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How long to plan a wedding?

woodchuck

Hi all,

I finally got engaged the other day

Ideally we'd like to get married next year, but I'm concerned that most places will be booked out already. We definitely want to get married on a Friday or Saturday so that it's not an inconvenience to our guests, but we wouldn't mind going a little off peak (maybe September or October, before it gets too dark/cold).

I'm wondering how realistic it will be to expect to find a decent venue for next year though? How much time is normally needed? We don't have our heart set on anywhere in particular yet, so plan to narrow it down and then enquire. But I'm worried about getting my hopes up. Not to mention availability of photographers, bands etc at "short" notice.

Also, we're thinking we'll probably have approximately 50-80 guests in total. Could that be an additional problem though? Even at a glance, there are a lot of places that seem to require numbers of 100 or more, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. We're not into the big hotel weddings, so looking at smaller hotels/venues in or near Dublin. I feel we're in a bit of an awkward bracket though in terms of our numbers. Too big for the very small venues and too small for the typical large venues!

Any advice appreciated

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PhoenixParker

We used weddingdates.ie to track down our venue. You can put in date and size which helps when you’re working at shorter notice. They have a huge number of the potential venues listed.

Our hotel actually had a higher minimum then our guest numbers but because it was 6 months out they were happy to lower the minimum. That might depend a little on the style of venue.

I’d be very tempted by the cliff townhouse if you can get availability. Wherever you go, I’d guess you’ll pay for 1-5 rooms anyway (yourselves, parents, bridal party?), subsidise the other rooms by say €75 for guests who would be looking for somewhere nearby anyway. 9 rooms is not that many.

buffin

Drury buildings in their upstairs space would be fab. It was my second preference if we ended up having a Dublin wedding.

I also looked into the Dean but haven't actually heard of anyone getting married there.

aquinn

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks again for all the advice!

At the moment I'm having trouble narrowing down suitable venues. The guestlist is actually likely to be smaller than we initally thought, more like 40-60 depending on the dropout rate (which may be high, as there are fair few that would need to travel home from abroad). Ideally we'd like somewhere that can:
- Accommodate a small number of ~40-60 people on a Friday or Saturday
- Have a sit down meal and afters in the same place (we wouldn't have many/any more guests for the afters).

I really like the Anglers Rest, but they have a minimum of 70 at weekends (although we haven't ruled out paying extra for 70 people, even if we only have ~50 on the day).

I've been in touch with the Cliff Townhouse too and they would be perfect for our numbers. But they said we'd either need to finish up by 11.30pm, or if we want to stay late we'd need to book all 9 rooms. The vast majority of our guests probably wouldn't need/want accommodation or any who do could easily find something cheaper. So we could end up paying a lot of money for empty rooms or else we'd have to finish up "early" (which I haven't ruled out myself :P). I know they're a popular option though, so could have trouble with availability, particularly getting a date that a humanist is also free.

I've enquired about the Schoolhouse too - again, perfect for our numbers. But it sounds like we'd have to have an early dinner (done by 7pm) and my partner is concerned about the fact that we wouldn't have exclusive use of the bar afterwards.

I'm waiting for a response from Marco Pierre White restaurant in Donnybrook, as again, they're good for our numbers. But not sure if an afters is a runner there.

Any other ideas in Dublin?

Is it the Haddington in Dun Laoghaire? Try them? They wanted us to book rooms which didn't suit us.

MPW, amazing. Do it!

Friends recently got married and went to the Dean. It was excellent. Great food, staff and rooms. The dining room and bar I mean.

Suesey street is a super spot. The Hibernian club?

woodchuck

aquinn wrote: »

Is it the Haddington in Dun Laoghaire? Try them? They wanted us to book rooms which didn't suit us.

MPW, amazing. Do it!

Friends recently got married and went to the Dean. It was excellent. Great food, staff and rooms. The dining room and bar I mean.

Suesey street is a super spot. The Hibernian club?

Thanks a mill!
I was in touch with the Haddington as it looks absolutely lovely. But for weddings they'll only offer exclusive hire and only on a Thursday (and costs 30K :eek:).

Fingers crossed Marco Pierre White might be a suitable option! If anyone has experience of weddings there (their own or as a guest) I'd love to hear about it.

I looked up the Dean, but have been having trouble getting first hand information of anyone who has had/attended a wedding there. So any more info on that would be great

E.g. was the food good (good choice good quality?), venue nice (not too plain?), no randomers wandering in, service good etc.

