of having a wedding in a church and then having a big BBQ Wedding reception with a band playing and all that,

We intend to do it vey cheap and just get some people we know to cook the food, help people out etc etc.

We really want it to be a very informal laid back wedding reception where people can stay as long as they like and even camp afterwards if they like,

I am wondering has anyone else done this kind of thing before and if so where do they get a location from. We have land around us where we live but it is not great land and is very sloped.

Is there anywhere anyone knows where we could just hire a large good field for two days to have a BBQ and some music etc etc???

Anyone any thoughts???

Thanks in advance,

bytheglass

Myself & the O/H are in a similarish situation... not married yet, plan is for next June)
Wanted BBQ style reception but none of the hotels would accomodate us...
The long & short of it is we hired a lovely country house with beautiful gardens €€€'s & we will be hiring in our own cater €€€'s
We really wanted the idea of eating outside (weather permitting) so hopefully this will work out BUT the option is there to eat indoors as they have a large barnlike building which is where the band would set up anyway & either-way the dancing will go on in the 'barn'.
The owners of the country house are sooooo welcoming & suggested that guests could camp over if they wished.
There are other things thats will add €€€'s, for instance we'll have to hire a portaloo because there is'nt enough facilities to accomodate our numbers. You may need to hire certain things... tables, chairs, cutlery, glassware, linen, cooking facilities?? staff? bar staff? We are lucky in the sence that our caterer is also an event manager so we don't have to stress ourselves out too much.
What will you do if you have bad weather? Hire a marquee? I suppose you dont need reminding that all these things add up!
Another thing to think about - I was at a party at the weekend & the weather was lovely BUT the weather the previous few days had been wet so the ground (grass) was soft, there was no flooring & I was in heels so I sat most of the night which was a bummer (I didnt know in advance that it was outdoors & I would have dressed appropriately if I'd have known though)
Lots to think about!

ste2006

Country house sounds expensive to be honest is it??

I am hoping to do this fairly cheap, I have a horse riding school not too far away so i might ask the owners about the possibility of having it there,

Have asked a few people i know also about Venues but not getting too far so far,

Ill keep trying but if anyone has any thoughts or ideas they would be most welcome,

Thanks,

Borderfox

might be a long shot but the Leeson Court Hotel did a BBQ at a wedding I photographed, a few years back but it was superb

As bytheglass says the costs do add up when you try to organise it yourself

http://www.theleesonhotel.com/

smelltheglove

I covered one once where the couple had the marquee in the gardens of a friends house, the house itself was detached on a bit of land. The marquee looked absolutely stunning.

Bytheglass, yours sounds amazing!

exaisle

BBQ's tend to splash and drip.....maybe a buffet would be less risky?

Sarah Bear

Rathbeggan lakes, county meath had a wedding there last summer, might be worth a glance! not ur usual wedding venue but with a marquee it would be ideal!

deniseq

ste2006 wrote: »

Me and my GF are planning on getting married next year and are not really into the whole hotel scene,

We are thinking of having a wedding in a church and then having a big BBQ Wedding reception with a band playing and all that,

We intend to do it vey cheap and just get some people we know to cook the food, help people out etc etc.

We really want it to be a very informal laid back wedding reception where people can stay as long as they like and even camp afterwards if they like,

I am wondering has anyone else done this kind of thing before and if so where do they get a location from. We have land around us where we live but it is not great land and is very sloped.

Is there anywhere anyone knows where we could just hire a large good field for two days to have a BBQ and some music etc etc???

Anyone any thoughts???

Thanks in advance,

Yay! finally people with the same ideas as us! Can pm with location of barn/country house? Desparately searching at the mo with no avail
Thanks

ste2006

Thanks for all the advice guys,

Would prefer to keep away from the hotel garden idea as it is going to cost, Yes if i could find a friend with a big garden or that it would be ideal,

Alas i dont have any friends with a garden big enough to host a BBQ Wedding,

I was also looking at renting a Marquee if the weather turns bad but they seem crazy money, 3 grand for a 60 person Marquee,

Am i looking at the wrong thing in a marquee or what should i be looking for??

