How long to plan a wedding?

woodchuck · 29-10-2019 4:48pm #1

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

Neyite · 29-10-2019 5:06pm

If you are going down the religious route then a year or more might be needed for a priest.

Civil ceremonies by the HSE are Monday-Friday

Outside of that then humanists or spiritualist might be an option.

A friend of mine that had 60 at her wedding got a restaurant to open up with an early bird menu for her reception. It normally opened at 7 so they got the place to themselves from about 3-6.30 then went across the road to a pub that had a dance area and had a DJ. It was honestly one of the nicest weddings I was at. The service from the restaurant was excellent as was the food. I suspect that it's the wrong part of the country for you though otherwise I'd recommend them.

woodchuck · 29-10-2019 5:07pm

We definitely don't want a church wedding, so it'll be a humanist or spiritualist or HSE (not planning to have it in the registry office though). Any idea if those book out well in advance?

Neyite wrote: »

A friend of mine that had 60 at her wedding got a restaurant to open up with an early bird menu for her reception. It normally opened at 7 so they got the place to themselves from about 3-6.30 then went across the road to a pub that had a dance area and had a DJ. It was honestly one of the nicest weddings I was at. The service from the restaurant was excellent as was the food. I suspect that it's the wrong part of the country for you though otherwise I'd recommend them.

Yeah that's a nice idea alright! I'm not aware of any restaurants in Dublin City Centre that aren't already open for business by around 5pm though. I might look into restaurants anyway though. I suppose I'm just reluctant to have 3 separate venues (ceremony, food, afters). And I'd say 80 would be our max, so might be an issue for typical "afters" venues for a Fri/Sat

tiredblondie · 29-10-2019 5:32pm

I got married 3 weeks ago, a Saturday in October - we booked exactly 13 months prior
Best part about it was that we got a package deal with the hotel so included was:
Band & DJ
Flowers
Suits x 4
Cake
Photographer

Our total number there was 85

solerina · 29-10-2019 6:29pm

woodchuck wrote: »

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

You have loads of time, we got engaged and married in under 5months.

baby and crumble · 29-10-2019 6:34pm

The only thing that we found when booking our wedding was that the humanist solemnisers booked really fast. We actually contacted some over 18 months in advance that had zero Saturday availability in the next year, if that makes sense? I've also seen some photographers etc book out a year in advance, so if you're set on anyone in particular you might need to hope for the best.

Otherwise I'd say you can definitely find something to suit in that timeframe. I'd also look at Novemeber as an option, I know it gets dark fast but we basically had our 1st pick of everyone we wanted (photographer, videographer, cake, flowers, venue) on a Saturday with no problems at all, some at a reduced cost. If you go near the end of November like we did it's likely your venue will already have extra decorations in place for Christmas so one less thing to worry about.

Scarinae · 29-10-2019 6:43pm

woodchuck wrote: »

We definitely don't want a church wedding, so it'll be a humanist or spiritualist or HSE (not planning to have it in the registry office though). Any idea if those book out well in advance?

I believe that there is a bit of a shortage of humanist officiants for Saturdays, especially if you want to have the ceremony outside of the Dublin area - a lot of this is because the HSE weddings are limited to Monday-Friday.

Loveinapril · 29-10-2019 7:25pm

We planned a wedding in 4 months and got married in April a couple of years ago. Our chosen venue (close to Dublin city) and photographer were both available on the day (Saturday) so we were fortunate. We did the legal bit the day before then had our wedding ceremony the day of, which was lovely and personal. We had similar numbers to you. PM me if you want more info!

PhoenixParker · 29-10-2019 10:09pm

We planned in just over 6 months. It really wasn't a problem. You just need to be a little flexible.

Basically rang the registrar in November and said what have you got free on a Friday in May as that was the soonest that suited close family. Picked the best time/date combo and planned from there.

We did ceremony + photos + very fancy lunch for immediate family only on the Friday then did a big reception (sans ceremony) for 110 on the Saturday. All in Dublin, got a great venue, didn't feel I had to compromise on anything really. We were actually able to negotiate good deals because at 6 months out vendors want to sell the date and are less likely to be able to fill it vs 12 months +

aquinn · 29-10-2019 11:37pm

woodchuck wrote: »

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

Congratulations to you both.

We got engaged in Dec 2017. Our first port of call was the celebrant as we knew who wanted. She had two dates in the October but one was DCM day so we went with the Friday option.

After that we viewed 3 venues as only saw places with availability. Paid deposit in February. We actually had two venues as had our ceremony in town.

Got my dress in March and the shop went bust so had to find another supplier. That arrived a few months later.

Got a photographer on a recommendation.

Took it handy for a few months with zero fuss.

