Clonabreany House wedding venue

Adoolan85

Hi all,


Going to view Clonabreany House as a wedding venue with OH on Monday.

Would appreciate any advice and info from anyone who has attended a wedding there recently. Thoughts on the venue, price, overall service and am particularly interested in how people organised accommodation for guests. Wedding will be for about 150, 160 people.

Seen from a previous thread that there may be an issue with the volume of their new PA system???


Thanks.

stargazer 68

Op havent been to a wedding there but we did look at it for ours. Its a bit far out of the way we thought. Expensive too and the day we were there was really windy and as its a marquee you could really notice the wind.

The PA system seems to be centred to the dance floor so if you are in the middle of the floor its loud and as you move out it seemed to get quieter - which was a good thing IMO as those not dancing could hold a conversation!.

Adoolan85

Appreciate the info, thanks.

thejaguar

Was at a wedding there a couple of years back and thought it was great.

If I remember correctly we stayed in the accomodation across the road from the main house and the bedrooms were not en suite. We shared a bathroom between 3 or 4 bedrooms.

It wasn't a problem for us, but for some of the older guests or people sharing with others that they didn't know so well it wasn't great.

pooch90

I would have been the venue most local to my home and I wasn't impressed.
They insist on you filling all the accommodation and, as said above, having to share bathrooms is not ok in this day and age IMO.

Also no wiggle room price wise (which is ridiculously expensive for what they are actually offering!) and generally just a bit snooty.

Very easy to get swept away with it on first glance but think seriously and practically before booking (this goes for any venue).

Also, your guests who will not be staying onsite will need taxis to Kells for the next closest hotel, it really is in the back of beyond!

Stick The Station House in Kilmessan on your list of venues if it's not there already.

stargazer 68

Booked the station house for mine in the end

Gatica

We were at a wedding there last year. The location and the old building were lovely. The attached marquee for the wedding is very handy and found the bathroom grand.
They have a vintage London cab to drive guests between the accommodation and the venue across the road. The accommodation was lovely and although the bathroom was shared, it was grand as we knew the other ppl we shared it with.
The food is nice and everything I think looked to go smoothly. They also allowed up to check out late at no extra cost, which was really nice of them.

pooch90

Gatica wrote: »

The food is nice and everything I think looked to go smoothly.

Was it €100 a head nice though?

whiskeyman

Gatica wrote: »

They also allowed up to check out late at no extra cost, which was really nice of them.

At it's solely a wedding venue, they mustn't have had a booking on the next day, otherwise you can be sure you'd be shoo'ed out bang on time the next morning! :P

Never been to a wedding there either, but did view it.
It looks really nice with some lovely touches (and the food is supposed to be v good), but it is very pricey and it does have a lot of logistical issues to consider.
You could well find better pricewise with less to worry about to be honest.

Although, if it ticks all the boxes for you, go for it...

pooch90

Dovies wrote: »

Booked the station house for mine in the end

You won't regret it. Yummy food, great staff (one of the waiters/barmen even dropped guests out to their b&Bs!)and stunning grounds.
It wasn't even on your original list was it?
Half the price of Clonabreany too.

Adoolan85

whiskeyman wrote: »

At it's solely a wedding venue, they mustn't have had a booking on the next day, otherwise you can be sure you'd be shoo'ed out bang on time the next morning! :P

Never been to a wedding there either, but did view it.
It looks really nice with some lovely touches (and the food is supposed to be v good), but it is very pricey and it does have a lot of logistical issues to consider.
You could well find better pricewise with less to worry about to be honest.

Although, if it ticks all the boxes for you, go for it...

Accommodation for over flow guest would be my biggest concern to be honest.

Did you view other venues of similar set up and standard...ie country house, exclusivity etc, but with less hassle and maybe point me in the right direction.

Station House looks nice but not sure if they can cater for our numbers.

Thanks.

pooch90

They say up to 180 for Station House but I reckon 150 would be about the limit.
Bear in mind the number of declines too, we invited 150 and ended up with 100 as many didn't bring plus 1s, busy time of year etc...

We were convinced we wanted 'exclusivity' but in the end,it didn't make a jot of difference in the station house as it's not a busy hotel and any 'non-wedding' guests that were there were very congratulatory and nice and weren't even noticed after the drinks reception.

Gatica

pooch90 wrote: »

Was it €100 a head nice though?

I honestly don't remember, so I guess it didn't either impress hugely nor disappoint. I rarely remember food from weddings, there are times I remember it being average, usually at 200+ weddings, and 1 time I remember it being really nice, and that was on Inishbofin island, off Galway coast.

Woshy

Went to a wedding there last year. We were all absolutely starving for a lot of the day! I saw one tray of canapés and they were tiny, some grey stuff on a bit of pastry. We were all getting loads of packets of crisps from the bar all afternoon. The ceremony was there as well so I think we were all there for almost 6 hours with basically nothing to eat.

I wasn't impressed at the lack of en suite with our room as well, given how much it cost us and we didn't know the other guests staying in the "house" with us. I think there's far nicer venues out there, especially as it's not cheap. I went to quite a few weddings last year and it was definitely my least favourite.

Tinakilly House was by far the nicest wedding we were at but that's probably too far in the other direction for you.

Adoolan85

Woshy wrote: »

Went to a wedding there last year. We were all absolutely starving for a lot of the day! I saw one tray of canapés and they were tiny, some grey stuff on a bit of pastry. We were all getting loads of packets of crisps from the bar all afternoon. The ceremony was there as well so I think we were all there for almost 6 hours with basically nothing to eat.