Thanks again and keep the ideas coming,

Thanks,

deniseq

I am in the same predicament, we are looking at the possibility of renting a function room/grounds in sports club, we had the offer of a community centre in the cavan area which would be free but they are insisting that we use there house caterers. Happy searching if I find anything I'll post it

Vodkat

Would you think about renting a holiday home for the weekend?
Some have lovely grounds...
Not sure how accommodating the owners would be though!

http://www.donedeal.ie/find/holidayrent/for-sale/Ireland/

ste2006

Vodkat wrote: »

Would you think about renting a holiday home for the weekend?
Some have lovely grounds...
Not sure how accommodating the owners would be though!

http://www.donedeal.ie/find/holidayrent/for-sale/Ireland/

Thats a good idea, I might look into it anyway,

I have e-mailed Rathangan lakes also so hopefully they might get back to me,

Thansk again and keep the suggestions rolling in,

razor12345

Hi Bytheglass

Your wedding sounds class, would it be possible for you to pm the details of your country house, catering etc

Thanks

Ray

ste2006

Sarah Bear wrote: »

Rathbeggan lakes, county meath had a wedding there last summer, might be worth a glance! not ur usual wedding venue but with a marquee it would be ideal!

Hi Sarah,

No idea who would be a good contact in this place or an e-mail address or anything, I filled out an online form asking about the possibility of a wedding reception but never recieved a reply,

Any contact details would be great,

Thanks,

bytheglass

razor12345 wrote: »

Hi Bytheglass

Your wedding sounds class, would it be possible for you to pm the details of your country house, catering etc

Thanks

Ray

PM sent

bytheglass

deniseq wrote: »

Yay! finally people with the same ideas as us! Can pm with location of barn/country house? Desparately searching at the mo with no avail
Thanks

PM sent

ste2006

@ BytheGlass,

Can i ask was the wedding expensive in the end?? When i say expensive i mean over 6k all in???

I know to some it might not sound expensive but to me it does :-)

bytheglass

In the region of €7,500...
Includes catering, rental of all the bits n bobs, furniture, glassware, etc. etc, venue hire & staff
Basically includes everything that one would be spending on a hotel package except wine
Like I said, plan is to eat outside, otherwise we can move inside (limited to 90 ppl)
We havent had the wedding yet... booked for next June so fingers crossed!

I suppose it is expensive... works out at €84 per person? But it is quite different than sitting down in a function room somewhere...

TOOYOUNGTODIE

I know its not a full wedding but for my parents 25th anniversary a couple of years back.
We did as follows:

Hired barn/large shed off local farmer 80 for night
Bought a 10m X 3 m marquee for 350 in fairyhouse market, borrowed another.
Built a bar from old pallets, actually looked really well.
I bought second hand rolls of cloth on ebay and used them in ceiling of shed and marquee to give a bit of decor. 50€
I got a caterer for 10€ a head, he did ribs, chicken breasts, salda, baked potatoes etc 1200. Neighbours and family made deserts, got a special cake made €85.00
I used square bales of hay as seats around shed and marquee and built a stage out of pallets and plywood. no cost
I bought 5kegs of heineken and 1 of guiness €700 and 15 boxs of white wine, and 5 of red €650, then minerals. ice. water etc. Heineken rep who did it, gave me 300 plastic pint glasses and caterer hired me 150wine glasses.

I had a country and western band 650 and a cousin did DJ

All in it cost me 3765 plus some hard work, but family chipped in, It was a great night roughly 120people came. I even got to return two boxes of white wine.
used family members as staff, and most people brought some drink so it was never an issue. any prick looking for spirits just drank there own.
It finished up about 6am and took three hours to clean up.

Not exactly for nothing but it was easily one of the best nights I'v ever had, even my 86year old grandparents stayed till all hours.

now back to work!!

ste2006

TOOYOUNGTODIE wrote: »

I know its not a full wedding but for my parents 25th anniversary a couple of years back.
We did as follows:

Hired barn/large shed off local farmer 80 for night
Bought a 10m X 3 m marquee for 350 in fairyhouse market, borrowed another.
Built a bar from old pallets, actually looked really well.
I bought second hand rolls of cloth on ebay and used them in ceiling of shed and marquee to give a bit of decor. 50€
I got a caterer for 10€ a head, he did ribs, chicken breasts, salda, baked potatoes etc 1200. Neighbours and family made deserts, got a special cake made €85.00
I used square bales of hay as seats around shed and marquee and built a stage out of pallets and plywood. no cost
I bought 5kegs of heineken and 1 of guiness €700 and 15 boxs of white wine, and 5 of red €650, then minerals. ice. water etc. Heineken rep who did it, gave me 300 plastic pint glasses and caterer hired me 150wine glasses.

