Stately homes/castles for wedding

No affiliation [broken link removed] They have rates and details etc up on the site.
 
Just a quixk one.... we were going to book Kinnitty Castle and researched it... we read sooooo many bad reviews about wedding etc.. i did read one or too good reviews but a hell of alot more bad reviews so we booked another venue...

you should have a look at killashee house hotel... the old house section is amazing, very high standard with food etc... would be amazing for winter wedding....
 
Some top ideas there lads thanks to all. just a quick question for those who have attended weddings at private rented castles/homes; our plan would be to rent out a home/castle (probably not a hotel) for the day and night. We would organise caterers etc - I'm just wondering how did people feel the evening went when it was just the wedding party in a building. My concern is that it could be like a house party gone wrong i.e 50 or so people sitting around no hotel bar to run off to for a break. Just 50 people stuck in a room drinking (I would be aiming to have entertainment/dancers etc) but after say 11 at night what happens - do people just sit in corners and get really drunk?
 

If its anything like one of my house parties youll have trouble getting rid of them!!!
Just kidding - its no different to any function room wedding. People will have a good time because they are at a celebratory event. Most wedding parties are just 'wedding party in a building' - its the people who make the fun - and you have entertainment so itll be fine.
 
Have a look here:
http://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/

This is going to be very vague for you, but perhaps someone else will know where I am talking about. There is a house on the north side of the quays overlooking the liffey (don't know what quay it's on). Its beautiful, and available to rent out for functions. I know that the owner (or whomever) lights hundreds of candles when the place is rented out.
I have no association with this place (can't even remember the name!)

I also got married in Kinnitty castle, while I loved the venue and had a brilliant day... I am biased of course! I do think it's overpriced for what you get. I was lucky to get in before the rush of "celeb" weddings, so we did not pay particularly over the odds for anything.

best of luck with your search for a venue.

creme egg
 
Hi Neyo1

we had the same idea of hiring a venue for our wedding a few years ago and organising all the rest ourselves.

However when we looked into it, it proved to be a major hassle coordinating all the various parties, food, alcohol, suitable venue, own insurance, etc. And it turned out to be much more expensive than going for the normal hotel reception route.

What we then did was got married in a hotel, (I know you don't want a hotel but hear me out, it wasn't really like a hotel, more like a private country house). It wasn't a large hotel and it was very private in its own extensive parklands, we had the run of the place for the day and it really felt like a rather grand Georgian country house. The max they cater for is 90 I think, and only one wedding is conducted per day. Although we got married in a church I have since learned that they now can also conduct the wedding ceremony on-site.
The food and attention to detail was fantastic. The advantage of giving it over to a wedding hotel or similar is that they organise weddings day- in day-out, so they are expert at it and everything was very polished. nothing at all was left to chance, and you have less to worry about.
I also appreciated the fact that it was only 20 mins drive from Dublin city which suited most of my family and friends very well.
I had many friends from abroad who were delighted to be able to stay in Dublin and treated it as a mini-break, enjoying shopping and some sightseeing in the capital on the days before the wedding.

It was very intimate but elegant affair, and my friends still talk of the venue to this day. It was close enough to Dublin for people to stay in the capital for a few days over the weekends and we had a coach take those who did not drive from the church to the hotel.

The prices were Ok too (at the time). We cut out tons of stuff stuff that we didn't want - wedding cars, bridesmaids, over the top flowers, mad prices for wedding dress etc etc. It cost well under 10K for 90 guests (this was 8 years ago) and everyone said it was one of the best wedddings they had been to.

Anyhow, for what's its worth, it was magical day and the venue was a huge part of that. I researched many many locations all over Leinster for the wedding and this was undoubtedly the absolute best on so many levels, for us anyway. The place was the Liffey Valley House Hotel near Leixlip, a bit of a hidden gem.
You could do worse than check them out and save yourselves a fair amount of organisational hassle.

Best of luck no matter where you go,
 
hi mary kate ... that sounds really nice,i really like the idea and then i googled the place and found this link... i remember having tea there once and it is lovely,really nice to hear you have such lovely memories xxx

[broken link removed]
 
As an alternative to Ashford try Lisloughrey Lodge. Had dinner there recently and it was top class. Magnificent views and located withinn the old grounds of Ashford Castle. Less formal but still class.
 
I got married in Kilkea Castle in 2001 and it was fantastic. We wanted to have our reception in a castle but the problem we found was that a lot of 'castles' in Ireland looked like castles from the outside but when you got inside it was like being in any hotel.

Kilkea is amazing. Stone walls, suits of armour all over the corridors and a fantastic dungeon bar with a port culis at the entrance. They also have amazing gardens and grounds for photographs.

Our day was ************************* thanks to the staff. They did an amazing job and we both felt that the manager did above and beyond his role to make our day run smooth (hubby's brother is wheelchair bound. His chair almost fit through the door but it was a tight squeeze so the manager immediately sent up a carpenter to remove the door frames for him!)

The food was to die for and the chef was fantastic. He met with us to discuss menus and had no problem altering and adjusting things for us.

I would recommend Kilkea Castle to anyone
 

While I'd concur with your recommendation for Kilkea (happy memories from our wedding in 1998), I'm not sure that it would suit the OP, given that they plan to have 50-60 guests. The function room in Kilkea is quite large, and 60 people might get a bit lost. I'd say you'd need about 90-100 to fill it up.
 
 
Headfort House in Kells is a stunning location for a wedding or function of any kind. They are currently renovating the ball room and when it is done it will be "the" location in the North East for weddings.
 
emjfinn said:
Headfort House in Kells is a stunning location for a wedding or function of any kind. They are currently renovating the ball room and when it is done it will be "the" location in the North East for weddings.
Click to expand...

Do you have any connection with Headfort House?
 
Not sure if they still do it but we were at a wedding in Slane Castle about 4 years ago. The couple just hired the venue and brought in caterers and staff themselves. There was only about 60 guests if I recall corrrectly!

It was fab, I have no connection to Slane Castle other than a love for the setting and the venue!
 
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