I wasn't impressed at the lack of en suite with our room as well, given how much it cost us and we didn't know the other guests staying in the "house" with us. I think there's far nicer venues out there, especially as it's not cheap. I went to quite a few weddings last year and it was definitely my least favourite.

Tinakilly House was by far the nicest wedding we were at but that's probably too far in the other direction for you.

Any venues you were particularly impressed with???

Woshy

Great minds! I just edited my post to say Tinakilly House was gorgeous but it might be too far in the other direction for you. It's in Rathnew in Wicklow

Seanie_H

We're considering Clonabreany too. We went to the open day a few weeks ago and were very impressed.

Personally, I'm not concerned with the ensuite issue, 80-90% of people know each other etc. and we get to allocate where people go. The housing units look great.. (although I saw some negative comments on TripAdvisor to consider).

For me, The Station House isn't really comparable style wise. Our shortlist is Clonabreany, Horetown House, Balmagarvey, Tankardstown and Tinakilly. We're expecting 120.

lovelystuff

Interesting list of venues here and exactly what we are looking for. I thought clonabreany looked great but it's very expensive and my brother wasn't mad about the food at a wedding there last year. Anyone any ideas on pricing of tinakilly? The new eastern pavilion looks class!

Seanie_H

lovelystuff wrote: »

Interesting list of venues here and exactly what we are looking for. I thought clonabreany looked great but it's very expensive and my brother wasn't mad about the food at a wedding there last year. Anyone any ideas on pricing of tinakilly? The new eastern pavilion looks class!

Looks like Friday and Saturday €120pp year round with Sunday to Thursday €95pp between October and April excluding December. Sunday to Thursday outside of those months is €120.

They're prompt if you ask for their brochure.

westernlass

Did you look at the millhouse, ballymagarvey village, boyne hill house, slane castle, tankards town house, connyningham arms hotel? All similar and nearby.

Adoolan85

Just to update,


Had a tour of Clonabreany yesterday afternoon and thought the venue was lovely but knew pretty soon it wasn't for us.

As someone posted previously I'm not convinced it is 100pp lovely. My feeling is that the whole experience would be very weather dependent, which is too big a risk to take in sunny auld Ireland.

Also we felt the location was just too isolated and accommodation (although really nice) would be just way too messy for our numbers.

Focus has now shifted to the Wicklow area, in particular Tinakilly House which looks amazing. There is very little on Boards with regards to Tinakilly so would appreciate any more info on the place as a wedding venue and also anywhere else out that direction people feel is worth a mention.

Cheers guys.

sweetie

Tinakilly seemss very nice, albeit quite similar to Clonabreany, they also have the same PA system in situ. Have you considered Trudder Lodge near Newtownmtkennedy? I think it may give better bang for your buck. Also Glebe house in Co. Meath is quite a unique venue.

Adoolan85

sweetie wrote: »

Tinakilly seemss very nice, albeit quite similar to Clonabreany, they also have the same PA system in situ. Have you considered Trudder Lodge near Newtownmtkennedy? I think it may give better bang for your buck. Also Glebe house in Co. Meath is quite a unique venue.

Hi Sweetie,

Don't think Glebe House is what we're after but thanks for the idea.

Trudder Lodge looks gorgeous alright but again presents the issue of accommodation for guests. Ideally we would prefer to have enough accommodation within any venue for plenty of guests to also stay.

I realize this seems to severely limit options with regard to country house venues but we are literally only at the beginning of the whole process and are open to all suggestions really.

CorkClaire82

Seanie_H wrote: »

We're considering Clonabreany too. We went to the open day a few weeks ago and were very impressed.

Personally, I'm not concerned with the ensuite issue, 80-90% of people know each other etc. and we get to allocate where people go. The housing units look great.. (although I saw some negative comments on TripAdvisor to consider).

For me, The Station House isn't really comparable style wise. Our shortlist is Clonabreany, Horetown House, Balmagarvey, Tankardstown and Tinakilly. We're expecting 120.

We just got married in Horetown and loved it altogether. We were a little nervous coming up to it as they'd changed the marquee but it was fab. Some niggly things that annoyed us and they charged for stuff that in my opinion they shouldn't have but still that is nothing compared to how amazing it was. We had our dj in the basement bar and he was allowed keep going till whenever he wanted, myself and my husband went to bed at about 5:20 and he was still playing!

I've stayed in Tinakilly and it's lovely, very similar really. We looked at it for ours, i think it was price put us off in the end.

whiskeyman

I sent you a PM Adoolan re venues.
Not sure if you got it.

nosietoes

Clon William House near Avoca/Woodenbridge is lovely as well.

westernlass

Marl field house may work as well as they have a lot of accommodation on site. It's gorgeous

Adoolan85

Some great suggestions guys thanks.

Clonwilliam House looks incredible !!!

Seems a bit of an enigma though, very little on the web about price and the venue in general, including their website.

I've sent an email requesting a brochure but would appreciate any detailed info from anyone who either held their own wedding there or attended one.

Thanks.

pooch90

http://onefabday.com/ie/beautiful-wedding-venues-ireland/?redirect=1

Saw this and thought of you OP

sporina

Hi We will be attending a wedding in Clonabreany house later in the year.
Accommodation options are:

Room in House 1 (courtyard house/converted stables) ensuite €80pps

Room in Rosebay house no 11 (cottage - behind the courtyard houses) non ensuite €45pps (no ensuite in these cottages from what i gather). There would be 5 using 1 bathroom.

I could prefer an ensuite but the price diff is significant.

From those of you who have stayed there, what are you opinions on the above?