No. 25 (is it actually the same place as Suesey street or beside/above it?) is on the list and think I'll give them a shout for more information.

We were seriously considering the Hibernian Club, but their history as a "gentlemens club", dress code stated on the website and pictures of all the stuffed animal heads on the walls have turned me off

SozBbz

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks a mill!
I was in touch with the Haddington as it looks absolutely lovely. But for weddings they'll only offer exclusive hire and only on a Thursday (and costs 30K :eek:).

Fingers crossed Marco Pierre White might be a suitable option! If anyone has experience of weddings there (their own or as a guest) I'd love to hear about it.

I looked up the Dean, but have been having trouble getting first hand information of anyone who has had/attended a wedding there. So any more info on that would be great E.g. was the food good (good choice good quality?), venue nice (not too plain?), no randomers wandering in, service good etc.

No. 25 (is it actually the same place as Suesey street or beside/above it?) is on the list and think I'll give them a shout for more information.

We were seriously considering the Hibernian Club, but their history as a "gentlemens club", dress code stated on the website and pictures of all the stuffed animal heads on the walls have turned me off

Thats a shocking price from Haddington House, notions! I was at a wedding there before, they didnt have exclusivity and I don't think it mattered for what its worth, the reception area is nicely apart from the main area of the hotel.

AFAIK Sussey St is the restaurant attached to 25 Fitzwilliam.

Did you try the Dylan? I think it may have gotten confused with the Dean on this thread.

woodchuck

Yeah I thought the Haddington did non-exclusive weddings, but their email said that for the foreseeable future, the only weddings they're taking are exclusive hire on Thursdays. I had read some reviews on tripadvisor from non-wedding guests complaining about late night noise from weddings. So maybe that's the logic behind their decision. It's a pity though!

I've had a look at the Dylan hotel, but there's not a lot of information on their website. The couple of rooms they mention would be too small for us. The capacity of the restaurant isn't clear. Has anyone been to a wedding there for roughly 40-60 people?

NSAman

skooterblue2 wrote: »

We went Royal Caribbean. Soooooo much easier. Not mentioning names, certain members in the family do not react well in close proximity to others, this is exacerbated when alcohol is introduced. If you are down the country and they kick up a fuss in the local hotel your family have to suffer the burden of the shame. You kick off at sea, into the Brig with you and off at the next port and banned from sailing on Royal Caribbean or its affiliates.

I thought that the wedding co-ordinator on Royal Caribbean was AMAZING. Everything was taken care of over the internet long before we went. Photographer worked through the night so we had an amazing array of Photos. They even decorated a Bridal Suite for us. Best of all the lesser members of the families couldnt attend.

But did you have an Elvis impersonator????

skooterblue2

NSAman wrote: »

But did you have an Elvis impersonator????

Unfortunately no but we did go to a great karaoke session on the third deck with friends.

stargazer 68

Not Dublin technically OP but the Pigeon House in Delgany do weddings.

http://www.pigeonhouse.ie/delgany/delgany.html

buffin

If you're happy to go outside the city centre Roundwood House in Laois is where we had our wedding and they'll happily take those kinds of numbers. It's fabulous! Probably an hour's drive outside the city I reckon. Let me know if you want any more info!

woodchuck

buffin wrote: »

If you're happy to go outside the city centre Roundwood House in Laois is where we had our wedding and they'll happily take those kinds of numbers. It's fabulous! Probably an hour's drive outside the city I reckon. Let me know if you want any more info!

Thanks buffin! I had a look at it there and it looks lovely, just the kind of thing we'd be looking for really. It's a fair bit further out than what we had in mind is the only thing, but not a total deal breaker I don't think.

If you have any more information that'd be great. I'd be curious to know the costs in particular... whenever I see "exclusive hire" I always think it'll be prohibitively expensive

Happy to chat by PM!

miezekatze

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but have you looked into Airfield Estate in Dundrum? I was there last year for a wedding, around 40 guests I think. Food was great, and the couple got some great photos in the gardens. I think 40 might be the upper limit though.

buffin

I'll send you a PM!

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks buffin! I had a look at it there and it looks lovely, just the kind of thing we'd be looking for really. It's a fair bit further out than what we had in mind is the only thing, but not a total deal breaker I don't think.

If you have any more information that'd be great. I'd be curious to know the costs in particular... whenever I see "exclusive hire" I always think it'll be prohibitively expensive Happy to chat by PM!

baby and crumble

I would highly, highly recommend looking at The Morrison, they were amazing to work with and we had a fantastic time. I can't remember what their minimum is, but they're quite flexible so you never know.

