Wedding in Galway

Larianne

I know there's a wedding forum, but I'd like to hear from the locals!
Where a nice place to get married, have a reception, in Galway city or the surrounding area?

thesandeman

This reminds me of a Maeve Higgins sketch for some reason.

biko

Are you getting married? Congrats!

Been to multiple weddings in the Galway bay hotel and one in the Claregalway hotel. Both hotels do very good weddings from my experience of them.

the_sonandmoon

What are you looking for OP? Church followed by hotel, or something a bit different?

shenanagans

Much easier to give recommendations with more info. How many guest?. Big or small?

I'd suggest the Salthill hotel if its a biggish wedding.

gaeilgegrinds1

Glenlo Abbey. Hands down they do an amazing show between their staff and food. The Meyrick would have my second vote. Ardilaun and The G third. Based on food, staff and grounds. A lot of this is personal taste though.

El_Dangeroso

I had mine in the G and although not the cheapest option, it was definitely the nicest venue and food.

The other contender was the twelve in Barna, but the room was just a bit too small for our needs.

We wanted a modern place with great food and not a wedding factory like other places we saw (two weddings on the same day in the same venue is tacky IMO)

El_Dangeroso

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

We wanted a modern place with great food and not a wedding factory like other places we saw (two weddings on the same day in the same venue is tacky IMO)

I wouldn't let it put someone off though if they liked a place. You would be amazed how you wouldn't even know there is another wedding on.

I've been at one or two weddings where there was two on and I never laid eyes on the other wedding until the residents bar and then everyone is hammered so no one cares.

Zzippy

I don't think anywhere in Galway does 2 weddings anymore. When we looked at places they all said they had a one-a-day policy.

sammyjo90

is gort too far? lady gregory for my sisters was great. just up the road for photos in coole park, was just lovely

Congrats also!

Zzippy

Zzippy wrote: »

I don't think anywhere in Galway does 2 weddings anymore. When we looked at places they all said they had a one-a-day policy.

Yeah it's been a while since I've seen it but the Galway bay used to at one point.

Sound Bite

Galway Bay - probably my favourite good food & staff very attentive

Very little difference between all of these:
Salthill Hotel - almost as good as the Galway Bay
Glenlo Abbey - grounds and venue are lovel
Ardiluan, Westwood, Loughrea Hotel

While The Meyrick is a lovely hotel the food let it down surprisingly. Prob worst wedding meal and service sloppy. Meat nearly cold when potatoes and veg arrived. Taste very bland.

Haven't been at a wedding in The G hotel (heard mixed reports) or The Raddisson (good reports)

thesandeman

Zzippy wrote: »

I don't think anywhere in Galway does 2 weddings anymore. When we looked at places they all said they had a one-a-day policy.

I was at a funeral that turned into a wedding in the Ardilaun a few months ago. The mourners ended up clapping the bride and groom as they were coming in. You could see the confusion from the bridal party when they saw all these people dressed in black cheering them.

Snowshower

Cloonacauneen Castle......beautiful venue, fabulous food...approx 3 miles from city.

JoeA3

Several of the hotels mentioned here are just bland clones of each other IMO. Meat and 2 veg venues.
If you're prepared to travel slightly further, take a look at "The Lodge at Ashford" in Cong. It's only 40-45 mins from Galway. Top notch venue, one of the nicest wedding venues in the country imo.

tphase

was at a wedding last year at Brigits Garden near Moycullen - lovely location and atmosphere, superb food but probably best suited to a relatively small wedding. (They'd had 150 for a wedding the previous day but I was told that was about the limit they could manage.)
From personal experience, I wouldn't recommend the Galway Bay hotel or Glenlo Abbey

Baggy Trousers

Weddings can be a chore but the best weddings I've been to in Galway were in Galway Bay and Ardilaun hotels. They have a nice relaxed atmosphere and it's great to be near the prom.

HelenT

We got married in the Clayton. We had a wonderful experience. Karina organised everything for us. We did the ceremony and reception there. The bridal suite is out of this world!!! Matt the head chef sat with us and adjusted the menu to our liking. Everyone raved about the food afterwards (including an award winning chef, and my 2 brothers that are chefs!)

They really took great care of us and all our guests (one had a sick child and they sent up comp refreshments and free movies to keep him entertained).

