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Blackwater Castle

Gemini32

Just wondering if anybody out there has held there wedding in Blackwater Castle? I am just looking at venues at the moment and wondering about extra accommodation in Castletownroche ...or if there is any?

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Milly33

OH my heart went weak when I saw the thread.. Have'nt had it yet but planning to this year.. I have been talking to a few people who have had it there so know a few bits..

There is accommodation in the village. The owners Sheila and Patrick have a list put together but more or less besides from the onsite..

There are rental houses just five mins down the road Harkaway Cottages, There are two places in town with rooms. One self catering house and another few cottages.. There is a good amount alright there

Gemini32

Oh there is so, great! We're going to view it this weekend, cant wait!
I think I've my heart set on it a little, are you going to have a sit down dinner ...part of me would love to do a bbq or a pig on a spit or something...but maybe we'll do that the second day

DavyD_83

We got married in Blackwater Castle in October 2013. Loved the venue and everything about our weekend there.
In the end we went for pig on a spit as our main dinner and had one long banquet table in the coach house building off the courtyard.

A certain ammount, would depend on numbers you plan to have; ours was a fairly small wedding with approx 80 guests. It can handle more, but I don't think it would be overly suited to HUGE weddings (200-300).

There was plenty of accomodation nearby in the list provided to more than cover our numbers.

If you have any specific questions I'm happy to try and answer, although it was nearly 2 years ago now, so some details are hazy and some things may have changed.

Milly33

Hello oh it really does make an impression if it is something that you like... We had never heard of it before and went to view it after a few places and we were just weak... In the end it came down to the castle and the mills inn in ballyvourney.. We said if we could do the castle we would, there wasn't actually too much difference with prices for what you get.

At the moment we are going with Pig Spit doing for a sit down meal but all bbq style with some nice bits..
He has done a few there before..
Don is the man there, but me thinks he has someone now to look after the bookings as he was a little scatty (but lovely). They do everything from Buffet, to table service dining, to bbq so he has the best of both worlds. Very nice I must say I was well impressed by him.

I would be tempted with the buffet, but after being to a few weddings that were buffet it put me off. I think it depends on how many are there really

We tried another local Eunice Power who is suppose to be nice but she is on the blacklist now as we asked for quotes Id say four or five times and she never came back..

Sheila and Patrick are so nice.. Patrick is the friend haha and Sheila is the business woman... I can send you on the accommodation list if you like...

Oh I hope ye do like it now, something different there.. And haha if you are looking for any bits and pieces and tis after August let me know...

Milly33

Cant wait now for ours there. Heard this alright with numbers that you don't want to many people crammed into the one spot. You are fine id say if the weather is nice but you can really count on that..

Gemini32

The long banquet table sounds amazing, I reckon our numbers will be 150.
Ya i think I'm a bit sold now on the pig on a spit! the only thing that was putting me off was that most catering companies I looked at served it buffet style which I think would be too messy with 150 people! I am super - organised we are actually looking to book for May 2017!
Ohhh i'd say you could have some really nice touches with the decorations ...lots of lanterns and stuff. If you have the list to hand that would be great no prob if you don't tho I'm sure they will give it to us at the weekend

Milly33

Ill see if I can send on the list there too you..

You would be surprised with the caterers places, like my chap now said they will do complete dinner service. Table service whichever way we like to do it.. They will do the prosecco reception all that goes and bring the cutlery and bits and pieces like that..

Anywho sure see how it goes at the weekend.... I hope ye get a nice day to view it. Sure ye have lots of time!

Do you think Davy D people would be content seating upstairs in the coach house or would it be a bit divided??

DavyD_83

Milly33 wrote: »

Hello oh it really does make an impression if it is something that you like... We had never heard of it before and went to view it after a few places and we were just weak... In the end it came down to the castle and the mills inn in ballyvourney.. We said if we could do the castle we would, there wasn't actually too much difference with prices for what you get.

At the moment we are going with Pig Spit doing for a sit down meal but all bbq style with some nice bits..
He has done a few there before..
Don is the man there, but me thinks he has someone now to look after the bookings as he was a little scatty (but lovely). They do everything from Buffet, to table service dining, to bbq so he has the best of both worlds. Very nice I must say I was well impressed by him.

I would be tempted with the buffet, but after being to a few weddings that were buffet it put me off. I think it depends on how many are there really

We tried another local Eunice Power who is suppose to be nice but she is on the blacklist now as we asked for quotes Id say four or five times and she never came back..