I had a country and western band 650 and a cousin did DJ

All in it cost me 3765 plus some hard work, but family chipped in, It was a great night roughly 120people came. I even got to return two boxes of white wine.
used family members as staff, and most people brought some drink so it was never an issue. any prick looking for spirits just drank there own.
It finished up about 6am and took three hours to clean up.

Not exactly for nothing but it was easily one of the best nights I'v ever had, even my 86year old grandparents stayed till all hours.

now back to work!!

Sound brilliant,

Exactly like what i want to do,

How many people did you have at it??

Loads of ideas, Ill keep searching and keep all the ideas coming,

Thanks,

whattttodo

In case costs start stacking up as you organise this yourself, we've just booked a wedding in a Wicklow hotel. Civil Ceremony followed by bbq cooked by hotel on their terrace. Plenty of menus to choose from and price is reasonable enough..

we've nothing to do with the hotel bar being clients (now.. ) its the Parkview.

Best of luck with it..

mayobumblebee

oh you have read my mind seriously.

you have it to a tee, i was thinking about a beach but who do you ask for permission. have also been thinking about beer garden pubs and bbq.
even briefly contemplated local park for a short time


I have seen some marquees on done deal fairly cheep but you have to collect, return, put up the lot yourself. you could use those ones ya see at sunday markets if the weather held out.

Im dead set against the hotel idea :eek: and want to do it as cheep as possible

Sarah Bear

ste2006 wrote: »

Hi Sarah,

No idea who would be a good contact in this place or an e-mail address or anything, I filled out an online form asking about the possibility of a wedding reception but never recieved a reply,

Any contact details would be great,

Thanks,

hi if u check them out on facebook they should get back to you asap.. if you need a mobile number pm me

lizzizzie

TOOYOUNGTODIE wrote: »

I know its not a full wedding but for my parents 25th anniversary a couple of years back.
We did as follows:

Hired barn/large shed off local farmer 80 for night
Bought a 10m X 3 m marquee for 350 in fairyhouse market, borrowed another.
Built a bar from old pallets, actually looked really well.
I bought second hand rolls of cloth on ebay and used them in ceiling of shed and marquee to give a bit of decor. 50€
I got a caterer for 10€ a head, he did ribs, chicken breasts, salda, baked potatoes etc 1200. Neighbours and family made deserts, got a special cake made €85.00
I used square bales of hay as seats around shed and marquee and built a stage out of pallets and plywood. no cost
I bought 5kegs of heineken and 1 of guiness €700 and 15 boxs of white wine, and 5 of red €650, then minerals. ice. water etc. Heineken rep who did it, gave me 300 plastic pint glasses and caterer hired me 150wine glasses.

I had a country and western band 650 and a cousin did DJ

All in it cost me 3765 plus some hard work, but family chipped in, It was a great night roughly 120people came. I even got to return two boxes of white wine.
used family members as staff, and most people brought some drink so it was never an issue. any prick looking for spirits just drank there own.
It finished up about 6am and took three hours to clean up.

Not exactly for nothing but it was easily one of the best nights I'v ever had, even my 86year old grandparents stayed till all hours.

now back to work!!

I'd love to do something like this for my wedding! We have the land to put up a marquee, but one concern I'd have is insurance? Did you have any? I guess what I mean is that, say if someone got injured at our wedding, we'd need to be covered. I know it's awful that I'm even thinking along those lines, as it's only going to be friends and family there! But these days, I think you just can't be too careful. Or am I just being cynical by even thinking about getting insurance?

mayobumblebee wrote: »

oh you have read my mind seriously.

you have it to a tee, i was thinking about a beach but who do you ask for permission. have also been thinking about beer garden pubs and bbq.
even briefly contemplated local park for a short time


I have seen some marquees on done deal fairly cheep but you have to collect, return, put up the lot yourself. you could use those ones ya see at sunday markets if the weather held out.

