Please help me plan my Irish wedding

[Hironsbirons]

We got engaged a week ago and I really want to get married in Ireland. I lived there for a few years when I was young free and single, but moved back to the UK when I met my dp. I don't want a religious church wedding, I'd be happy with a ceremony elsewhere. Our budget is around £6/7k (all in), for around 40 people. We'd like a casual, relaxed vibe. I'm not overly sure exactly what I want, I just know I want to spend as little as possible, and be chilled about it all. Any ideas please?

(If anyone wants to plan it all for me and I just show up on the day you're more than welcome )

Do you know what area/location you want to go to? That should be a big enough budget for what you are looking. Although be careful as a lot of venues ask you to have over 120 guests or pay for room hire

I was at a lovely small wedding in The Village at Lyons last year. It's just outside Dublin.

I lived in Kildare so around Kildare/Dublin area. Probably no further than around 90 mins from Dublin airport, thinking about people flying over

I've been looking at The Village at Lyons actually. Looks beautiful, but seems to be near impossible to get them to give me an actual quote!

Consider Wicklow as well. Gorgeous scenery and next to Dublin. Lush mountains etc whereas Kildare is pretty flat.

I'm afraid I'm a bit outside your range and don't know those areas well. Hopefully someone will be along soon with better knowledge. Good luck with the wedding plans

I don't know whereabouts you're thinking of getting married but here are a few suggestions:

Brooklodge in Co. Wicklow This would be about an hour to 90 minutes from Dublin airport

Roganstown, Co. Dublin This location would be about 20 minutes from Dublin airport

Arklow Bay Hotel

I believe that civil ceremonies generally take place Mon-Fri 9-5 so if you're thinking about a weekend wedding, you will have to find out if that is possible as most Registrars don't work weekend (I know it's so Irish isn't it )
Here is some information on Civil marriages Civil Marriage Info

Civil marriage will have to be Monday - Friday. Spiritualist or humanist solemnizers will do a weekend ceremony.

Most of the "wedding venues" will have minimum numbers for a Saturday - typically 100.

onefabday.ie is a wedding website that's well worth a look.

Village at Lyons is lovely - pricewise it's in the region of 100 euro a head. Tankardstown House, Ballymagarvey The Millhouse are similar venues.

In Dublin itself you could consider Fallon & Byrne restaurant, the Hibernian Club, 25fitzwilliamplace.ie/our_rooms/the-gandon-rooms/ theanglersrest.ie/weddings/ The Merrion Hotel or any number of restaurants like www.theclifftownhouse.com/weddings-and-events or marcopierrewhite.ie/donnybrook/index.php/weddings/

mcauleyplace.ie/weddings-at-the-arts-and-culture-centre/

This would be a lovely place for your ceremony and approx. 50 mins from Dublin airport. Lots of hotels nearby too.

I was at a really nice civil ceremony in Ballybeg House (www.ballybeg.ie/) in Wicklow.

I had my reception in Ballybeg House. Might be a bit too big for what the OP is looking for.

Given the number of threads on MN about weddings that are difficult to get to have you discussed this with the people you want to invite? Although Ireland isn't very far away, the expense of flights, transfers and hotels may put a number of guests off from attending.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've sent loads of emails and received loads of ebrochures, so the plan for the weekend now is to sit down properly and go through it all. Although I'm totally in love with The Village at Lyons and keep scrolling through the webpage... Just need himself to agree to it too!

We've discussed it with the family, and our list is right down to who we think will come. A fair few are based locally in Ireland anyway, less than a 20 minute car journey, so I'm sure it won't be an issue thankfully.

You should check if you can legally get married in Ireland as a non resident. I know you have to get your licence 3 months before the wedding and I think there might be some rule about having to be in the country for a certain length of time before the wedding. You could do the legal bit in the UK first and just have a ring exchange in Ireland.

If you're not resident in Ireland, you might have to apply by post to be married in Ireland - more information here

Tinakilly House in Wicklow is absolutely lovely, as is Marlfield House in Wexford. Both would suit your smaller wedding party and both are easily accessible from Dublin

www.tinakilly.ie/

www.marlfieldhouse.com/

In fact, it came up on my FB newsfeed for Marlfield House that a wedding was held there last weekend for 40 people and it looked fab.

Wherever you choose, have a wonderful day

www.castlesinireland.com/castle-in-kildare-kilkea-castle-kildare/

You should look at castle Leslie. We viewed and fell in love. It's gorgeous and quite reasonable.

All of the places mentioned above are gorgeous but really high end, hugely in-demand and very expensive. Weddings in Ireland generally cost an absolute fortune and weekend or Friday dates could be booked up two or three years in advance in places like Castle Leslie.

For the cool casual vibe you want, as opposed to the fairytale, I think the suggestion of Fallon and Byrne above is by far the most suitable. It is also extremely central and easy for your guests to get to. In a similar vein, there is also the Harbourmaster at the IFSC. But both are very urban, perhaps not what you want.