Sheila and Patrick are so nice.. Patrick is the friend haha and Sheila is the business woman... I can send you on the accommodation list if you like...

Oh I hope ye do like it now, something different there.. And haha if you are looking for any bits and pieces and tis after August let me know...

Pretty sure Don is same man we used (pigspit.ie).
At the time, he was a bit of a number 2 to Tom; he may have taken a step back, or they may simply be handling bookings individually to allow them to handle more business. My only criticism, was as you say they were a bit scatty.
The end result was perfect, but there were a few times during chats that it felt like they had no memory of outr previous conversations. Overall I would recommend them, but would just warn that you need to stay on top of the plan a little if you want to be certain of specifics. That sais, if you just trust them to sort everything I'm sure it will work out fine (I may have gotten too caught up in the details :rolleyes:)

Yep, Shiela's defintiely more about the business specifics, but Patrick is constantly running the numbers too (it's just under a big, happy relaxed veneer

). Lovely people, with a great attitude and passion fro making everything as easy and comfortable as possible.

Regarding banquet tables etc, you would need to figure out your numbers and just work out what will fit best for you. There wasn't anywhere with one big space that you could really fit that for 150 (could be wrong), although I know from their FB that they have a new building out on the courtyard which may now be suited for this. When we were there it was an open barn where Patrick kept his vintage car and tractor.

For decorations, we pretty much went with fairy lights and candles everywhere; the great thing is taht you have free reign to make it as simple and rustic, or as fancy and plush as you want!

I love that Patrick says he feels the Castle finds people that fit it, rather than the other way around.

Gemini32

ya fairy lights candles, and lanterns would be really pretty. It all sounds amazing . I was thinking alright 150 might be too many for a banquet. The courtyard room is the one that holds the most I think it holds 110 and can hold a further 40 upstairs. did ye find it very stressful organising it all compared to a hotel wedding where everything is pretty much done for you?

DavyD_83

Milly33 wrote: »

Ill see if I can send on the list there too you..

You would be surprised with the caterers places, like my chap now said they will do complete dinner service. Table service whichever way we like to do it.. They will do the prosecco reception all that goes and bring the cutlery and bits and pieces like that..

Anywho sure see how it goes at the weekend.... I hope ye get a nice day to view it. Sure ye have lots of time!

Do you think Davy D people would be content seating upstairs in the coach house or would it be a bit divided??

Using the balcony was suggested to us, when we weren't sure we would fit everyone on ground level.
To be honest, it is up to you. It might depend on who you are putting up there whether they would be happy or not, and also how you are arranging things at ground level.
For example, myself and wife were sitting in middle of table and everybody was seated quite close to each wall; so for us anybody upsatirs would have only seen the table most of the time and definitley would have felt out of things. We also had a lot of lights hanging over the table which would have further obscured view from above.
I'm sure you could plan and lay out the room in such a way that teh balcony felt like it was as much part of the room as people under the balcony (who also have risk of feeling distant)

Meant to say, pigspit did say they could do anything from full buffet to full service; in the end we went for buffet main course, and served starter and dessert.
They provided the prosecco for reception, which we had out on back balcony type area; we were very lucky with our weather! We provided our own wine, and some more bubbles for toasting at dinner etc. The guys brought all plates, cutlery, table ware that was needed.
The castle do have a load of crockery and glassware that can be used, but as Patrick himself said, you might not get them all matching. Again, whatever you feel suits.

I didn't get many of the canapés myself, but what I did were great, and feedback was all positive. We also had late food, which most people were still too stuffed to eat; but re-heated nicely with excess pig and lamb for dinner on night 2.

DavyD_83

Gemini32 wrote: »

ya fairy lights candles, and lanterns would be really pretty. It all sounds amazing . I was thinking alright 150 might be too many for a banquet. The courtyard room is the one that holds the most I think it holds 110 and can hold a further 40 upstairs. did ye find it very stressful organising it all compared to a hotel wedding where everything is pretty much done for you?

We got engaged in May (viewed Blackwater the next day), and married in October. Was a busy 5 months, but think we limited the stress by squishing it all into a shorter time. I loved that everythign was our responsibilty, and teh way we wanted it. I accepted pretty quickly, that if we thought something was missing on the day it would only be because we hadn't organised it. so just got things nailed down quickly and solidly.

Although I did end up with no music 3 days before the event. Thankfully my mates came through and figured it all out on the morning!

In hindsight, seems mad that we got it all sorted so quickly, but at the time I didn't understand why you'd need longer

Milly33

I love this "I love that Patrick says he feels the Castle finds people that fit it, rather than the other way around. " says it too a tee...