Im dead set against the hotel idea :eek: and want to do it as cheep as possible

Hmmm how much are these marquees on done deal? I think my fiance would be well able to set it up himself, if it came to it! Might work out a lot cheaper!

ste2006

whattttodo wrote: »

In case costs start stacking up as you organise this yourself, we've just booked a wedding in a Wicklow hotel. Civil Ceremony followed by bbq cooked by hotel on their terrace. Plenty of menus to choose from and price is reasonable enough..

we've nothing to do with the hotel bar being clients (now.. ) its the Parkview.

Best of luck with it..

What do you call a reasonable price???

Prices and complexity is adding up and trying to deal with people is becoming a little messy and awkward, I would love to find a place that has done this before and know what the story is,

mayobumblebee

lizzizzie wrote: »

I'd love to do something like this for my wedding! We have the land to put up a marquee, but one concern I'd have is insurance? Did you have any? I guess what I mean is that, say if someone got injured at our wedding, we'd need to be covered. I know it's awful that I'm even thinking along those lines, as it's only going to be friends and family there! But these days, I think you just can't be too careful. Or am I just being cynical by even thinking about getting insurance?



Hmmm how much are these marquees on done deal? I think my fiance would be well able to set it up himself, if it came to it! Might work out a lot cheaper!

well depends on where ya are i was looking on done deal about 200 euro would seem to get a fairly ok job
http://www.donedeal.ie/find/all/for-sale/Ireland/marquee
have a look

daisyqueen

Hi bytheglass,

Could you send me the details of the house/barn? sounds exactly like what we want!!

Thank you!!!

Sleepy

An acquittance of mine managed to rent a festival venue for their wedding before they pulled down. Saw some pics on Facebook and it looked like an epic wedding!

prettygurrly

lizzizzie wrote: »

I'd love to do something like this for my wedding! We have the land to put up a marquee, but one concern I'd have is insurance? Did you have any? I guess what I mean is that, say if someone got injured at our wedding, we'd need to be covered. I know it's awful that I'm even thinking along those lines, as it's only going to be friends and family there! But these days, I think you just can't be too careful. Or am I just being cynical by even thinking about getting insurance?



Hmmm how much are these marquees on done deal? I think my fiance would be well able to set it up himself, if it came to it! Might work out a lot cheaper!

this is the reason why professional marquee companies are expensive, they are fully insured and professional! i'm the daughter of a couple who had a marquee company for 15 years. they are really beautiful and i would choose one over a hotel any day, but that could be due to my background! however if you do go with a marquee company they will have public liability insurance against people hurting themselves. had a couple of drunk idiots fall over a chair on the night and sue my parents so....

if you have any party in your house, whether you have a marquee or not you are open to someone hurting themselves and suing you. As you said though it's friends and families attending, unless they were paralysed I can't see anyone suing family for a broken arm etc.
my boyfriend is a roofer and has insurance that if he gets hurt in his personal life that his wages are paid till he's better. hopefully people who require full use of their limbs for their job have a similar protection, not to mind sick pay on the back of their PRSI payments.

i went to a wedding in Galway 4.5 years ago at the headford castle (something like that). my friend had about 6 6mx3m gazebos put close together with trestle tables under it, then another gazebo set up for the caterer to cook the massive fillet steak and whole trout on a bbq. then there were salads, cheese etc. all this was set next to the lake. the castle is actually really tiny so would only accomodate a wedding of about 50, and only about 20 to sleep. some people brought camper vans with them to stay the night.
it was an absolutely brilliant day, once the rain held off. that's the huge problem with ireland, you can't count on the weather. with a marquee you can pull back the walls if it's a nice day and move it all outside or if it's raining, they're completely waterproof and can be heated, but again you get what you pay for!

justsimplyme

Hi there Bytheglass, wonder if I could get you to PM info on your wedding. Were trying to stay well clear of the traditional hotel route but just seems so expensive to do otherwise. Thanks a lot

Balgrath

bytheglass wrote: »

PM sent

Hi bytheglass, I too would be interested in the country house details if you could PM them it would be greatly appreciated.
Bal.