We also were close to going with The Gibson, they have decent packages and the place is super cool, the Morrisson just barely pipped it in the end. Their minimum is 80 though.

woodchuck

I'm back! So we've provisionally booked The Anglers Rest and even found a humanist who is free on the same date

My question atm though is about accommodation. The Anglers Rest doesn't have accommodation (which is fine), but we might like to go back to a nice hotel at the end of the night. Is this an issue though with me showing up at the end of the night at another venue in my wedding dress? I'm thinking if the place we're staying has another wedding on... especially if they have a one wedding per day policy.

Has anyone any experience of this? Is it better to flag this to the accommodation before booking to see if it's ok, or just show up at silly AM in my wedding dress and hope it won't be an issue? (better to ask forgiveness than ask permission etc) Not much they could do at that stage anyway! I obviously just don't want to end my wedding day on a sour note if the hotel makes an issue of it.

[Deleted User]

woodchuck wrote: »

I looked up the Dean, but have been having trouble getting first hand information of anyone who has had/attended a wedding there. So any more info on that would be great E.g. was the food good (good choice good quality?), venue nice (not too plain?), no randomers wandering in, service good etc.

i know you've provisionally booked already, but i was at one in the dean and had a great time. it was a large function room on the 1st floor. randomers didn't seem to be an issue. the food was fabulous - it was like finger food but like mini bowls of tasty curry or other really nice bites being brought out.
friend had a prosecco/champagne reception as well

woodchuck

Thanks bluewolf, but we're 99% sure we're going to go to stick with the Anglers Rest

We did look into the Dean a little more, but the fact that there's not a private bar was a deal breaker. I know it's very unlikely that there would be issues, but you can never be sure who might wander in on the night.

We visited Marco Pierre White in Donnybrook too and it was really nice. But we just feel that the Anglers Rest is a better fit for us overall. It has a nice country kind of feel, but still very close to the city centre for convenience. And Alison there was so nice when we met her and they sound very flexible!

I suppose now I'm just trying to imagine the finer details of how the day would go, including where we'd spend the night...

eviltwin

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks bluewolf, but we're 99% sure we're going to go to stick with the Anglers Rest We did look into the Dean a little more, but the fact that there's not a private bar was a deal breaker. I know it's very unlikely that there would be issues, but you can never be sure who might wander in on the night.

We visited Marco Pierre White in Donnybrook too and it was really nice. But we just feel that the Anglers Rest is a better fit for us overall. It has a nice country kind of feel, but still very close to the city centre for convenience. And Alison there was so nice when we met her and they sound very flexible!

I suppose now I'm just trying to imagine the finer details of how the day would go, including where we'd spend the night...

Castle knock hotel is a good option. Friends of mine got married in the Anglers rest and the wedding party left and returned there.

Anglers rest is lovely, my only issue was that, as a veggie, my main was tiny compared to everyone else and I had to nip out for food. Apart from that it was great

woodchuck

Thanks a million (interesting to note about the veggie option!). Yeah, I know they recommend Castleknock hotel on their website... but for personal reasons that I won't get into, I'm might feel a little weird staying there. I haven't ruled it out completely though.

Someone else mentioned that guests from a wedding in the anglers rest stayed at Finntown Castle, but I'm not sure about the couple themselves.

I suppose I'm just wondering if it's an issue coming/going from a hotel in a wedding dress if I haven't gotten married there! Especially if there is another bride who has getting married there that day. I think I'd be a bit pissed off if I paid good money to be "the only bride" there that day and then spotted another bride passing through :P Or am I overthinking it??

twowheelsonly

woodchuck wrote: »

I suppose I'm just wondering if it's an issue coming/going from a hotel in a wedding dress if I haven't gotten married there! Especially if there is another bride who has getting married there that day. I think I'd be a bit pissed off if I paid good money to be "the only bride" there that day and then spotted another bride passing through :P Or am I overthinking it??

My sister got married in The Carrigaline Court Hotel in Cork last year. There was another wedding party staying there as well (nearly all down from Dublin) that were having their wedding in the Yacht Club in Crosshaven. That party was advised that there was another wedding in the hotel and therefore the bride, in particular, could not come back to the residents bar in her full wedding dress in order to prevent a clash with the 'resident' bride.