Mad to go down now and have another look.. Thanks Davy I keep getting the names pig spit and spitting pig mixed up but I am sure they wont mind. Yeah Tom seems to be a little more ontop of things but defo scatty. I had even asked a few times if they were around doing functions to let me know and sure weren't they in the castle at one.

But sure what harm we hope to maybe meet up with them next month..Thanks again for the tips

Gemini32

Tom sounds laid back alright! 5 months fair play Davy that's some going, ya like really once you have caterers and bar sorted there is nothing extra at all really, maybe a bit of set up the day before.

Milly33

best of luck!!

Gemini32

Thanks

I'll let you know how I go!

Milly33

Oh look is has a piece in one fab day http://onefabday.com/ie/pretty-outdoor-castle-wedding-in-cork/

fits

Milly33 wrote: »

Oh look is has a piece in one fab day http://onefabday.com/ie/pretty-outdoor-castle-wedding-in-cork/

It looks amazing! We nearly booked that photograper too... He is brilliant and really lovely to talk to.

Milly33

So looking forward to it.. Keep having dreams about setting the rooms up.. I was looking at the photographers page Fab!! Did you get a price from him, would you like to share.. we had said were not getting one as I hate cameras but if they weren't too pricey..

fits

Milly33 wrote: »

So looking forward to it.. Keep having dreams about setting the rooms up.. I was looking at the photographers page Fab!! Did you get a price from him, would you like to share.. we had said were not getting one as I hate cameras but if they weren't too pricey..

He sounded like the kind of person you would relax around. Ill pm you. He is in high demand though...

Milly33

Any news Gemini32 how did ye get on.. Are ye still on the lookout!!

Gemini32

I loved the castle its really different, I thought the bedrooms let it down a small bit....still on the lookout but its a contender alright! next stop is Innishannon House Hotel and Barnabrow House!

Milly33

Hello, the search goes on then... yeah the rooms are a little different alright but I suppose it is all what ye like yourselfs..

Innishannon is loverly too, great spot just be carefull of their add ons..

We had more or less said to her that we had blackwater and them and to sell it to us really, the castle believe it or not ended up cheaper..

If you want to have the ceremony there, they charge they quoted €250 for using a room inside (despite have exclusive use of the hotel) or to set up outside and the bar extension also, they charge extra for that and say if you don't want it that you must move to the other bar, but I heard from two people who went there that they aren't as friendly when you move to the other bar..

It was a shame as they left the hotel down rather than the hotel itself... The rooms there are quite quirky also..

Barnabrow is great too but comes with a few stories.. Sure I suppose they all do in the end..

Best of luck with finding a place now...

westernlass

Gemini32 wrote: »

I loved the castle its really different, I thought the bedrooms let it down a small bit....still on the lookout but its a contender alright! next stop is Innishannon House Hotel and Barnabrow House!

I'd highly recommend Innishannon, careful of Barnabrow there's been a lot of complaints among my circle of friends dealing with them. The wedding lady is hard work

Milly33

Yeah she seems to be well know for not being too helpful or nice. I have heard of breakings there and the people who run it more or less going well whatever, basically not given a hoot.. With the managed heard some horrible things like she went asking one couple for money just as they arrived (despite having the weekend there) and not being there to help out for anything. setting up a bar and walking away not telling anyone what to do..

I even sent an email cus it would have been one for the list and kinda said do ye know ye have a bad reputation out there. Needless to say I never heard back

Gemini32

Really oh that's good to know! Have ye heard anything on Bantry House it looks lovely but I think I'd have to go with the marquee option for my numbers ...which could prove very expensive ...

westernlass

Gemini32 wrote: »

Really oh that's good to know! Have ye heard anything on Bantry House it looks lovely but I think I'd have to go with the marquee option for my numbers ...which could prove very expensive ...

They aren't very well organised. Would you look at ballyvolane?

Milly33

Id say Ballyvolane wouldn't be big enough youd have to go marquee route again.. Nicer for small weddings I think..

Gemini32

I looked at ballyvolane, actually met with them they would hold 140 which is ok I thought it was very pricey though to be honest ..

Milly33

Didn't think it held that many maybe twas that they wouldn't sleep that many as such on the grounds, yeah they are pretty pricey.No doubt though that they are loverly there and do have a nice setup.

There is another house in kinsale, but they are very pricey too and someone mentioned already that you have to book all the rooms for the weekend which isn't cheap to do... Any other areas your thinking of

westernlass

What about blairscove?