The flowers they provided for us were out of this world. The room we had the service in was like something out of a movie.

For us, they were just fantastic!

Utopia Parkway

Was at a wedding in Renvyle House a few years ago. Was lovely. Bear in mind though that Renvyle is not far off an hour and a half drive from Galway city. It's way out west. Beautiful out there though.

gaeilgegrinds1

We had ours in Lough Cutra and it was beautiful. Very few brides will say their day was anything but though! Negatives from there are the cost and also everyone really has to stay there or travel a great distance. Of all the others mentioned I'd really only rate Ashford, Glenlo and The Meyrick. You can also make any venue different if you're prepared to think outside the box a bit. My friend's wedding in Glenlo had a magician while we waited for them and a dessert buffet which was left open for ages. I liked those ideas. I wouldn't be a fan of too long a drive if you're not getting married at the venue though. Enjoy the planning and coming years. Our wedding was the beginning of what has been a fabulous journey thusfar.

McTigs

We had ours at the Westwood and it was perfect, great venue, great meal, great staff, great rooms and the bar stayed going till the last man had drank his fill (about half four I believe)..... Also they are an authorised venue for civil marraige so you can get it all done under one roof if church is not your thing.

Cloonacauneen and Glenlo are lovely venues but any wedding I've been to at either the bar shut down on time no ifs no buts

Guffy

If you need a church the barna church is really nice. Great view of the bay

Inspector Gadget

It depends a LOT on your budget and your requirements, how far you're willing for you and your guests to travel from wherever the ceremony is conducted to where the reception will be held, daylight hours at the time of year that you want to get married (for photos and so on) and proximity to places you might like to get shots taken. If you and your guests are not local then parking spaces and rooms at the venue are both vitally important (the Meyrick, for example, wouldn't be overly blessed with surplus parking spaces for wedding guests, so people might have to pay for parking elsewhere). Might not be any harm to scope out the vicinity of any prospective venues for good B&Bs too.

Might be no harm to head for a wedding fair or two to get an idea as to what's out there? I think there's one coming up soon locally...

Mrs. Gadget and I got married in the Ardilaun, for what it's worth, and I couldn't fault the venue or the service we got if I tried.

biko

Galway > Wedding

glen25

We've (almost) decided on the G Hotel for our civil ceremony and reception. Thinking of about 150 / 160 guests max only because as we don't think the room would be comfortable at full capacity of 180.

Has anyone attended a wedding here recently? Specifically the food, service, dance floor and the room size generally. Any feedback would be appreciated before we decide fully!!
Cheers folks.

Inspector Gadget

Just spotted this now - you should ask if they're gearing up for a reception of the size you're looking at and ask to pop in either early on the day or on the night after the speeches etc. are done, to look at the room layout to see if there's as much/little room as you think. It's very educational.

My main gripe about the G is that it's set in a retail complex, and has no grounds whatsoever. Make sure you have a nice place picked out to take your photos that's rain-compatible...

Inspector Gadget

Just spotted this now - you should ask if they're gearing up for a reception of the size you're looking at and ask to pop in either early on the day or on the night after the speeches etc. are done, to look at the room layout to see if there's as much/little room as you think. It's very educational.

My main gripe about the G is that it's set in a retail complex, and has no grounds whatsoever. Make sure you have a nice place picked out to take your photos that's rain-compatible...

El_Dangeroso

Inspector Gadget wrote: »

Just spotted this now - you should ask if they're gearing up for a reception of the size you're looking at and ask to pop in either early on the day or on the night after the speeches etc. are done, to look at the room layout to see if there's as much/little room as you think. It's very educational.

My main gripe about the G is that it's set in a retail complex, and has no grounds whatsoever. Make sure you have a nice place picked out to take your photos that's rain-compatible...

Re: grounds in the G, yep, there's none, we did our photos on shop street, there was bunting up for the all Ireland so we got some cracking pics.

The inside of the g was where we did the family pics and there's loads of different backgrounds/rooms to take them in. Here's one of ours:

glen25

Thanks for the replies. We've gone ahead & booked it and and are super excited. We're not very traditional so we're gonna get our photos done in the morning before the ceremony. head to the beach or city centre maybe... More time to spend with our friends & family at the drinks reception!