My sister got wind of it beforehand and made a point of tracking down the other girl that morning and telling her to drive on if she wanted and that none of us would have a problem with her turning up. She advised the hotel as well that she had no problem with another bride arriving later. That's exactly what happened, and even though the bride didn't stay too long in the residents bar afterwards (lightweight was gone by 3:30

) a good craic was had and they were very appreciative of the gesture.

Having said that, my sister is the coolest, most laid back creature to ever walk on two legs !! Nothing phases her and she was probably more chilled than anyone in the place despite it being her own wedding.

woodchuck

Thanks twowheelsonly! That was very nice of your sister

Yeah I'm hoping it's not an issue if we're just passing through reception to check in/out. I haven't any plans to hang out at a residents bar... I'm already wondering what is the earliest acceptable time to go to bed at my own wedding :P I wouldn't be a late night reveller by any means!

Crunchy Friends

woodchuck wrote: »

I'm back! So we've provisionally booked The Anglers Rest and even found a humanist who is free on the same date

My question atm though is about accommodation. The Anglers Rest doesn't have accommodation (which is fine), but we might like to go back to a nice hotel at the end of the night. Is this an issue though with me showing up at the end of the night at another venue in my wedding dress? I'm thinking if the place we're staying has another wedding on... especially if they have a one wedding per day policy.

Has anyone any experience of this? Is it better to flag this to the accommodation before booking to see if it's ok, or just show up at silly AM in my wedding dress and hope it won't be an issue? (better to ask forgiveness than ask permission etc) Not much they could do at that stage anyway! I obviously just don't want to end my wedding day on a sour note if the hotel makes an issue of it.

I feel like everything you are thinking about the Angler's Rest is exactly what is going through my head! I think it looks like a lovely venue (I haven't been to see it yet) but I wonder about accommodation etc. Are you going to have the ceremony there too?

woodchuck

Crunchy Friends wrote: »

I feel like everything you are thinking about the Angler's Rest is exactly what is going through my head! I think it looks like a lovely venue (I haven't been to see it yet) but I wonder about accommodation etc. Are you going to have the ceremony there too?

It is lovely alright. They sent us a link where you can do a 3D walk around too, which is great. There were no surprises at all when we went to visit, it's exactly as it looks online!

We were considering doing the ceremony somewhere else, but we're probably just going to do the ceremony there. It's just easier for everyone I think instead of making people move between venues for the sake of it! Their ceremony room is nice enough anyway and they don't charge extra to use it. We might just add a few extra flourishes, but they do have some basic decorations already.

Our only concern was that I'd heard from a friend that the ceremony room can get hot - she was at a wedding there over the summer and she said that everyone was sweating in the ceremony room (but grand at dinner). She did say it was an exceptionally hot day though! We're looking at mid-Sept, so hopefully it won't be an issue for us. Alison did point out that they bought air conditioning units this year though (portable as opposed to built into the walls) and that drafts can be created by opening the doors if there's an issue. The windows don't open though, just to be aware of that (health and safety...).

We were mainly considering "alternative" venues. I.e. not a hotel function room. So that automatically meant that a lot of the places we were considering didn't have accommodation. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make though! Just so long as we can get a taxi to a nice hotel at the end of the night, it's all good with me :P I have no interest in a "day 2" though!

They do about 100 weddings a year at the Anglers Rest and I assume every other bride works out any issues re accommodation etc... so hopefully it'll all be grand

I particularly love how it feels like you're in the countryside, but so close the city. The best of both worlds!

qwerty13

I went to a wedding in the Angler’s rest a few years ago - food was really good. But I have to say the room upstairs was roasting! I think it was late August, maybe sept. There just seemed like there was no air though. So lots of people (smokers and non smokers) stayed outside after the food.

I was a plus 1, so I didn’t mind whatever happened. But whenever I went to the loo / the bar, it was obvious that there was an ‘outside crowd’ and an ‘inside crowd’. Most people were actually outside. It divided the crowd a lot.

qwerty13

qwerty13 wrote: »

I went to a wedding in the Angler’s rest a few years ago - food was really good. But I have to say the room upstairs was roasting! I think it was late August, maybe sept. There just seemed like there was no air though. So lots of people (smokers and non smokers) stayed outside after the food.

I was a plus 1, so I didn’t mind whatever happened. But whenever I went to the loo / the bar, it was obvious that there was an ‘outside crowd’ and an ‘inside crowd’. Most people were actually outside. It divided the crowd a lot.