We thought we knew what we wanted for the invites so worked with a graphic designer and it took 3 drafts.

Picked our cake on the Monday for the Friday.

Set up a joint email account, we found that very handy.

Write up a list of people you intend inviting.

Places say minimum numbers but don't let that put you off.

We paid to have the venue for the day. Met the requirement but know another couple that didn't and still went ahead.

Picked flowers maybe 3 weeks before.

Oh had make-up trial in the July. Didn't get hair trial and it fell out on the day and had to head back so wouldn't recommend.

All the very best, oh and start regularly saving as also depends on what you want to have and willing to spend.

Enjoy. People say it is all stress but it really isn't.

We both got personal bests in a half marathon two weeks beforehand. Keep your life as it is.

Oh, get your Wedding licence 3 months in advance of your intended date. You then have 6 months from that date. Definitely start with a celebrant.

woodchuck · 30-10-2019 12:18pm

Thanks for all of the advice so far!

I think ideally we'll go with a humanist ceremony, having read more about the different options. I had a look on the humanist website and I see a fair few stating on their bios that they are already booked out for 2019

So I guess that could be a very limiting factor. HSE would probably be the next best thing for us, but do you actually get to pick the person doing the ceremony or do they just assign someone to you randomly?

I'm still not clear what approach we should take for booking everything. I had thought we could come up with a short list of venues and then start making enquires, particularly around availability. Then immediately contact some humanists to see if they have any overlapping availability with the venue(s). Or would we be doing things backwards?! I'm not sure what order things are normally done! I feel like we need to have all our ducks in a row to try and book everything symtaneously? Some of the humanist bios say to contact them with details of the date and venue, so I thought I'd have to sort those out first (but only provisionally book incase there's an issue).

tiredblondie · 30-10-2019 4:06pm

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks for all of the advice so far!

I think ideally we'll go with a humanist ceremony, having read more about the different options. I had a look on the humanist website and I see a fair few stating on their bios that they are already booked out for 2019 So I guess that could be a very limiting factor. HSE would probably be the next best thing for us, but do you actually get to pick the person doing the ceremony or do they just assign someone to you randomly?

I'm still not clear what approach we should take for booking everything. I had thought we could come up with a short list of venues and then start making enquires, particularly around availability. Then immediately contact some humanists to see if they have any overlapping availability with the venue(s). Or would we be doing things backwards?! I'm not sure what order things are normally done! I feel like we need to have all our ducks in a row to try and book everything symtaneously? Some of the humanist bios say to contact them with details of the date and venue, so I thought I'd have to sort those out first (but only provisionally book incase there's an issue).

You would need to register your intent to marry and that needs to be done 3 months prior so 2019 is out of the question for you for a start - it's only under extreme circumstances can they do it for less than 3 months but you need to apply to the courts for that....

vatvatie · 30-10-2019 4:17pm

6-12 months...

woodchuck · 30-10-2019 4:21pm

tiredblondie wrote: »

You would need to register your intent to marry and that needs to be done 3 months prior so 2019 is out of the question for you for a start - it's only under extreme circumstances can they do it for less than 3 months but you need to apply to the courts for that....

Sorry, don't know where my head was at talking about 2019! I meant 2020... maybe their availability isn't as bad as I thought so :P

tiredblondie · 30-10-2019 4:30pm

woodchuck wrote: »

Sorry, don't know where my head was at talking about 2019! I meant 2020... maybe their availability isn't as bad as I thought so :P

i did wonder haha!!

NSAman · 30-10-2019 4:33pm

all in all about 15 hours

Arrive Dublin airport, take flight to Chicago.. take flight to Las Vegas... get married.. simples...

woodchuck · 30-10-2019 4:38pm

Lol I'm not going to lie, we haven't completely ruled out eloping :P But I do actually want to celebrate with my close family and friends. I wouldn't want them to travel (my mother in particular due to her health) and if we're going to have a celebration here afterwards anyway, we might as well do the whole thing here.

Humour Me · 30-10-2019 7:08pm

Organise the solemizer first, get on the phone and see what dates they have available. If someone tells you they have a Saturday available book it provisionally then start checking venues availability for that date.

The demand is so high for Saturday’s you might find that there are no dates available for 2020.

woodchuck · 30-10-2019 7:26pm

Thanks for that! If we go the humanist route then, I guess we just try to pick someone from the following link?
https://www.humanism.ie/category/celebrant/dublin/
(Maybe double checking against the HSE list of approved solemnisers!)

I'm not sure what the etiquette is though - would it be ok to email a few people to get an idea of availability, then check the availability of whatever venue we have in mind... and then go with the humanist who has overlapping availability with the venue?