And I know you said about staying somewhere else, but I found it closed early enough, and lots of guests didn’t know what to be doing. As I said, I was a plus 1, but there seemed to be lots of people that didn’t want the night to end, but there was nowhere to go. If you’re a bit of a night owl, or you’ve got an overnight babysitter, the earlyish end can be a bit of a downer (from person observation). As I said, it wasn’t my friends/family marrying, and then 6 of us went on to a late night bar - but lots of the crowd were a bit “what’ll we do now”.

Not a deal breaker, but worth considering I think

woodchuck

Thanks qwerty! I'm not too worried about things ending early - I'd be curious to know what day of the week you were there, as they do close quite early midweek if you don't pay for the bar extension. We're looking at a Saturday, so the bar will be open until 1am even without the extension (2.30am if we decide to pay for the extension). We're not sure yet if we'll pay for the bar extension - 1am sounds late enough to me, but then I do like my sleep!

Yeah the potential for the heat is something that might be a concern. They have gotten the two portable air con units recently though, so you wouldn't have had the benefit of those when you were there a few years ago. Part of the reason we're opting for September though, is because we think the worst of the summer heat should be over by then. And I have no problem asking for doors to be open if needed. Smaller numbers (70 max, but could be closer to 50) should work in our favour too from that perspective.

My latest wonder about the venue, is photos. The interior is lovely, but we plan to do our "couples" photos in phoenix park (maybe at farmleigh). I'm just wondering about photos with the parents and siblings if the weather is nice. We don't really want to be herding a group of people into the phoenix park. I'm wondering if there's a spot just outside the Anglers Rest (not requiring transport) that's good for that - just a nice leafy backdrop would be fine! I'll ask the wedding coordinator there too, but always good to get input from people who have been there

hanaimai

If you're super worried about arriving in the hotel in your wedding dress with another wedding potentially being on, could you change before you arrive? Maybe ask a family member to throw a change of clothes for you into their car or something so you could just grab before you head off?

woodchuck

hanaimai wrote: »

If you're super worried about arriving in the hotel in your wedding dress with another wedding potentially being on, could you change before you arrive? Maybe ask a family member to throw a change of clothes for you into their car or something so you could just grab before you head off?

Thanks, that could always be a last resort! Not something I'd like to be doing ideally though.

I suppose I'm just wondering if I should discuss this with the hotels in advance, or would I be shooting myself in the foot. If they have a policy we can work around (e.g. can't go into the residents bar), that's grand. But I don't want them to turn around and give an outright "no, only 1 bride per day, stay somewhere else".

woodchuck

I just wanted to provide an update on the accommodation for our upcoming wedding in the Anglers Rest in case anyone else also encounters an issue.

I contacted a number of places ahead of time about checking in wearing a wedding dress. We had to rule out the following:
- Castleknock Hotel. They said that they have a one bride per day policy and have a wedding that day, so I can't be in any public areas in my wedding dress. They were nice about it, but the bottom line was that I'd have to change before checking in - I don't fancy getting changed in the loos at the Anglers Rest at the end of the night though, so have ruled them out!
- Carton House. A little further out, but I'd heard good things. Unfortunately they came back with a flat out no - they have a one bride per day policy, already have a wedding that day, so can't accommodate a second bride for the night. I understand where they're coming from, but they weren't particularly nice about it.

We found the following options:
- Becketts Hotel. They said that they do weddings, but not on Saturdays. So no issues checking in wearing a wedding dress on a Saturday night and they have a night porter. Happy days! We've booked them as the property looks quite nice, with a bit of character.
- Hilton Hotel Kilmainham. They said they don't do weddings at all, so no issues checking in wearing a wedding dress and the reception stays open at night. That was another good option and a little closer than Becketts, but we just prefer the look/sound of Becketts overall!

I contacted a couple of other places too, but got no reply.

Hopefully this information might come in useful for anyone else planning a wedding in the Anglers Rest!

Neyite

I kind of understand the policy of one wedding per day - after all, you want your venue's staff to be focused on your function, but having worked in plenty of places where a wedding, a massive Christmas party and a fully working á la carte restaurant were ticking away nicely all at once in various corners of the place I think the "one bride on the premises" policies are actually quite awful.

What's going to happen if a bride on her way to the jacks happens to see a glimpse of another woman sitting in a white dress at the bar having a quite drink? Is it like seeing a doppelgänger where you are supposed to die or something?

Are there actually brides out there that are so insecure that the mere presence of another bride checking in at reception causes the ruination of of their wedding to the extent the venue needs it in a contract?