I'm just afraid that if we pick one person to go with from the offset, we might end up seriously limiting our venue options based on the dates one particular humanist is available (when there might be a few humanists we'd be happy with and would give us more flexibility for venue dates).

aquinn · 30-10-2019 8:10pm

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks for that! If we go the humanist route then, I guess we just try to pick someone from the following link?
https://www.humanism.ie/category/celebrant/dublin/
(Maybe double checking against the HSE list of approved solemnisers!)

I'm not sure what the etiquette is though - would it be ok to email a few people to get an idea of availability, then check the availability of whatever venue we have in mind... and then go with the humanist who has overlapping availability with the venue? I'm just afraid that if we pick one person to go with from the offset, we might end up seriously limiting our venue options based on the dates one particular humanist is available (when there might be a few humanists we'd be happy with and would give us more flexibility for venue dates).

Have you been to one previously and liked the celebrant? If so start with them.

woodchuck · 30-10-2019 11:23pm

aquinn wrote: »

Have you been to one previously and liked the celebrant? If so start with them.

I can't say that I have. I think we've been to humanist ceremonies before, but I can't say that anyone stood out in particular.

skooterblue2 · 30-10-2019 11:32pm

NSAman wrote: »

all in all about 15 hours

Arrive Dublin airport, take flight to Chicago.. take flight to Las Vegas... get married.. simples...

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.

skooterblue2 · 30-10-2019 11:33pm

Humour Me wrote: »

Organise the solemizer first, get on the phone and see what dates they have available. If someone tells you they have a Saturday available book it provisionally then start checking venues availability for that date.

The demand is so high for Saturday’s you might find that there are no dates available for 2020.

Go with Friday the 13th..... we did.

buffin · 03-11-2019 10:26pm

We had our wedding and actual legal marriage separately. Some of the people out there who perform 'weddings' in Ireland aren't legally able to, so they lead the ceremony and you get married in the registry office sometime that suits. We got my best friend and some family members to perform parts of our ceremony for us rather than paying a stranger 500euro for effectively the same thing, and it was just fantastic. Made everything so personal and special. That day still 100% was our wedding, the registry office was just the paperwork. Made booking dates so much easier as we planned with about 8 months notice overall.

We had our wedding in Roundwood House in Laois, I think they can take weddings as big as 60 (not sure though, we had 14 there!) but could be an option with the size you're looking at!?

woodchuck · 05-11-2019 4:00pm

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?

miamee · 05-11-2019 4:16pm

Two friends got married a few years ago and had a very small gathering on their actual wedding day - they booked a private dining room in the Shelbourne Hotel where they and their guests had a fab dinner (by all accounts), I'm sure there were 40 or less people at it. After dinner, a few of us friends were able to join them for drinks in the room and then afterwards to a reception area. There was no after dinner entertainment or anything, they all had a bit of a sing song themselves and they had a much larger party the next day in teh Hibernian Club on St. Stephen's Green - also a very nice venue.

SozBbz · 05-11-2019 4:27pm

Drury Buildings?

25 Fitzwilliam Place?

Medley (the old Irish Times building)?

miamee · 05-11-2019 4:29pm

I read about this place before and it sounded lovely, (probably saw it on here somewhere to be fair). It's in Stillorgan http://www.beaufieldmews.com/weddings/

2ndcoming · 05-11-2019 4:32pm

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.

Some post... :pac:

SozBbz · 05-11-2019 4:32pm

miamee wrote: »

I read about this place before and it sounded lovely, (probably saw it on here somewhere to be fair). It's in Stillorgan http://www.beaufieldmews.com/weddings/

I think it closed recently.

SozBbz · 05-11-2019 4:33pm

Oh, also just thought of the Dylan hotel?

tiredblondie · 05-11-2019 4:35pm

I got married in the Lucan Spa Hotel - our final numbers were 85 - we strangely enough had zero dropouts!
But they were more than willing to accommodate smaller numbers and the price would reduce accordingly....

PhoenixParker · 05-11-2019 5:13pm

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 · 05-11-2019 5:54pm

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 · 06-11-2019 11:35am

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 · 06-11-2019 11:53am

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 · 06-11-2019 12:01pm

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 · 06-11-2019 4:46pm

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 · 07-11-2019 7:38am

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 · 07-11-2019 9:17am

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 · 07-11-2019 5:58pm

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

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

buffin · 08-11-2019 1:11am

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 · 08-11-2019 10:52am

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 · 08-11-2019 6:19pm

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 · 12-11-2019 1:01pm

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 · 12-11-2019 1:14pm

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 · 17-11-2019 1:21pm

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.

17-11-2019 10:38pm

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 · 17-11-2019 11:04pm

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 · 17-11-2019 11:09pm

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 · 17-11-2019 11:53pm

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??

How long to plan a wedding?

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